Sharp make the world’s first solar-powered, waterproof phone

You have to admire the Japanese. Not only are they one of the coolest nationalities on the planet, but they also make some of the most advanced gear ever seen by man. Playstation, Wii, Aibo, Nissan GT-R… All of them came from the land of the rising sun. However, they also have a penchant for making waterproof phones, for some reason (maybe they use the phone in the bath a lot?), and now Sharp have gone one step further, to create the world’s first solar-powered waterproof phone, according to Fast Company.

It seems as though the solar charger in it is a bit efficient, as well…

It’s being reported that just 10 minutes in the sun will give the phone enough juice for a minute-long call, or 2 hours of standby time. Now, granted, that ain’t gonna be enough to save someone’s life, but if you’re lounging on the beach, it’d be perfect.

Of course, being waterproof’s going to help there, although I’m at a loss as to how they waterproof it. It’s quite clearly not been rubberised or ruggedised, so maybe it’s some kind of nano-plasma-coating-type-thing. Either way, since it’s Japanese, you can guarantee it’ll be sci-fi.

Now the bad news… the chances of this appearing in the UK is about the same as me winning the Grand National, without a horse. Of course, we might not have much use for the solar-charging bit (although it was really sunny, today), but the waterproofing could be useful, given that our rainy season has lasted since about the 15th Century…

Aye, the Japanese seem to get all the good gear. It’s even rumoured that the sensors in their Cyber-Shot camera phones are better than ours. Well, at least until the Sony Ericsson Idou comes along. Then we’ll show ‘em who’s boss…