World's first solar-powered, water-resistant cell phone comes from Sharp

The idea of solar powered mobile phones seems to be getting ever more popular these days. We have already seen a few prototypes and concept devices, but there hasn´t been any actual, mass production device that utilizes solar energy and is water-resistant at the same time, at least not until now. The Japanese mobile operator KDDI have just announced that Sharp produced the first solar-powered waterproof device and it should be available on the Japanese market and KKDI´s network in particular around June. You will be able to charge up the unnamed phone for a minute of talk or two-hour standby by merely leaving it in the sunlight for about 10 minutes. Sun itself can power the battery up to 80% of its total capacity, but this should be enough for most users anyway. The most annoying problem we seem to have with the device is it might as well fall out to be one of those “Japan only” handsets that will never make it worldwide. Nevertheless, we still hope Sharp decides to put out an international version, since we can really see the great appeal of having a water-resistant, solar-powered phone, while idling away on the beach or going for a swim in the pool.

source: KDDI via AkihabaraNews