Samsung unveils Blue Earth, a solar-powered mobile phone
By Ross Miller 
posted Feb 12th 2009 4:01PM
posted Feb 12th 2009 4:01PM
Samsung's Blue Earth handset might just be taking the green thing to a whole new extreme. Made from PCM, a recycled plastic from water bottles, the phone boast an "eco" mode for efficiently adjusting screen brightness, backlight duration and Bluetooth usage, and an "eco walk" app / built-in pedometer to tell you how much CO2 emission you've saved by walking instead of driving. The best part? It's got a giant solar panel on the back that'll apparently charge it enough to make a phone call anytime the sun's peaking out. Of the form factor, Sammy says it "symbolizes a flat and well rounded shiny pebble" -- which we hope means it can skip puddles with the best of 'em. It'll come in recycled packaging with an energy efficient charger. What we don't know, unfortunately, is what makes this phone tick, neither OS nor hardware specs. Not a word on price yet, but UK environmentalists can look forward to this one second half of this year.
it should come free with a Tesla!
In California, Blue Earth comes with you.
The homescreen looks a lot like android, but that would be too good to be true. The solar-panel bit is sheerly for clout when you're trying to hook up with green peace chicks; I can't see it being very effective.
it wouldn't be too unheard of if it is indeed android. they have the source, they can customize it any way they see fit.
It's not Android. The UI is Samsung's TouchWiz setup.
but the specs required wouldnt make sense in an eco phone, i would imagine the mobile equivalent of an atom in this thing.
(yes an atom is mobile, please respect my analogy)
I'm very interested in this. I'm a walking tour guide, so I spend almost my entire day outdoors. The pedometer function is kind of fun, but the integrated solar panel would be a very nice thing to have!
Same shape as the Palm Pre. In fact ... looks quite a bit like it.
Samsung has been making devices that were the shape of the "Pre" before the Pre was even thought about.
Both fighting for overpriced bumb phones category.
Unfortunately it doesn't work well in caves.
Or during solar eclipses.
Were you talking about the phone or the solar panel? I'm pretty sure neither works well in a cave.
Of course, if it's a solar eclipse, there's bound to be some superpower-wielding person nearby who can harness electricity. Isn't that how those things work?
doent work well in caves, or in dark bedrooms inhabited by WoW players
from now on, the two are synonymous.
Oh hey dude, you picked up your phone!
Yeah im not in my cave atm.
That sucks, wanna play WoW?
--line goes dead--
Lol, Oli D. It's funny because it's true.
god i hate WoW so damn much
Here's my logic: since this device is made from eco-efficient/friendly materials and because recycled materials are cheaper to produce, it should be cheaper then many phones on the market.
Ten bucks says that there's going to be an "eco" premium tacked onto the price when this thing launches.
Not necessarily - Nokia has a new "green" phone out and that's only $10 (with contract) on T-Mobile. Now, this looks like a nicer phone, so I'm sure that's going to up the price, but 'green' doesn't have to mean expensive.
That's not necessarily true, recycled materials are cheaper, but I can easily imagine the 'eco-efficient' materials costing a fair bit more to produce- after all, if they really were that much cheaper, they would already be in common use not for the environmental benefit but for the profit advantage
Nobody said recycled material is cheaper, in fact, most of the time it isn't (with notable exceptions like aluminium, paper and glass).
hah! have fun while polar night, iceland!
That was supposed to be dumb phone but it sounded better the first time.
looks like a good solution for emerging countries - you get rid of the power plug.
Now that's wireless charging!
Oh yes, well done. The universe is saved.
Why don't samsung put all the money they make off this gimick into proper sustainable development, instead of palming us off with a token solar phone?
How much environmental damage does a phone cause with all the charging in its lifetime?
Compared to the microwave masts that support it?
Sorry about the rant, this just winds me up, which is useful because i just bought a Samsung wind up laptop.
All it takes is one big company to push out a concept and get the public to accept it before other companies jump on and work to make the process cheaper than ever. The competition to go as "green" as possible will be a welcome sight.
Seriously, I'd rather have companies do this than push out some Blood Diamond encrusted Prada phone.
yeah of course, but its the pretense that gets me so irritated, its just like the prius, its a good idea, but not nearly as eco-friendly as you think.
Samsung does have proper development periods. I've never purchased a bad Samsung product for the last 20 years or so, and I own quite a few of them.
Emerging markets, tree lovers, outdoorsy people, people who hate chargers, and people down south would love this phone. Its not very useful in the North, but I'm sure that down in Texas it would be nice to have.
If everyone plugs their phone in every night in the US, thats alot of phones and alot of energy. If you could leave it by the windowsill and let it catch 2-3hrs of sunlight, and then take it to work and catch some more, you'd have a phone without a need for a charger.
Power users could never really use it, but I can imagine it being useful to quite a few people....
mmmm blood diamonds
Also, while the processes used to make the parts for a prius aren't good for the environment, sipping on fuel instead of being a gas guzzler will lower our dependancy on foreign oil which is a major export of money that we will never get back in the US. I love driving my civic hybrid...it feels alot better than the prius does.
