AfriGadget

Hi Juliana

Great that you picked up on this! I met G24i at Mobile World Congress and was pretty surprised when they told me what the panel cost. It’s about the length and width of an average laptop, and about 8mm deep. It’s made of the same kind of material you find on rucksacks, so seems quite durable, and the solar panels themselves are behind a plastic screen.

There have been numerous attempts to build rugged solar chargers for rural markets, many of which have failed. I have a feeling that these guys might be onto something, and as Dave comments on his own Blog (if you follow the link through) at $20 there’s no reason why panels can’t be provided to teams of remote health workers, field staff, etc.

I’m in discussions with G24i about a number of project ideas, and willbe sure to keep Afrigadget in the loop.

Ken

locally can learn to continue developing the system if the code is available. Of course we are taking it that one step further by hiring a local developer to join the team. Still, you get the point I hope. Now in almost completely separate news, todayI read about a solar cell phone chargerthat only costs $20! That’s only 10,000frw. Not much at all. The other day when I met the volunteer health workers who are going to use our systems to collect data I asked specifically where they charged their phones (all three had phones already)

Great! I assume the $20 is for the 1/2 watt version. They also have a 1 watt version. It’s also modular so you can purchase another and plug them into each other.

I have seen some prototypes of phones with small solar cells on the back hoping someone will actually start selling them… but I do not see them coming into production any time soon. For now, a solution such as this will have to suffice. It’s a great tool, now at a great price.

Sounds like a great idea (and, incidentally, one which would work well here in Florida as well).

My only question is concerning the cell phone itself. How does sitting in the intense sun affect it over time?

Now this can be evaluated! unlike some of the other ideas published.

I worked at a factory in rural KwaZulu Natal - every electrical socket was filled with a cellular when the operators came to work in the morning. Maybe a single panel can charge a few phones if left through the working day or pads can be shared by family or neighbours - $ 20 is still significant!

@ eclexia

Be sure to not leave the LCD screen exposed to the sun for long. Not sure how much the phone and circuitry can withstand the heat.

@ Dave

I recall being in rural Southern Sudan this last summer. I was teaching to pastors at one of the local church buildings. Everyone was always clamoring for the few electrical outlets to charge their phone.

Posted

Thanks everyone for your comments and additional information, i am looking forward to purchasing this device and testing it out!

But, another thing that keeps some of my green tendencies in check is, well, a shortage of the other type of green, the money kind. If I had more of that kind of green, here are green things I’d love to do or have:Solar cell phone charger(this one is really rather inexpensive) Push reel mower (probably the most surprising thing on my Amazon wish list) and European scythe (my son, who mows our lawn with a gas mower we got from the trash, is glad we

2 votesAffordable solar charger for Mobile Phones8. by thakadu 4 hours ago. Score: 48 (www.afrigadget.com) 0 comments afrigadget mobiles new window

2 votesAffordable solar charger for Mobile Phones8. by thakadu 4 hours ago. Score: 48 (www.afrigadget.com) 0 comments afrigadget mobiles new window

http://www.theworld.org/pod/tech/WTPpodcast188.mp3  Here’s the lineup: 1) Al-Qaeda Targets Saudi Cell Phones 2) Washington Post Blogger Amar Bakshi  3) AfriGadget Links:  — Wire toys, a pictorial  —Solar Cell Phone Charger— Human/Animal powered vehicle — Knife-sharpening bicycle — Ethan Zuckerman’s blog — Simpsons figurines from Kenya 4) Global Beer Shortage? Also — you can now give a donation to the World

This is great news - I’m going to Port Harcourt in June and I feel like I need to take a bunch of these back to the rural areas. Could be a nice little business for a few people as despite all the oil we still dont have electricity in the towns and villages of the Delta region.

this is cool

a fabulous object, designed to be used, abused, taken apart, and maybe even fixed, though there is not much to go wrong. Click through for more gory photos and delightful design details. 4. Affordable solar charger for Mobile Phones from Kiwanja viaAfrigaget

is just the kind of technology that AfriGadget likes, because it is not only quite handy to have, but it is empowering and well suited for off-grid rural areas in Africa, California or anywhere with sunlight for that matter. Ken explains it best… —AfriGadget » Blog Archive » Affordable solar charger for Mobile Phones12am