Sharp Develops Solar-Powered Cell Phone

First Sharp announced the development of the world's first waterproof solar-powered cell phone, and now the company has done the world one better by developing the thinnest solar module for mobile devices ever. The LROCGO2 Solar Module measures just 0.8 mm thick--the width of eight human hairs.

The Solar Module's polycrystalline solar cells only provides 300 mW of power, so the device won't replace traditional batteries any time soon. But it can act as a supplement for emergency situations or any time when a traditional cell phone charger is MIA. And since the module is fitted onto cell phones in the manufacturing process,it eliminates the need to carry around extra emergency solar chargers.

Sharp's cell phone solar panel has already proved popular in Japan, having been released earlier this year. With the expansion of the technology to a worldwide market, expect the number of solar-powered cell phones to grow exponentially in the coming years. No word yet on a release date.

(May 26, 2009)