It looks like just about everyone is interested in going green these days and we’re not surprised to learn that Nokia wants in on the green bandwagon too as they have recently started a new project whereby four Nokia C1-02 devices with a solar panel attached to the back of it have been distributed to different parts of the world in different living conditions and environments, to test the feasibility of a solar powered mobile phone.The phones have been distributed to Kenya, Utsjoki, Sweden and on a boat that is sailing around the Baltic sea. A black box device inside the phone also records the amount of solar energy available during real use of the phone during the testing phases. Their users come from a variety of backgrounds – in Kenya their tester is a security officer working in Nairobi. Above the Arctic Cirlce in Utsjoki their tester is a research technician at a local university. They have a sailor who will be sailing around the Baltic seas and finally in Sweden they have a 16-year old girl scout who will be testing the device and its solar charging capabilities during a scout camp.
However despite the good intentions of a solar powered mobile device, an interesting point has been made. Since we tend to keep our phones in our pockets or handbags most of the time, how will the phone get charged that way? We’re guessing that yes we could leave our phones out to be charged, but what about places that don’t have direct sunlight, for example someone working in a cubicle in an office? What do you guys think? Is this something feasible? The Samsung Replenish was created with the same intentions in mind but there have been various reports that the solar charging did not work as intended, will Nokia succeed where Samsung has failed?
If you’d like to stay updated with Nokia’s project just head on down to their blog for the latest updates.