Sunbathing your cell phone

By Design News Staff -- Design News, July 2, 2001

Provo, UT —What's the value of eight minutes of sunshine?

Unless you live in drizzly Seattle, most people don't get too excited about such a brief burst of light. But a new solar battery from Big Planet can turn those 8 minutes into power for a 60-sec cell phone conversation. And if you leave it in the light for a full hour, it can charge your phone for 16 minutes of talking time.

The battery powers your phone for unlimited standby time, as long as it's in the direct sunlight. Talk-time takes more energy, so you'll have to find a wall outlet eventually, but you can yak away for up to 20 hours until you do.

The lithium ion battery measures 4 × 1.75 × 1 inches, and weighs 4 oz. A smaller 1.5-oz version provides just five hours of talk-time.

For more information about batteries from Big Planet: Enter 541

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