Samsung Blue Earth solar powered phone ready; LG plans solar mobile too

Samsung Blue Earth solar-powered mobile phone is here. Samsung announced that the Samsung Blue Earth will be launched at the mobile fair next week in Barcelona. Some features, pictures and photos of the Samsung Blue Earth solar cellphone are available. But the Samsung has not come out with a price tag for the solar panel powered Samsung Blue Earth.

New fad? Samsung and LG to launch solar-powered phones

Photo: Samsung Blue Earth solar panel phone

Touted as an eco-friendly cellphone, the Samsung Blue Earth has a solar panel at its back, which charges the battery inside. The Samsung solar panel is not expected to keep the battery charging round the clock though. It is intended more as a support system for the Blue Earth’s battery. The Blue Earth phone will come with a regular charger, Samsung said.

Samsung says that the Blue Earth’s solar panel will make enough power in 10 minutes to make a call for 3 minutes. Some reviewers find this difficult to believe, since the Blue Earth’s touchscreen (Yes, Samsung Blue Earth sports a touch screen) can draw more power than a regular screen.

Samsung has not released any further information about how the solar panel at the back will charge the Blue Earth. However, locating the solar panel at the back means that the Blue Earth will have to be kept face down to tap sunlight. Again, the location of the solar panel means that you will have to keep the Blue Earth out of your pocket if you want to make use of its solar power capability.

Samsung Blue Earth

The name Blue Earth has been selected to pinpoint the eco-friendliness of the new solar mobile. Samsung’s Blue Earth has an eco-mode – meaning you can turn this feature on, and the solar-powered battery will consume less power. This is achieved by automatically reducing screen brightness, reducing backlight duration and turning Bluetooth off.

Blue Earth, which looks like a pebble with rounded corners, will also have a pedometer, which will tell you how much energy is saved when you walk. The Samsung Blue Earth is built from PCM a material recycled from plastic water bottles. (Samsung already sells a mobile phone made from recycled corn.) Unlike most cellphones, it does not use harmful materials like Brominated Flame Retardants, Beryllium and Phthalate. Samsung says that Blue Earth will consume just 0.03 watt of power while in standby mode, reducing its impact on the environment.

The Blue Earth has been released with the slogan: “The Blue Earth Dream: Eco-living with SAMSUNG mobile”. The company said in a statement: “Samsung’s ‘The Blue Earth Dream’ demonstrates our small but meaningful commitments for the future and our environment,” said JK Shin, Head of Mobile Communication at Samsung. “We are committed to achieving the highest eco-status with our customers and business partners by providing the best eco-products and promoting eco-activities.”

LG solar phone too in the works

The same day that Samsung released details about its solar phone, Korean rival LG Electronics also said that it will launch a solar-powered mobile phone at Barcelona. However, neither the price, nor the details of the LG solar phone are available. However, some bloggers feel that LG’s solar cellphone will be based on the LG KF750 Secret.

The photovoltaic module (photovoltaic panel) of a solar panel is an array of solar cells. Photovoltaic cells convert solar energy to electric power. At an elementary level, the solar panel’s photovoltaic cell is made of semiconductors like silicon, which absorb a portion of the energy from sunlight that falls on it. This energy knocks the electrons loose. With the help of electric fields, the electrons are made to flow in a single direction, making a current. By using a metal contact, electricity is taken out of the solar cell. Though solar panels have been used in watches and calculators for a long time, the Samsung Blue Earth will be the first mobile phone to use a solar panel.