A Russian company has released a gold-plated iPhone with a dedicated solar battery retailing at more than US$4,000.
Customised by Russian accessory manufacturer Caviar, the iPhone X Tesla features a solar panel on the back.
While Caviar planned to release only 99 phones, a pre-order boom subsequently boosted the figure to 999 units.
Caviar has gifted the first phone from its limited release to Elon Musk, Tesla’s founder.
According to Caviar, the phone was inspired by three men of science: Nikola Tesla, Steve Jobs and Elon Musk.
Musk’s phone is engraved with the words ‘Made on Earth by Humans’. These are the words printed on the circuit board of the Tesla Roadster launched into space by Elon Musk’s company SpaceX earlier this year.
Flexible phone powered by sun or bright light
Rather than selling a stand-alone case, the company has fixed the solar casing to the body of the phone.
Because the Tesla iPhone has an inbuilt solar battery, the battery harnesses energy fed by the solar panel to charge the phone.
According to Caviar, the phone can be charged using either the sun or a bright lamp. This important development allows the phone to charge when the sun isn’t shining. It features:
- Carbon base
- Solar battery charge indicator
- Shock-resistant solar panel
- A thick protective case
Because the iPhone X Tesla casing is so bulky, the camera bump on the phone’s back is recessed inside the case.
It will also set you back. The 64 GB model costs around US$4,064 while the 256 GB retails for $4,847.
Mobile with dedicated solar battery kicks technology along
Caviar’s innovative solar powered phone is the latest and most ambitious model in the short history of solar mobile devices.
Despite several attempts at solar powered mobile technology over the last decade, all available models have struggled to produce enough talk time.
The relatively small size of a mobile phone’s back cover also presents the biggest problem. Even though mobiles have increased in size, battery size remains limited.
That’s why it’s still a great idea to charge your mobile at home using solar panels which capture the sun’s rays using energy storage batteries like Tesla Powerwall.
