May 21st, 2009

NTT DoCoMo announced the “HT-03A,” the first mobile phone that employed the “Android“. Android, developed by Google, is a platform intended for mobile phone handsets. The HT-03A mobile phone was developed by High Tech Computer Corp (HTC) in Taiwan.

HTC is a Taiwanese manufacturer, but they hope that Japanese makers will develop Android-based mobile phones said Ryuji Yamada, president of NTT DoCoMo. The HT03A comes with “iWinn IME” as Japanese input software, has 113 x 56 x 14mm in size and weighs about 123g, a 3.2-inch display and a 3.2-Mpixel camera. This mobile phone supports 7.2-Mbps data communication, wireless LAN (IEEE802.11b/g), GPS and the Bluetooth.

Kyocera Corp will launch Polycrystalline Si solar cells for use in solar panel which is intended as an option for the new Prius, which Toyota Motor Corp announced on May 18, 2009.

The solar panel consists of 36 cells that are arranged in six rows and six columns. Each cell is half the size of the standard 15 x 15cm cell. With a cell conversion efficiency of 16.5%, the maximum output of the entire panel reaches fifty-odd watts.

The portions where three bus bars are believed to exist were covered with a black component, whereas the electricity generated by the solar cells directly drives the ventilation fan.

Japan’s car manufacturer Toyota preferred to use a polycrystalline Si solar cell for it was less expensive than other solar cells. Toyota said there were no special problems in using the solar cell. For instance, even when the new Prius was running on an undulant terrain, which vibrated the car, the solar cells were not cracked or detached, the company said. The solar cell has durability required for automobiles.

But it is difficult to depress a solar panel whose surface is covered with glass, so the frontal projected area of the Prius with the solar panel is larger than that of the standard model. Besides, there is no significant difference in air resistance between the Pagoda roof and the solar panel moonroof.