Photo courtesy of LG
Updated 3/2/2009
LG Electronics announced this month that they will be unveiling their new mobile phone complete with a solar battery cover at the Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcelona, Spain.
“Using renewable solar energy in the mobile handset is an example of our ongoing efforts to help create a safer, cleaner environment for our customers,” said Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “LG continues to research and invest in creating products that not only provide a better experience for consumers, but also encourage an environmentally responsible lifestyle,” according to the Company’s recent press release.
So, how do you harness the sun? Simply pointing the phone’s solar panel, which is embedded onto the battery cover towards the sun, and the panel will convert solar energy into electricity without needing to be plugged in. If you expose the panel to ten minutes of sun, then your phone will gain enough power to enable you to make a three minute call. In addition, if left exposed to natural light for long periods of time, it will fully re-charge. I can’t tell you how many times, I have left my phone battery die.
How long will it take to fully recharge? Does it need direct sunlight to recharge? These are questions that came to me as I was reading their press release. Unfortuneately, LG’s US public relations’ team was unable to give me a quick answer and I will update the post as soon as I know. According to the Company,
“It depends on the battery capability and the electric current of charging which is related to the amount of sunlight. Accordingly, in the condition of AM1.5 (100k Lux) and 800 mAh battery capability, it would take 10 hours to get a full charge.”
When I asked if you could keep the phone on your sunny dashboard, I was told that the best option was to re-charging it in direct sun light; however, it could be charged in a room with a relatively low efficiency.
Before thinking of recycling (not pitching) your phone for this sunny LG, the Company plans to release this phone in the European market at the end of this year. (LG, what about the US market? We love to buy gadgets even if they are green.)
So what else has LG’s green fingers been into? The Company recently introduced the LG HFB -500 Bluetooth solar car kit at this January’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which gives customers hands-free mobile use in a fully rechargeable solar unit. That’s not all. LG will be introducing green packaging for its 2009 mobile handset models, which includes using recycled paper and cardboard without laminate coatings and printing with soy inks. Its product manuals will also be produced with soy ink and recycled paper.
Most importantly in my mind, is the Company is taking steps to reduce its use of hazardous substances in its products.
“LG adheres to strict requirements administered by the EU’s RoHS regarding the management of hazardous substances including lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), hexavalent chromium (Cr6+), polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) in its production processes.”
Moreover, the Company plans to make its mobile handsets free of halogenated substances by removing Brominated flame retardants (BPR), chlorinated flame retardants (CFR) and PVC from the manufacturing process by 2010 and will make all handsets antimony-free by 2012. (Personally, not soon enough.)
All of these initatives are part of LG’s “Life’s Good When It’s Green” program which is part of their global sustainability program that was introduced at Consumer Electronics Show 2009 focusing on the reduction of hazardous substances, responsible take-back programs and recycling facilities, and addressing global climate change.
So, who are you going to call?
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Lovely how companies are now stumbling over eachother to ‘protect the environment’. Truth is, this kind of stuff could have been done WAY before.
A solar cell phone would be a great alternative to the new initiative to make univeral cell phone chargers.
James´s last blog ..How To Recycle Old Credit Cards
Great site, I think we can all learn something from this.
What a great idea. I think the solar battery is good for the environment and it will benefit a lot of people. It is amazing what we can do for our environment once we put our minds to it.
Solo powered mobile phones is an excellent thing to do, as we are forever using electricity to charge our batteries and it really is a waste of energy and to have something like this instead would be a wonderful way to save on energy.
This is very good one. It was not all bad for the consumer electronics environment. Solar energy becomes a source of energy is very interesting to be developed. Supposedly all the equipment that is widely used by people should use solar energy. Stop global warming
solar cell phones…what a great idea…but too bad for me I live in Ohio (cloudy almost every day) what else could we “solarize” I like the gyms that run on human – generated energy from the bikes & treadmills.