Intivation newsfeed

Vodafone India launches VF247 solar mobile phone

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:06:00 +0200

Today the UK chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne (seen here with Vodafone Essar CEO Marten Pieters) has done the honours of officially launching the VF247 solar powered handset in the Indian market during a visit to Vodafone Essar in Mumbai. As part of an official visit of Britain's top government officials to India on a mission to strengthen economic ties, Mr. Osbourne also delivered a speech about his vision for a new economic partnership. He sees this particular handset, that was developed by Vodafone, ZTE, and Intivation, as a great example of the British-Indian partnership:

I’m very pleased to help launch Vodafone’s new solar powered handset. It’s the new UK-India economic partnership in action. The handset will get more people connected, paying less and doing their bit for the environment.

Marten Pieters, CEO of Vodafone Essar, mentioned:

Reflecting a strong commitment to the Indian market, Vodafone continues to launch affordable products and services to cater to the differentiated needs of consumers. Vodafone’s solar powered phone is launched for people residing in areas where electric supply is unstable, so that consumers can rely on solar charging to remain connected. This launch is likely to enable more people in rural India to go mobile and thus increase penetration from the current 20%. We will continue to invest to uplift the quality of telecom services and products in India.

More information can be found in the NYTimes, Huffinton Post, Teleguru, Economic Times, and Telecom Talk. All information about the handset is here.

Another satisfied customer!

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:24:00 +0200

Here is another of the interviews with solar handset users, produced in cooperation with the Voices of Africa Media foundation. In this particular issue, business man Paul Mwiti Mureithi explains why he's been a fan of the ZTE S312 handset for over 8 months.

Vimeo

Umeox V206 for sale in Germany

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 10:30:00 +0200

German retailer Pearl has launched the Umeox V206 in their latest catalogue of offers, giving German and Swiss consumers this great device at an amazing prices. Pearl.de writes:

Das geniale Outdoor-Handy für alle, die Freiheit und Unabhängigkeit lieben. Die Freiheit, nicht mehr länger auf Ihr Handy aufpassen zu müssen. Und die Unabhängigkeit von einer anderen Stromquelle als der Sonne.

Here is a screenshot from the latest catalogue:

Intivation Gives Boost to Solar-Powered Phones

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 11:22:00 +0200

Our newest partner Umeox has recently announced their first product using Intivation technology, the V206 ruggedized solar phone. We're very please with this device, which brings embedded solar technology to a new segment in the mobile phone market. Coinciding with this announcement, the story was picked up by VentureBeat and the New York Times:

Chinese mobile phone manufacturer Umeox just introduced one of its latest models, the V206, with little fanfare at the MEDPI tradeshow in Monaco. But the V206 is no ordinary phone; it’s a low-cost, ruggedized and waterproof handset powered entirely by sunlight. The V206 is just one of a new generation of low cost, solar-powered phones that use technology from Dutch company Intivation. Intivation’s SunBoost chip makes it practical and cost-effective to charge small devices like mobile phones via the sun. While the trend for mobile phones in developed countries is towards more expensive and power-hungry handsets, 1.6 billion people in the developing world don’t have access to a regular electricity supply. Not only is the electricity grid in many emerging markets unreliable, it’s also expensive, with consumers spending 15-20% of their incomes on it. If there is no local power, phone owners have to walk to the nearest town or pay inflated prices to a mobile charging vendor to charge their phone. According to Intivation, allowing customers to charge their phones from the sun boosts ARPU (revenue per customer) by 10-15% in semi-rural areas

For the full article click here. This article was published in the NewYork Times on June 2, 2010.

The Globe and Mail blogs about the future of Africa

Mon, 17 May 2010 16:04:00 +0200

Co-founder of project diaspora TMS Ruges writes a positive blog about the future of Africa and the 'Cheetah generation.' Some quotes from the article:

By the end of 2011, the entire continent of Africa will be connected to no fewer than nine undersea broadband cable initiatives. Africa will have access to over 17 terabytes of designed broadband capacity. If mainframes and punchcards served as the innovation catapult for Silicon Valley’s cheetah generation, then connectivity is poised to be Africa’s innovation catalyst. If I were to leave you with a bit of advice, I would say, keep a very close eye on Africa’s young population, that 450 million number growing up with a mobile phone in their back pocket. Better yet, you better start calling them and finding out what the hottest innovation is for your investment dollar. Even better still, get down here as fast as you can and double down on a few innovators. I’ve got a few in my address book. For the full article click here.

BBC News reports: Kenyan farmer lauds internet as saviour of potato crop

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:36:00 +0100

A BBC news story about the importance of the internet in rural invironment. Acces to the web can make such a big difference in the lives of many. Unfortunable for lots of people it is to expensive. Maybe mobile divices on solar-energy can make a difference. A quote from the article:

Zack is growing tree seedlings on his farm in Seregeya near Eldoret, Kenya, and has managed to triple the price he gets for them thanks to the internet. Not long ago it also helped him discover a cure for his dying potato crop. "I cycled 10km to the local cyber cafe, Googled "potato disease" and discovered that ants were eating the potato stems. "I checked again online and found that one of the solutions was to sprinkle wood ash on the crop." A few mouse clicks later he was able to find a local buyer for his rescued crop. "I am now seeing the practicality of the internet here in rural Kenya. The problem is I am the only one. "That is why the noticeboard is important. All we need is a bit of relevant information to help us. "Once it is made simpler and is more in the local language with more local content, people are going to access the internet here," he predicts. Read the full article here.

