Apple Seeks Patent for Solar-Powered Mobile Devices

Solar-powered Apple devices may be on the horizon, according to patent filings by the Cupertino-based company. The patent suggests that Apple may contemplate integrating a layer of solar cells underneath a device's liquid crystal display, possibly used in iPhones, iPods or MacBooks. Apple products, such as the iPhone, have screens that are exceptionally large for portable devices. According to the patent, the solar panel would be stacked behind the LCD display, absorbing light rays that pass through the display.

It won't be the first time a company tried to integrate solar capabilities into a phone. Motorola received a patent, filed in 2001, for LCDs that allow more light to pass through than previous designs. Other approaches, said the Motorola patent, had resulted in small amounts of power being generated that only added incremental boosts to power-hungry cell phones.

Motorola said technical problems were noted by the limited area for solar-panel surfaces, the durability of the panels, and other issues. Traditionally, only six percent of light rays passed through due to the reflective nature of LCDs. Its new ways increased the pass-through to 75 percent.

Some small devices such as wristwatches or calculators are solar-powered, noted Michael Gartenberg, JupiterResearch analyst. The potential has only recently emerged for larger portable devices to be energized by the sun. One possibility, he suggested, was that solar power, at least in the short term, could be employed for short-term recharging or in other supplementary ways, rather than as the exclusive power source.