The green movement is sweeping the planet. More and more users are becoming more aware of the environment and their impact on it and are taking measures to help out. Manufacturers are also slowly getting on the bandwagon and are taking their own measures to make make their own contributions as well.
Most manufacturers do their share by making changes in the manufacturing process so that less energy is used and emissions and waste products reduced. Other manufacturers are taking other significant measures by redesigning their products to become more eco-friendly. Nokia is taking a page from the latter by developing mobile phones that will use solar power to charge it.
Nokia is now field testing solar powered mobile phones by distributing entry level C1-02 mobile phones rigged with a solar panel at the back to different areas in the world. To date, four of these phones have been distributed to areas with different environments and living conditions – Utsjoki in Finland, Kenya, Sweden and a boat that is currently in the Baltic Sea. The people who were given these phones also come from all walks of life — a security officer in Nairobi, a university research technician in Finland, A sailor in the Baltic Sea and a girl scout in Sweden who will bring it during their scouting camp. The project aims to find out if a solar powered mobile phone can actually work in the real world. Aside from solar panels, the phones also have some sort of black box device attached to it that will be used to record the amount of solar energy it gets while it is being used in these environments.
The project is a noble one and with millions of people already mobile phone owners, this is a move that can really make a huge difference collectively.