Intivation on Earthtechling

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:38:00 +0100

Intivation’s SunBoost technology, utilized in its Solar Egg portable charger, allows the Egg to reach just over 90 percent battery charge after only four hours of exposure to average sunlight. If such technology proved a boon to those who use portable devices often enough to require multiple charges a week, why not incorporate it into a mobile device as well? The ZTE S316 Solar Phone is a byproduct of that very idea. Incorporating the SunBoost on a small chip found within the phone, the “low-cost solar handset has everything you need and nothing you don’t. Color screen, GSM, SMS, LED torch and FM/AM radio,” according to Intivation. The propensity of cell phones to get bumped, scraped, and bashed while tucked away in pockets and backpacks provides no impediment to the S316’s functionality, as the body has been engineered for durability in addition to being environmentally friendly. read full article here

Intivation on engadget.com

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:16:00 +0100

Let's be honest, we'd scorch the Earth to eke just one more hour of power from our superphones. Fortunately, as residents of the western world we've got plenty of juice to power all of our gadgets. Still, we can definitely see the attraction of a solar-powered cellphone meant for the peoples of developing nations living off the grid. Throw in a flashlight and you've just changed somebody's life. That's what we've got in the ZTE S316, a dead simple candybar with color display and torch. Also announced is the S101 charger with its own built-in flashlight that can be used to charge select, non-solar devices and costs just $12 to $13, maybe less on volume. The third solar device comes from China's OKWAP and is built by Inventec. The $40 GS109 feature phone is destined, believe it or not, to be an object of ultimate desire when slung from the neck on a lanyard as proof of ones prosperity. Spec-wise, this dual-SIM solar-powered phone packs a video camera, color display, microSD slot, MP3 player, and even Bluetooth 2.1 -- a lot of features for a solar phone.

Read full article here

Intivation on webuser,the best of the web

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:01:00 +0100

A quote from the article:

Intivation yesterday unveiled its second solar powered phone with ZTE, the S316 Solar Phone, along with a high performance solar charger, the Solar Egg, built by XPAL. The ZTE phone follows the company's first solar powered phone, the ZTE S312 launched in 2009, which was particularly aimed at the African market. The S316 incorporates a torch, a vital necessity in areas with uncertain power supplies. The stand alone universal Solar Egg S101 charger is designed to work in sub-optimal weather conditions. It can reach over 90% battery charge in four hours of exposure during average charging conditions. Paul Naastepad, CEO of Intivation, told Mobile: 'Our key technological breakthrough has been to increase the power going to a battery to such an extent that it has allowed a lot more consumer devices to be run efficiently on solar power.' The company is to launch three solar powered phones and three universal chargers in 2010. Intivation's SunBoost technology is put on a chip and then sold to mobile phone manufacturers. The company then helps manufacturers design and make the phone. Over half a million of its chips have been sold so far via 11 operators in eight countries.

[DUTCH] Intivation op bright.nl

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:53:00 +0100

Een citaat uit het artikel:

Het Amsterdamse Intivation heeft speciale techniek in huis die het opladen met zonnecellen flink verbetert ten opzichte van oudere generaties. Vooral bij bewolkt weer laden de zonnecellen van Intivation relatief stukken sneller op. Sinds juni zijn mobieltjes met Intivations zonnecellen te koop in Afrika, de Caribben en Latijns Amerika. Inmiddels zijn er een half miljoen verkocht, meldt het bedrijf op Mobile World Congress. Deze goedkope solartelefoontjes zijn alleen bedoeld voor landen waar zonnecellen ook echt opladen via het normale stroomnet moeten vervangen. Zo is het bedrijf actief in tien Afrikaanse landen. Daar is niet overal electriciteit voor handen. In Nederland zijn de zonneceltoestellen niet te koop. Wij moeten het hier doen met Samsungs Blue Earth met een mindere solartechniek. Maar daar komt verandering in. Twee fabrikanten gaan ook opladers met Intivations techniek verkopen in de westerse wereld. XPal komt met de Solar Egg, die 90 procent van de ingebouwde accu (500 Ma) kan opladen in 4 uur in gemiddelde weersomstandigheden. De Solar Egg is ovaal en heeft maar liefst 50 cm2 aan zonnepaneel. De oplader is later dit jaar in de hele wereld te koop. XPal belooft je aansluitingen voor elk type mobieltje. De Xpal is vrij groot en is dan ook bedoeld om met een haakje vast te maken aan je rugtas.

Het volledige artikel leest u hier.