Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
Breakfast of runners-up.

idea: add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random

meta: news, help, about, links, report a problem

account: browse anonymously, or get an account and write.

user:
pass:
register,


             

Please log in.
Before you can vote, you need to register. Please log in or create an account.

Light Sensitive Cell Phone

not solar-powered...
  (+7)
(+7)
  [vote for,
against]

One of the biggest drains of your cell phone battery (other than making and receiving calls of course) is the illumination of the screen and keypad.

Most screens are pretty much invisible without the backlight, UNLESS you're in direct sunllight or very near a bright artificial light.

Add a light sensor near the earpiece and whenever the phone deems it's in bright enough light to be easily seen, it kills the backlight, thus saving battery power. If you decide you want the light on, this feature is easily bypassed, either from within the phone's menus or by holding the phone with your thumb over the sensor.

This would also be useful for PDAs I guess...

kmlabs, Jan 06 2005

[link]






       Not one single anno?   

       Oo, you guys know how to hurt a man!
kmlabs, Jan 18 2005
  

       How about another light sensor that could tell whether the phone was pressed to your ear, and turn the backlight off?
david_scothern, Jan 18 2005
  

       Modern phone screens are quite advanced by now, they have been optimised for backlighting and don't work well without it even in bright light (as you will find out if your backlight goes). It's still a good idea, but you'll probably have to modify the screen design a little.
wagster, Jan 18 2005
  

       My phone reacts to light. But unlike the idea, the phone adds a dot screen onto the display in direct sunlight. It makes the entire LCD almost black. I'm not kidding.   

       It may also turn the backlight off when it does its blackout thing. But how could I tell?
Amos Kito, Jan 18 2005
  

       If there aren't any phones with a transflective screen yet, I'm sure there will be soon. My phone is a cheapie and it's useable without the backlight, under very specific conditions.   

       [Amos Kito], could you elaborate?
tiromancer, Jan 18 2005
  

       My Nokia 6682 has a light sensor. Turns the backlight on and off, and even dims it for certain situations. Works like a charm. Baked.
joshuahankins, Jul 05 2006
  
      
[annotate]
  


 

back: main index

business  computer  culture  fashion  food  halfbakery  home  other  product  public  science  sport  vehicle