Samsung India announced the global launch of its solar-powered mobile phone, Solar Guru (Guru E1107) which is considered to be world’s such phone.

“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,” said J S Shin President and CEO Samsung West Asia.

Samsung claims that the handset has a capacity to provide 5-10 minutes of talk time when charged for an hour.

The model is priced at Rs 2,799 in India.

“With Samsung’s cutting edge technology and consumer-oriented strategy, I believe the Solar Guru is the perfect fit for the Indian consumer – not only because it is solar powered, but because it has a host of customized features , especially developed keeping in mind the needs of Indian consumers” said Sunil Dutt, Country Head, Samsung Mobile Division.

Other features include FM radio, MP3 ring tones, embedded games, torch light, mobile tracker and mobile player.

Solar power is increasingly gaining importance in the scheme of things for telecommunication industry. Earlier in the week TelecomTiger reported how a Finland-based firm, Suntrica has come with a solar powered mobile charger.