Eco Factor: Sustainable cellphone for developing and underdeveloped nations.
Mobile network providers are trying their level best to connect even the most remote locations on the planet with the rest of the world. However, in places like rural Africa nine out of ten people don’t have access to electricity, which means that they’ve to get their cellphones charged in villages that either have access to the grid or have to use diesel generators for the same.
Industrial designer Andrew Williams has tried to solve the woes with a concept cellphone dubbed the “Communication for Rural Africa”. Unlike conventional cellphones, which are expensive, this concept doesn’t have a battery with reduces the cost by as much as 40 percent.
The cellphone is charged directly by an onboard solar panel. Moreover, this cellphone has a one button interface, which when pressed connects the user to a local operator who then connects the call to the desired party. This also eliminates the issue of remembering a lengthy, arbitrary phone number that really has no place in rural African culture.
Thanks: [Andrew Williams]
