Published: Wednesday July 28, 2010 MYT 7:35:00 AM
Updated: Wednesday July 28, 2010 MYT 8:03:42 AM
MUMBAI, India: Vodafone Essar Ltd. has unveiled a solar-powered mobile handset in India to better serve the nation's energy-starved rural masses.
India has been adding nearly 20 million mobile subscribers each month, many of them in rural areas, where electricity supply can be patchy at best.
A third of Indians don't have access to electricity, but they do get plenty of sun.
Samsung launched a solar-powered handset about a year ago, and Vodafone is now joining in the effort to bridge that infrastructure gap.
U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne displays the a solar powered mobile handset during its launch in Mumbai, India, Tuesday. Vodafone Essar Ltd. unveiled a solar-powered mobile handset in India Tuesday, in a bid to better serve the nation's energy-starved rural masses. India has been adding close to 20 million mobile subscribers each month, many of them in rural areas, where electricity supply can be patchy at best. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) "This launch is likely to enable more people in rural India to go mobile," Vodafone Essar Chief Executive Marten Pieters said in a statement.
The VF 247 Solar Powered phone, priced at 1,500 rupees (US$32), should be available in stores next month.
It needs eight hours of direct sunlight to be fully charged and can support more than eight days of use on standby and four hours of talk time.
It also comes with an electronic charger, an FM radio and a powerful torch light.
Vodafone Essar, a leading wireless provider in India, is a unit of Vodafone Group PLC. - AP
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http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/28/business/20100728074023&sec=business
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