Chinese firm claims world's 1st solar cell phone

A Chinese company has claimed to have developed the world's first mobile phone that uses solar energy to recharge itself.

Hi-Tech Wealth, a well-known telecommunication product supplier in China, says a scale-like solar panel, on the top side of the clamshell-designed phone, can also be recharged by light from other sources including candles.

It can provide 40 minutes of talk-time after sitting in the sun for an hour.

The company says it has developed the most advanced solar power technology and owns eight patents and has applied for numerous others.

Many companies around the world are working on similar mobile phones but their products are still at the experimental stage, Xinhua news agency quoted a company official as saying.

"With more than 400 million mobile phones in the country, China would save a great amount of electricity if all of its mobile phones were recharged by light," chairman of Hi-Tech Wealth, Zhang Zhengyu said.

He claimed that the lifespan of the battery in the new phone is 2.5 times longer that traditional batteries. The cost of the solar-powered mobile phone was, however, not disclosed.

The company plans to put six of its light energy mobile phones on the market this year, and another 30 next year, the report said.