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Nokia: the Sun Can't Charge Your Phone

Posted by Soulskill on from the well-what-am-i-going-to-do-with-this-93M-mile-cord dept.

itwbennett writes "Nokia's research into solar-powered cell phones ended with a (barely audible) thud. Under the best of conditions researchers were able 'to harvest enough energy to keep the phone on standby mode but with a very restricted amount of talk time,' Nokia wrote in a blog post on Tuesday. Not surprisingly, the prototype phone, which had a solar panel on the back cover, performed better in Kenya than in other testing locations, like southern Sweden and the Arctic Circle."

12 of 290 comments (clear)

  1. it should have been by bugs2squash · · Score: 5, Funny

    a tablet then

    --
    Nullius in verba
    1. Re:it should have been by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Wait just a second here. My Sun Blade 2500 workstation charges my phone just fine, thank you very much. All I have to do is plug the cable into the USB port and It Just Works. What a stupid, misleading article title.

  2. Why did they think this would work? by TWX · · Score: 5, Insightful

    My phone resides in my pocket. Even if I left it on the dash of my car, the casing is only so large, even on my Galaxy S II. I don't see how even the most efficient of solar panels in the most effective of locations would provide enough power.

    It's noble of them to try, but at the moment I'm not surprised this was the outcome.

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    1. Re:Why did they think this would work? by bmuon · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No idea. Mechanical energy -motion and/or sound waves- seems a more likely source of power for a phone.

    2. Re:Why did they think this would work? by timholman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      My phone resides in my pocket. Even if I left it on the dash of my car, the casing is only so large, even on my Galaxy S II. I don't see how even the most efficient of solar panels in the most effective of locations would provide enough power.

      It's noble of them to try, but at the moment I'm not surprised this was the outcome.

      I don't doubt that Nokia's engineers did some quick calculations and told their managers that solar charging wouldn't be practical before this project even got started.

      And then the managers said: "It doesn't matter. It'll look great in a press release. The environmentalists will love it. Do it anyway."

    3. Re:Why did they think this would work? by digsbo · · Score: 5, Interesting

      No need. Have you used a Nokia low-end phone lately? They can go two weeks without a charge. Seriously. I just lent a friend a 2320 for use while in the USA and it lasted a full 15 days. And yes, they made calls on it! Amazing.

    4. Re:Why did they think this would work? by khallow · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Mechanical energy -motion and/or sound waves- seems a more likely source of power for a phone.

      They don't have the power density of a solar cell and the mechanical energy approach would add considerable mass.

      Looks to me like they'll just have to figure out how to make a much lower power cellphone. That process will be limited by the need of the phone to produce sound that one can hear.

    5. Re:Why did they think this would work? by ewieling · · Score: 5, Funny

      My Motorola V3M has the battery life of a smart phone and the features of a dumb phone. Worst Phone Ever.

      --
      I really shouldn't have used someone else's email address for this account.
    6. Re:Why did they think this would work? by Jarik+C-Bol · · Score: 5, Insightful

      the same way self winding watches work. Your arm is not a windmill either. In this case, a small magnet, in a tube, wrapped in a coil, such that when the user walks, the magnet slides from one end of the tube to the other, and back again. The real trick is to figure out how to arrange this little setup to maximize the number of times the process occurs, with minimal movement.

      --
      I've decided to Diversify my Holdings. I've divided my cash between my left and right pockets, instead of all in one.
  3. So basically by Deathnerd · · Score: 5, Funny

    They spent god knows how much money and time to send this team of researchers around the world to exotic locations to talk on a cellphone with a solar panel duck taped to the back of it? Where the hell was THAT career option on career day?

  4. Look closer to home by not_surt · · Score: 5, Funny

    Like many in the developed world I carry a considerable surplus fuel stockpile on my abdomen which it would be nice (and perhaps healthy) to take advantage of.
    Maybe a combination if an in-body blood sugar energy harvesting rig and inductive charging coils on each hip? If your fuel stockpile is running low then make it a solar charging rig with a symbiotic algae/cyanobacteria in the skin to produce sugars from sunlight.

  5. On to the next idea by Megahard · · Score: 5, Funny

    A nuclear powered phone.

    --
    I eat only the real part of complex carbohydrates.