Samsung reveals solar-powered phone

BARCELONA: South Korean electronics group Samsung showcased its first solar-powered mobile phone on Monday at an industry event in Barcelona, promising a commercial launch later this year.

The sleek-looking, touch-controlled "Blue Earth," the centerpiece of Samsung's drive to be more environmentally friendly, has solar panels on its back which the company claims are able to charge the battery in 10-14 hours.

This would offer approximately four hours of talk time, a company representative said at industry event Mobile World Congress where the phone is on display for the first time.

The device, expected to be launched in Europe in the second half of 2009, can also be charged normally via a plug, with the solar panels used to top up the battery to extend its power.

Fellow South Korean manufacturer LG Electronics also has put a prototype solar-powered phone on display here but the company has no launch date or name for the device.

Industry watchers say the market for a solar-powered phone would include outdoor types in developed countries such as fishermen or campers who head into the wilderness without access to electricity.

Its recycled materials and built-in pedometer, which shows how far the user has walked, might also appeal to fans of eco-sheek gadgets.

If the price was low enough, Samsung has not revealed details yet, such a phone could also help link up the millions of poor worldwide who live either without or with very limited access to electricity.