From receiving calls to
surfing on the web,
smartphones today are
capable of doing multiple
things at a lightning fast
speed. While every
aspect of a mobile phone
has come a long way, one
thing remains constant –
poor battery life.
One solution is solar
power to charge the
battery in the day.
Samsung did it in 2009
with the E1107, which
used the solar power to
charge its battery when
needed. But the phone did
not do well as the solar
panel was on the back.
Aside from being
impractical, this also
meant that the phone had
to be kept face-down,
sometimes resulting in
damage.
But a new implementation
of solar panels could
change things once again
for those hoping for
alternative and eco-
friendly ways to charge
their phone. IEEE
Spectrum reports about a
French startup,
SunPartner, founded by
optician Joel Gilbert and
businessman Ludovic
Deblois, which has a
solution to the solar
problem. SunPartner's
methods involve putting a
solar panel on the screen
of the phone, thus
allowing users to use
their phones in the
normal manner while still
being able to recharge
the phone to a certain
extent.
SunPartner uses stripes
of thin-film solar cells on
the screen and a layer of
tiny lenses is added on
top so that the image
displayed by the screen
is still visible despite the
solar cells. The
photovoltaic cells capture
the light, while the viewer
can still see the display
on the phone. This
method currently adds
about 20 percent to your
phone's battery life. The
company has stated that
these solar stripes are
currently 82 percent
transparent, but they are
working on making them
90 percent transparent.
SunPartner also said that
using these solar panels
in manufacturing
smartphones will add $
2.30 to the cost. The
price seems low enough,
but the efficacy of this
method leaves much to be
desired. A $2.30 outlay
for around 20 percent
extra battery life may
seem too much for OEMs,
but this tech also allows
the battery to remain
topped up when the
phone is not being used
in normal daylight.
The report does not
mention whether the
panel affects picture
quality of the display. In
any case, now that there
is some foundational work
done on this subject, it
won't be long before we
hear about a proper
working solar-powered
display. SunPartner is
currently working with
three manufacturers —
Nokia is said to be one of
them — to develop
prototypes and claims the
first phones with the new
technology will be in
markets in 2014.
surfing on the web,
smartphones today are
capable of doing multiple
things at a lightning fast
speed. While every
aspect of a mobile phone
has come a long way, one
thing remains constant –
poor battery life.
One solution is solar
power to charge the
battery in the day.
Samsung did it in 2009
with the E1107, which
used the solar power to
charge its battery when
needed. But the phone did
not do well as the solar
panel was on the back.
Aside from being
impractical, this also
meant that the phone had
to be kept face-down,
sometimes resulting in
damage.
But a new implementation
of solar panels could
change things once again
for those hoping for
alternative and eco-
friendly ways to charge
their phone. IEEE
Spectrum reports about a
French startup,
SunPartner, founded by
optician Joel Gilbert and
businessman Ludovic
Deblois, which has a
solution to the solar
problem. SunPartner's
methods involve putting a
solar panel on the screen
of the phone, thus
allowing users to use
their phones in the
normal manner while still
being able to recharge
the phone to a certain
extent.
SunPartner uses stripes
of thin-film solar cells on
the screen and a layer of
tiny lenses is added on
top so that the image
displayed by the screen
is still visible despite the
solar cells. The
photovoltaic cells capture
the light, while the viewer
can still see the display
on the phone. This
method currently adds
about 20 percent to your
phone's battery life. The
company has stated that
these solar stripes are
currently 82 percent
transparent, but they are
working on making them
90 percent transparent.
SunPartner also said that
using these solar panels
in manufacturing
smartphones will add $
2.30 to the cost. The
price seems low enough,
but the efficacy of this
method leaves much to be
desired. A $2.30 outlay
for around 20 percent
extra battery life may
seem too much for OEMs,
but this tech also allows
the battery to remain
topped up when the
phone is not being used
in normal daylight.
The report does not
mention whether the
panel affects picture
quality of the display. In
any case, now that there
is some foundational work
done on this subject, it
won't be long before we
hear about a proper
working solar-powered
display. SunPartner is
currently working with
three manufacturers —
Nokia is said to be one of
them — to develop
prototypes and claims the
first phones with the new
technology will be in
markets in 2014.
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