Untested Prototype Alert! We get skeptical around solar powered portable gadgets. The sad fact is, most gadgets spend their days in bags and pockets and, if they're portable, they rarely have enough surface area to create a significant amount of charge. But, as panels get more efficient, and gadgets get less power-hungry, it might, someday, be a possibility.

So we're bringing you this tiny prototype phone from Docomo. It's billed as a 'hybrid' solar phone which, I think we can assume, means that it's mostly reliant on being plugged into the wall. But that the solar panel might give you the extra two minutes of talking time you need if you're in a jam. On the whole, the prototype is very cool, with a fairly large color LCD and an unheard of form factor, but I think we're gonna have to wait for viable, self-contained solar power in a phone.

 

Via Treehugger and T3