Actually Oli D, for people who go on lots of desert safaris, I see this as a great phone to carry with them. I live in Abu Dhabi, where sun shines almost everyday for the whole year, so this thing could be a great addition to the life style in here.
"Why don't samsung put all the money they make off this gimick into proper sustainable development, instead of palming us off with a token solar phone?"
Because their business is making electronics. This is how they can best invest in a 'proper sustainable' way of business. How many phones these days are using recycled plastics? Very few, while millions of phones are being used. That's alot of plastic.
It's kind of like when the cheap laptop for developing countries idea was started. Alot of naysayers were like "why don't they give them food instead of laptops, it's what they really need." But their business isn't food distribution, it's electronics. So yeah, they can't give them what they immediately need, but they can give them tools to help them in other aspects of life.
Having said that, I do agree with you that alot of this is gimmick. But hopefully it'll grow into something more than that, where all phones are using more sustainable materials.
"...sipping on fuel instead of being a gas guzzler will lower our dependancy on foreign oil which is a major export of money that we will never get back in the US..."
Mike really? if your concern is not where your money goes, but the fact that money is exported to any and all foreign lands, maybe buying japanese really isnt the way.
i bet this phone has copy and paste. i bet it can also record video and transfer files via bluetooth.
User guide excerpts:
"If the battery is low while you're driving, stick it on the wind-shield or the wipers."
"While in Vegas, spend more time out-doors and stick it on top of your hat. (Hat not part of this package)."
"When traveling to deserts, purposefully forget your charger and STICK IT to your friends! Bbwwaaahhahhahah."
Ok, silly question: wouldn't your hand be covering up the solar cell when you're talking on the phone?
not with the new Samsung Eco-hand mirror device.
It straps on the back and uses recycled mirrors to reflect the light into the panels from round your hand
For the first time since the 1st Razr it's a phone I can honestly say I want.
lol, on a lighter side, you have a lot to catch up with!
OK, so keep the solar panel and throw in a gyroscopic charger and the phone may never see a plug... we're gettin' somewhere now.
Cool.
... What? Not every post has to be some stupid reply about iPhones and internet memes.
It looks decent and sounds plausable. The question is if it can hold up to the details they are leaking now when it comes out.
Can you say Motorola Pebble? Lawsuit waiting to happen over that "pebble" comment.
i don't get it... how does it charge if it's in your pocket all the time? what do you have to do, stand there and point the phone at the sun like some caveman discovering sunlight for the first time? i guess this is one of those niche-market phones. i just can't see this being useful for, say, business cell phones.
I hope that camera can stand up to the sun burning a hole in it through that lens.
I had one of the first camera phones... actually, it was phone-sized camera that you took pictures with, and then attached to the phone. I left it in the car one day, with the lens pointed up ... after that, it required extreme light to take a picture at all (it gave a beep error if there wasn't enough light).
This is going to be popular here in Michigan, where it's sunny all year long.
Seriously, why go that direction with cellphones? Even in summer, who carries his/her cellphone in the hand? It's either indoors or in a pocket.
if done right this could be awesome
They do realise we haven't had real sunshine here in the UK since 2006? Seriously, the last two summers have been the least sunny and the most rainy respectively...
If it runs android ill take 3!
if the sun's "peaking" you're about to see a drop in generating power. So sad... :)
The Chinese made one of these over a year ago, and its onsale. I emailed Engadget about this and got no reply.
i really like the look of this phone! it doesnt seem bulky at all which is something that you could expect with a solar powered gadget.
although i feel like theres gonna be a big drawback as to why no one would want it. just a feeling.
This would be fantastic if you're out hiking with a group...when you are far from civilization, all phones are dead and hope is lost, you can whip this out, charge it up, and make a quick call to tell the authorities where to find your emaciated bodies.
It's new invention and this way no need to bring charger in home or office or car.
here is a similar post
http://www.zahipedia.com/2009/02/12/solar-powered-cell-phone-by-samsung/
Great invention,
No need to bring charger in office or home .
here is a similar topice
http://www.zahipedia.com/2009/02/12/solar-powered-cell-phone-by-samsung/
Do you guys remember that Nokia already did this over 10 years ago?
Should be kinetic + solar.
---WARNING---
Do not leave in direct sunlight
those making weak jokes about the solar aspect did read that it comes with a charger, right?
"It'll come in recycled packaging with an energy efficient charger."
The phones that are coming out are getting better and better. If the Pre had a solar panel, it would be perfect. Having said that. If I kept this phone's solar panel up on my desk at work all day, may mean never having to ever plug it in.
Who is actually responsible for the time line and content of the G1 updates? HTC or T-Mobile? Whoever it is, sucks ass.
A lot of people here seem to be missing the point. The solar panel will NOT free you from the charger. A tiny solar panel like this can at best supplant/extend battery life. An hour or two on the sun may be good for an emergency call or SMS at best. When active, a phone consumes several watts of power, which simply is not available in the given footprint, no matter how efficient. Also, to get any decent amount of power, you actually have to have it in DIRECT sunlight, just having it on the table produces very little power. As somebody said, this is cool for picking up greenpeace chicks or showing off to your green (blue) friends, but that's about it.
does anyone knows how long it takes the battery to run out of power?