PV Gap

Bill Said:

Who was the owner of first mobile phone in India which runs without battery and runs on solar energy ?

We Answered:

Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Hon'ble Minister for New and Renewable Energy and Mr. J S Shin, President & CEO, Samsung South West Asia HQ launched the phone at a ceremony organized by the Company at its manufacturing complex at Noida.

Great Question!

http://www.samsung.com/in/news/newsRead.…

Noida, June 10th, 2009 - Samsung India today announced the global launch of the world's first solar powered mobile phone, the "Solar Guru" (Guru E1107) in the Indian market. The new handset enables its users to charge the battery anywhere the sun is shining, so that users are not inconvenienced when the phone battery is running out of normal charge. Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Hon'ble Minister for New and Renewable Energy and Mr. J S Shin, President & CEO, Samsung South West Asia HQ launched the phone at a ceremony organized by the Company at its manufacturing complex at Noida.

"The Solar Guru has been developed keeping in mind the needs of Indian consumers, especially customers residing in areas where the electric supply is unstable, so that the consumers can rely on solar charging to remain connected." states Mr. J S Shin, President & CEO, Samsung South West Asia Headquarters. The Solar Guru represents the Company's efforts to strengthen its leadership in the solar panel mobile market.

Powered by the Sun: With an extended solar powered battery, the Samsung Solar Guru solves the problem of unavailable or unstable electric supply, particularly in far flung areas. The phone has the capacity to provide around 5 ~ 10 minutes of talk time with one hour of solar charging.* Moreover, the solar panel charging allows its users to save money and energy consumption on traditional electrical charging.

*Measured when the phone is turned-off under the sun light of 80,000 Lux. Results can be different depending on circumstances.

"With Samsung's cutting edge technology and consumer-oriented strategy, I believe the Solar Guru is the perfect fit for the Indian consumer – not only because it is solar powered, but because it has a host of customized features , especially developed keeping in mind the needs of Indian consumers" states Mr Sunil Dutt, Country Head , Samsung Mobile Division.

Localized Features for Indian Market

The Samsung Solar Guru comes in a compact design with essential mobile phone features such as FM radio, MP3 ring tones, embedded games and a powerful torch light. For consumer safety, the phone offers Mobile Tracker, which automatically alerts when the SIM card is changed or sends out an SOS message in an emergency. The Solar Guru provides "Mobile prayer", a specialized feature for different religions that includes religious prayers and wall papers.

The Samsung Solar Guru (Samsung Guru 1107) is priced at Rs. 2799/-. With the introduction of this phone, Samsung India now has a portfolio of over 50 mobile handsets priced in the range between Rs.1649/- to Rs. 34500/-.

Following its introduction in India, the Solar Guru is being launched in various markets including Europe, Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, and Latin America in June 2009.

About Samsung Electronics

Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2008 consolidated sales of US$96 billion. Employing approximately 150,000 people in 134 offices in 62 countries, the company consists of two business units: Digital Media & Communications and Device Solutions. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.

Michele Said:

which one is has a better future in india a glass manufacturing unit or a solar energy machines manufacturing?

We Answered:

Solar energy utilities have good subsidy from the govt and also huge demand which is likely to increase in future.

Ethel Said:

How Solar Energy can be used most effectively in India ?

We Answered:

In rural sector. In remote areas where it is uneconomical to pull distribution line and install a transformer, solar power will be definitely economical as well as useful.

Another area is highways - automated telephonebooths using solar power.

Solar power plants can be installed in desert areas of Thar where sunlight and land have no limits.

Providing telecom in rural areas using setellite and solar power will make stand alone units.

Eric Said:

Solar energy is the best choice for India, why?

We Answered:

I don't think it's the 'best' in the same way that protein isn't the 'best' nutrient. You can't get by on one thing alone!


Solar is great because:
a) India has pretty good sunlight - http://www.alternativeenergydiscounthous…

b) solar power is quite an 'intense' form of renewable power - you get more electricity out of 10m^2 of solar panels than you do 10m^2 of wind farm.

c) solar is better for poorer areas without grid access because it's easy and cheaper to install than new electricity lines.

d) India doesn't have enough fuel to supply itself:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/India/O…
Solar doesn't need fuel, so you don't have to keep sending money abroad. And you know the price you'll pay for solar straight up, whilst oil and gas prices go up and down. You can get caught out by big price rises.

e) Solar power is very low in terms of air pollution (kills 3 million people worldwide each year iirc) and CO2. The world needs to drastically cut CO2 emissions to reduce the risk of dangerous climate change (Which would cause a problem for India - flooding in Bangladesh could cause a lot of refugees trying to get into your country).


Solar is still probably a little too expensive (especially when you consider the need for batteries etc to store it for night times!), but it's getting there. Prices have dropped a lot, they're still dropping and I think they're going to drop a lot further. Solar is a good hope for the future.

EDIT: answerer below brings up a good point too. This is usually solved in other countries by tilting the panels or by 'roughing up' the front glass layer. So it's not much of a problem in most cases! Although it might add a bit more cost in other countries?