Docomo SH-08A Solar Hybrid Phone [SH-08A Solar Assisted, Waterproof Solar Assisted Handset]

Docomo of Japan have introduced a new phone in their STYLE Series, namely the Docomo SH-08A Solar Hybrid Phone, which apart from being waterproof comes with integrated solar panel which, whilst not especially effective (see below) at least offers end users a degree of free, green tinged power.

Measuring in at 109 x 50 x 17.3mm and weighing 140g, the Docomo SH-08A Solar Hybrid Phone comes with a 3″ 480 x 854 resolution 16M color display supplemented by a 0.8″ secondary (outer) display and dual cameras consisting of a primary 8 megapixel camera with autofocus and face detection and a secondary 0.4MP resolution camera to allow for video calling and, whilst Docomo’s spec sheet is rather lacking in terms of information we can additionally confirm that whilst internal memory is unknown the SH-08A does offer microSD memory card support.

As far as the Docomo SH-08A Solar Hybrid Phone’s waterproofing is concerned the device can, according to Docomo’s press release, withstand a dunking to depths of 1 meter for up to 30 minutes which, whilst hardly spectacular, should mean that the device will at least offer accidental water damage protection should you drop it in the bath, a pint of beer or, somewhat more crucially, use it in a rainstorm.

The undoubted star of the show, however, is the SH-08A’s rather prominent front mounted solar panel which is sure to underpin your green credentials though, in practice, it’s effectiveness is rather limited with 10 minutes of charging in bright sunlight resulting in around one minute of carbon-free talktime. Still, as easy as it would be to criticise its effectiveness ‘in the field’ we for one welcome any handset that embraces carbon-free energy regardless (it’s another step in the right direction and, in that respect, it should be broadly welcomed).

That said, should you find that the SH-08A hasn’t quite managed to entirely charge itself from the Sun’s rays – notably Docomo don’t actually stipulate how long it would take to fully charge the device from the solar panel alone – you can of course just plug the phone into a mains outlet – something you’ll undoubtedly need to do rather more than you’d like to, we suspect.

On that note we should add that the Samsung E1107 Crest Solar phone, which also offers end users the ability to harness the sun’s rays for some carbon-free power, manages to offer between 5 and 10 minutes of talktime based on an hour’s charging from its integrated solar panel so, all said and done, there’s really not all that much to chose between them in terms of solar panel effectiveness.

The Docomo SH-08A Solar Hybrid Phone is set to release in Japan from September though, at this juncture, Docomo remain tight-lipped concerning unit pricing.