Blue Earth: Samsung's Solar Phone Made from Water Bottles

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By Charlie Sorrel February 17, 2009 | 9:20:09 AMCategories:

Environment, Phones

 

 

Barcelona -- Amid the megapixels madness of its camera-phone

announcements, Samsung has shown us another vision of the future --

the Blue Earth. The phone is an environmental champion, made from

recycled water bottles and powered by a solar panel on the back.

 

And that's about all we know. Like the Mona Lisa, the only handset at

the Mobile World Congress show is behind glass (which is why we've

used the official product shot), and Samsung is being not exactly

cagey but a little thrifty with the details. We do know that the

phone will have a touch screen and also a distinctly gimmicky

pedometer, which measures how far you have walked and then tells you

how much CO2 you haved saved by not driving.

 

This is just annoying, and exactly the sort of thing smug Prius

owners would like. It reminds me of the kind of vegan who eats

wholemeal pasta -- a form of self flagellation designed only to

telegraph their pious intentions to us less morally aware mortals.

 

Still, the intention is good, and the phone has another few eco-

tricks up its recycled sleeves. There is an energy saving mode which

will lower the backlight levels and switch off Bluetooth -- useful

when charging via the Sun. That solar panel is also claimed to

provide enough juice to keep the phone going indefinitely. For those

of us who live in less clear-skied climes (I'm looking at you,

Britain) it looks like Samsung will provide a separate charger. Low-

powered, of course.

 

Best of all, it will be a real phone, available in real shops in the

second half of this year.