Samsung Launches Solar Powered Handset in India

Samsung India has just announced the global launch of their 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 via sunlight.

Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Minister for New and Renewable Energy and J. S. Shin, President and 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 and 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.

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 (Measured when the phone is turned-off under the sun light of 80,000 Lux. Results can be different depending on circumstances). Moreover, the solar panel charging allows its users to save money and energy consumption on traditional electrical charging.

“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” said Sunil Dutt, Country Head , Samsung Mobile Division.

The Samsung Solar Guru comes in a compact design with features such as an 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. Following its introduction in India, the Solar Guru will be launched in various markets including Europe, Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, and Latin America in June 2009.