Meet Africa's solar cell phone
Thu Sep 10, 2009 1:03PM EDT
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Buzz up!6 votes
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Finding reliable power in Africa isn't quite the same as we have it here in the U.S., where we have an outlet available on every corner and get upset if there aren't two.
As such, gadgetry in Africa has had a halting evolution. In Kenya, for example, where virtually all of the country's power comes from hydroelectric sources, electricity is rationed to its citizens, who have to make do with a couple of days of power each week -- or have to travel to remote locations and pay to use a charging station.
Result: A whole lot of innovation when it comes to making do with limited resources. While Kenya may not have a lot of traditional power, it does have a lot of one thing: Sun. And solar power offers immense promise for Kenyans who want to keep battery-powered devices charged in the absence of a working outlet.
The latest innovation: A cell phone designed for the African market with solar charging features built right into the handset. Sure, you can find external solar charging devices like the Solio on the market, but the "Solar ya Simu" is apparently the first cell phone with a solar panel built into the case. When the phone runs out of juice, the user can just leave it in the sun for a few hours: One hour of full sun offers up to 15 minutes of talk time, and a full day in the sun can charge the phone completely.
Kenyans can buy the phone for the Kenyan equivalent of about US$40.
And you know what -- as great as this is for Africa, how about one for the rest of us? Just turn the back of every phone into a solar panel and free us all from the horrors of the grid for good. I'd even settle for a solar-ized iPhone sleeve as an aftermarket product.
Either way: All you'd need is a sun-lit window and your phone stays topped up. Sorry, Seattle!
Thu Sep 10, 2009 1:03PM EDT
See Comments (8)
Buzz up!6 votes
YAHOO.util.Event.addListener( window, "load", function() { setTimeout(function(){ var buzz = new YAHOO.Media.Buzz("buzz-top",{"sync":"buzz-top","countPosition":"after","loc_strings":{"buzz_up":"Buzz up!","buzzed":"Buzzed!","one_vote":"{0} vote","n_votes":"{0} votes"}}); }, 15); });
Finding reliable power in Africa isn't quite the same as we have it here in the U.S., where we have an outlet available on every corner and get upset if there aren't two.
As such, gadgetry in Africa has had a halting evolution. In Kenya, for example, where virtually all of the country's power comes from hydroelectric sources, electricity is rationed to its citizens, who have to make do with a couple of days of power each week -- or have to travel to remote locations and pay to use a charging station.
Result: A whole lot of innovation when it comes to making do with limited resources. While Kenya may not have a lot of traditional power, it does have a lot of one thing: Sun. And solar power offers immense promise for Kenyans who want to keep battery-powered devices charged in the absence of a working outlet.
The latest innovation: A cell phone designed for the African market with solar charging features built right into the handset. Sure, you can find external solar charging devices like the Solio on the market, but the "Solar ya Simu" is apparently the first cell phone with a solar panel built into the case. When the phone runs out of juice, the user can just leave it in the sun for a few hours: One hour of full sun offers up to 15 minutes of talk time, and a full day in the sun can charge the phone completely.
Kenyans can buy the phone for the Kenyan equivalent of about US$40.
And you know what -- as great as this is for Africa, how about one for the rest of us? Just turn the back of every phone into a solar panel and free us all from the horrors of the grid for good. I'd even settle for a solar-ized iPhone sleeve as an aftermarket product.
Either way: All you'd need is a sun-lit window and your phone stays topped up. Sorry, Seattle!
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