US company to launch powerful solar charges for electric poor south African and other countries

Many countries in the world suffer from the lack of widespread electricity. I know of several missionaries who carried small solar-powered chargers that powered their iPod so they could play some music for an hour or two in the evening. A day-long charge only yielded that amount of power.

World Panel 500 used at a school to attract parent helpers – they get phone charged for free!

With the availability of cellular communications in some remote areas with 2G, 3G and 4G cell towers fed by satellite connections, the problem for the people in South Africa and other areas is the lack of electricity. In fact, some businesses have sprung up that are using generators and collect money for a one-time charge for a cell phone. Depending on the availability and demand solar chargers for cell phones and other small electronic devices are sold with pricing ranging from $24 (U.S.) to over $200, which is beyond what the majority of the people can afford.

The people at World Panel have developed a high-power solar charger that will be sold for a nominal cost by the cellular providers in the remote areas.  Their World Panel 500 and 1000 phone chargers will be revealed at AfricaCom in the next few days (November 12th through the 14th of November. This marketing strategy it to give the providers branding on the rechargers and increased revenue. They are betting that the longer the cell phone can remain charged, the greater number of minutes they will be able to bill.

A proliferation of these affordable, portable solar charging stations can also be a great thing for the environment. It could even help charging businesses serve more customers and reduce the emissions from gasoline-powered generators. The World Panel 1000 can charge two devices at the same time. Furthermore, the World Panels can even operate when wet or under water!

World Panel claims their solar charging technology can charge a phone just as fast as a traditional wall charger. Surprisingly, a test showed the World Panel 500 actually charged the phone faster.

source: www.greenpacks.org

African launch for 'underwater' solar cell phone chargers

Electricity shortages in Africa have prompted US entrepreneurs to create a cheap solar powered cell phone and tablet charger that can power up devices while even being underwater.

Dubbed the ‘World Panel’ and developed by a US company of the same name, the solar charging device range is planned to be launched at the 2013 AfricaCom conference in Cape Town, South Africa being held November 12 to 14.

The company’s chief executive officer John Anderson says World Panel has specifically designed the solar products to target African feature phone, smartphone and tablet users with a plan to launch the chargers to market in early 2014.

Two portable solar chargers are expected to be unveiled at AfricaCom: the World Panel 500 and World Panel 1000. The WP-500 solar charger can charge up to six or more phones per day, while the WP-1000 has a capacity for 10 or more devices per day, says World Panel.

Using 'direct-from-the-sun' technology to charge a mobile device, a World Panel video illustrates how the device can draw more power than even a wall socket connected to the electricity grid. The video even shows how the World Panel charger, while underwater, can continue charging mobile devices.

The bid to launch the World Panel products in Africa comes at a time when the continent is becoming increasingly dependent on mobile phones, while also largely lacking access to sufficient electricity supplies required to charge these devices.

Africa is the second largest mobile phone market in the world with over 700 million network subscriptions, says the GSMA.

But according to the World Bank, only 24% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa has access to electricity while 25 countries on the continent are facing an electricity crisis, evidenced by chronic rolling blackouts.

As a result, small cellphone charging station businesses have sprung up across Africa that specialise in charging multiple devices.

Also, solar chargers for mobile devices are already sold in countries such as South Africa and Ghana, with prices ranging between R250 to thousands of rands.

But World Panel has told ITWeb Africa that its solar chargers are planned to be ‘affordable’ for Africans.

“Telecom providers will price our units in an attractive range for their subscribers since a charging solution will ultimately boost their average revenue per user (ARPU) if phone batteries are dead less frequently,” Cheryl Gordon, co-founder and marketing director at World Panel, told ITWeb Africa.

source: www.itwebafrica.com