LG HFB-500 Solar-Powered Car Kit Review

Jul 6, 2010 by Shivendu Madhava

A wireless speakerphone for your car that syncs up to your mobile phone and runs on solar energy

Have you ever been puzzled looking at drivers in our cities talking on cell phones while they zoomed past? It is not the danger factor that astounds us (although that is a concern — kids, don’t try this at home), but rather the fact that they can actually multitask enough to have one hand dedicated to holding a mobile phone while navigating through all that insane traffic.

While Bluetooth or corded headsets are a good alternative, wireless car kits have been around for some time now. LG’s foray into the field, though, not only gets the job done, but also helps save the environment while at it.

Introduced at Consumer Electronics Show 2009, the HFB-500 is a solar-powered car speakerphone that syncs up to your mobile phone via Bluetooth. For the initial run, you will have to charge the device through your car’s plug; but once you switch it on, you can simply keep it near your dashboard or hook it up in its plastic case to your windshield.

You see, the back of the gadget is flush with photovoltaic cells. In a country like ours, there is no lack of sunshine even in the monsoon, so it will harness solar energy quite efficiently.

Once the device is paired with your cell phone, you can use it to answer your calls while driving. The built-in speakers are quite loud, and the embedded microphone picks up the user’s voice with extreme clarity. Still, if the sound of your engine is draining out the caller, you can always adjust the volume of the device with the manual keys on the side.

The battery life is quite long, as the company claims two hours of solar charging will give you one hour of talk-time, with a maximum of 16 hours. Indeed, this should suffice even the most talkative user.

And just because it is an LG device does not mean it supports only the company’s products. The HFB-500 gives you free reign to use any mobile phone that is equipped with Bluetooth.

LG has yet to bring the device to our shores, but the grey market, as usual, is way ahead of them. However, if you are going to ask someone from the US to pick this up for you, it will save you about Rs 1,000-1,500.

Product: LG HFB-500

Price: $99 (Rs 5,000 approx – official US price)