The untiled phone, soon to be launched by device manufacturers AU (KDDI) and Sharp in Japan this June, will give beachgoers the perfect excuse to leave the charger at home. The solar powered phone is also an outdoor darling, perfect for hikers and camping.
According to Japanese news site Akihabaranews,10 minutes of direct sunlight will give you 1 whole minute of talk time, which doesn't sound like much until you realise it's probably just long enough to let the emergency services know where you are if you get happen to get stranded somewhere hot, where's there's (hopefully) plenty of sun.
The phone is also waterproof, making the solar-water resistant combo a world first, although we imagine that calling the phone 'waterproof' probably translates to 'splash-proof 'in technical speak.
Developing nations will likely see a solar powered mobile as a god-send, but solar powered cranks for mobiles have been out for years now and only cost a few dollars, so it's hard to see this phone taking off in any huge way.