Bright ideas for green cell phone technology

Green cell phones seem to be the rage among manufacturers these days with phones like Sprint’s Reclaim hitting the market. But how can cell phone users and service providers go green in other ways than offering online manuals or an emerald paint job? One answer may clean or green energy.

Kenya has seen an explosion of cell phone use with an almost 9,000% jump in cell phone ownership since 2000. Many have no electricity in their homes and travel to charging stations miles away to juice up their phones. Jeremiah Murimi and Pascal Katana found a solution by looking at the habits of Kenyans. They built a green “Smart Charger” for bikes, a common form of transportation in rural areas. Bikes sold in Kenya have a mechanism to power the back light through the rear wheel. The charger attaches to the mechanism and can fully power a cell phone in an hour of riding. Charging stations nail patrons $2 per visit while the Smart Charger costs $4.50. They are still looking to mass market the green charger with the backing of Kenya’s National Council for Science and Technology.

Over in California, Helix Wind announced their Don Quixote-esque plans to attach wind turbines to two cell phone towers early next year. They are partnering with Core Communication and tower company Vertical Green to see if their test could result in the first grid-connected cell phones site powered by wind energy. If their gamble works green energy could provide the power for an entire cell phone network. Helix’s plan doesn’t stop there, though. Cell towers in Southern California are already taxed because of the data they process from wireless broadband. At least one thousand new towers will be put up in the coming years to meet demand. If enough towers adopt their green energy plan in power hungry California, owners could sell the excess energy back to the grid for a profit.

Helix and the Smart Charger are examples of green cell phone technology that don’t involve cutesy cell phone graphics of birds or grass. That cash should be used in expanding the limited functions of green phones and and existing cell phone technology. Consumers want a responsibly made phone and the green based infrastructure to back it up.