Safaricom partners with ZTE on solar-powered phone

Safaricom, Kenya's biggest mobile-phone company, has partnered with China's ZTE Corp. to deliver the first solar-powered mobile phone in the region.

In a launch timed to coincide with power rationing as a result of falling power generation, Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph said the phone's battery can last up to 24 hours when fully charged.

The handset is manufactured from recycled materials and has a built-in solar panel that charges the phone using the sun's rays.

Safaricom is apparently responding to the needs of the poor in the rural areas who have no access to electricity and have had to pay for charging services.

The phone is branded Simu ya Solar (solar-powered phone) and will be priced at 2,999 shillings (about US$39).

"Our subscribers will now not have to take their phones to merchants for charging and wait all day for their handsets to charge in order to make calls," Joseph said at a press conference.

The need for solar-powered phones and chargers dominated the GSM Association Congress in Barcelona in February this year. Manufacturers were also challenged to develop a uniform charger for all phones.

Suntrica, a Finnish company, has already developed solar-powered chargers that can be used with mobile phones, digital cameras and MP3 players.

"In a few years' time solar powered chargers will be issued as standard. Our chargers are unlike anything else available on the market today as they are a portable and easy-to-use instant source of energy on the move," said Jouko Häyrynen, CEO and cofounder of Suntrica, in an e-mail interview.

Suntrica's solar-powered chargers are geared toward the millions of consumers in emerging markets with erratic or no electricity. The chargers are also expected to provide the developed markets with an effective and environmentally friendly charger.