Samsung India launched the first solar powered cellphone

Samsung India has just announced the global launch of their first solar-powered mobile phone, the “Solar Guru” (Guru E1107) in the Indian market. The new handset enables its users to charge the battery anywhere via sunlight.



Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Minister for New and Renewable Energy and J. S. Shin, President and CEO, Samsung South West Asia HQ launched the phone at a ceremony organized by the company at its manufacturing complex at Noida. “The Solar Guru has been developed keeping in mind the needs of Indian consumers, especially customers residing in areas where the electric supply is unstable, so that the consumers can rely on solar charging to remain connected.” states and J. S. Shin, President & CEO, Samsung South West Asia Headquarters. The Solar Guru represents the Company’s efforts to strengthen its leadership in the solar panel mobile market.



With an extended solar-powered battery, the Samsung Solar Guru solves the problem of unavailable or unstable electric supply, particularly in far flung areas. The phone has the capacity to provide around 5-10 minutes of talk time with one hour of solar charging (Measured when the phone is turned-off under the sun light of 80,000 Lux. Results can be different depending on circumstances). Moreover, the solar panel charging allows its users to save money and energy consumption on traditional electrical charging.

Apart from India, Solar Guru will also be launched in June in Europe, Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia and Latin America.

It will go for just Rs. 2,799 ($59).

11 Sites to Make Money Selling Old Gadgets

As technology becomes a larger part of our lives, we find ourselves casting aside our old gadgets in favor of new ones. As a result, cell phones, PDAs, and GPS units end up in a junk drawer. But they don’t have to end up there. Here are 11 sites where you can trade your old - and sometimes dead - gadgets in for actual money, gift cards, and even charitable donations to your favorite causes.

With the holidays coming up, could there be a better time than now to make some money while also helping out the environment?

What’s residing in your dead gadget drawer? Are you going to be trading anything in?

BestBuyTradeIn.com - Electronics superstore Best Buy will allow you to trade in a wide range of products in exchange for gift cards you can spend with their company.

BuyMyTronics.com - BuyMyTronics will buy your gadgets from you whether they work or not. Of course, you get paid more the better their condition, but they will even take the broken ones. Can pay by PayPal or check.

Costco Trade-In and Recycle Program - In addition to taking gadgets like iPods, Costco will also accept desktops, laptops, fax machines, printers and more. Payment is in the form of Costco gift cards and can take up to four weeks to process.

EZTradein.com - EZTradein powers some of the biggest trade-in programs out there, or you can just simply go directly to the source. Payment can be made via check, PayPal or a Best Buy gift card.

Gazelle.com - Besides the smaller gadgets, Gazelle will take external hard drives, GPS devices, satellite radios, Blu-ray movies and more. If your item isn’t listed, you can contact them for a personalized quote. Payment can be made via Amazon gift card, checks, PayPal or you can even opt to have the funds donated to one of the charities they work with.

MyBoneYard.com - MyBoneYard takes desktops, laptops, flat panel monitors, MP3 players and cell phones with more items to be added soon. Payment is by Visa prepaid cards.

NextWorth.com - NextWorth takes iPods and iPhones, and pays you by check, Amazon gift card or in-store credit when you trade the device in at one of their retail partners.

RadioShack.cexchange.com - RadioShack, one of the oldest electronics dealers around, will let you trade in your old gadgets, games, consoles and more, and offers gift cards you can spend at their stores.

Sam’s Club - The wholesale club arm of the Walmart corporation will trade your electronics for gift cards for their company.

Toshiba - Toshiba will take in numerous items such as laptops, camcorders, PDAs and so on, paying you by check and sometimes throwing in an extra item like a $25 gift card to Starbucks.

VenJuvo.com - VenJuvo will take all of the usual major items like game systems, HDTVs, laptops and so on, and then you can choose to be paid by check, PayPal or donate the funds to a charity.

160GB PS3 and PSP coming in October

Details on the new PlayStation 3 have been revealed officially by Sony today. Among the announcements was the crucial release date of 31st October 2008. This launch date is for Europe only, it will hit the streets in the US in November. We could see the new 160GB PS3 coming to India only in 2009.

The new technology in the PS3 includes the wireless keypad which enables you to type on it.

On the other hand the new PlayStationPortable will come with a built-in microphone and an anti-reflective screen.

"Consumers also are utilising PS3 as an entertainment hub for their digital media, placing content such as their entire music collection on the hard drive," said Jack Tretton who is the head of the America Sony gaming division.

The 160 GB PS3 will cost about 450 Euros, and close to $500 in the USA. The PSP will be launched at an introductory price of $200.