China’s solar industry is sucking wind, but that doesn’t mean solar isn’t a good idea. ZTE agrees, and is peddling a new solar-powered handset called the Coral-200. And it’s only forty bucks. That’s much cheaper than what Samsung’s solar-powered Blue Earth will likely go for, but the Coral’s not as pretty – and that’s being diplomatic. Anyway, tree huggers and reformed SUV owners should love it, and with all that sun in Africa, it’s a good offering for one of ZTE’s most important markets.

Check out ecogeek.com for a wrap-up on the Coral. ZTE’s PR statement is here.

Check out the Coral and the Blue Earth below. (LG is also supposed to making a solar phone, but it's not out yet.) Incidentally, ZTE is making the phones for Digicel Group, which has also been selling solar chargers for cell phones. It's not yet clear whether ZTE will sell the Coral-200 under its brand. Probably not. Since Digicel has been selling Coral-branded phones for awhile, I suspect ZTE is simply serving as a manufacturing partner, as it does for 95 percent of its phones.

The Coral ...




Samsung's Blue Earth ...