A Dutch company provides a new solution for the problem of charging phones. The handsets having a solar cell on their back can use solar energy more effectively.
Previous solar cells have usually been able to produce 0.5 V per cell. As the battery of an average mobile phone needs 3.7 V they had more solar cells serially connected in order to produce the required amount of energy. The greatest problem with this is that by covering any of the cells charging is aborted.
The cell, designed by Intivation, handles this problem better, as charging is continued even if the cell is partially covered, as they use a single large cell instead of many small ones. The technology allows up to 60 minutes of talk time with one hour of "charging". The new entry level-phones, designed with such a charging technology, are intended to be launched in developing countries.
The new technology offers extra autonomy not only for new models, but even for those already launched - a "jacket" is about to be released that can double the uptime of our iPhone or iPod handset. The manufacturer is about to launch these jackets for the whole BlackBerry range very soon and this charging method is expected to become available for an increasing amount of phone models.
iPhone jacket - double power
Chinese manufacturer ZTE, one of the supplier of Vodafone branded phones, is also launching an entry-level phone, which can be charged with the new solar cell, the press event regarding this will take place tomorow morning at 10 AM - we'll be there.
ZTE solar cell phone
Translated by Szaszati
