During one of my recent mall visits, I came across this banner showing a Samsung Mobile Phone with built-in small solar panels, the Samsung Guru E1107.

So I asked the sales lady if I can see one of the units and she gladly obliged. I asked her how much it costs and she gave me a figure between of less than P3,000.00.

Though it has a high tech built in device, the Samsung Guru is a low end or should I say, basic phone. But what it has most specially the solar charging and other cool features are enough to cover for the price.

• Automatically sends SMS to a specific number set in advance when mobile is lost or stolen and the SIM card is replaced
• Send emergency SOS messages to pre-designated contacts.
• Fake call feature sets off a ringbones so users can pretend they have an incoming call.
• 1 hour of solar charging provides 5 ~ 10 minutes talk time.

Complete specs below:

2G Network: GSM 900 / 1800

Dimensions: 105.2 x 44.2 x 16.4 mm

DISPLAY Type: CSTN, 65K colors

Weight: 77 g

Size: 128 x 128 pixels, 1.52 inches

Alert types: Vibration; Downloadable polyphonic, MP3 ringtones

Speakerphone: Yes

Phonebook: Yes, up to 500 entries

Call records: 30 dialed, 30 received, 30 missed calls

Messaging: SMS

Browser: WAP 2.0/xHTML

Radio: FM radio

Games: Yes

Colors: Black

Others:

- Flashlight
- Organizer
- Voice memo
- T9
- Mobile Tracker

BATTERY: Standard battery, Li-Ion 800 mAh

Stand-by: Up to 570 h

Talk time: Up to 8 h

Solar cell battery, 1 h charging – Talk time 10 min

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Specifications from GSM Arena.

Cool huh? Just to remind everyone, the solar charging will only help provide quick power and won’t replace the conventional mobile phone charging and chargers.