Apple has got us used to innovations and brilliant design in all of their products, being them hardware of software. By wanting to stay on the trendy wave of being green (and possibly wanting to make a difference), Apple has filed a patent of a solar powered iPhone. But it’s not the usual solar panel they dream of.
The solar iPhone that Apple conceived is having a solar panel embedded behind the screen. The device itself looks the same, but the way it charges is in tone with the company’s taste for design. Recent news from Apple show that they have already switched the iPhone backside substrate to a non-metal surface, which can easily lead to a solar panel embedded behind it.
I wonder how this is going to cope with the fact that LCD displays are sensitive to intense sunlight. Will Apple also patent some sun-proof screen?
[via patentlyapple.com/cultofmac]
I believe they have owned this patent for a long time. They’re always thinking ahead in terms of technology. I wonder if this idea would be to sell an extension that would put the solar panel on your current Iphone or it would be the big secret of the iPhone 5. Mystery.
Boy this would sure be a useful selling feature for a phone! No more dead batteries. Very cool premise if Apple pursues it. I think more and more consumer appliances are seeing how integrated energy generation will be the future of the industry. As the technology of solar continues to drop, PV materials have a huge advantage at towards powering our electronic device driven society.
-Consumer Energy Alliance
“A balanced approach towards America’s energy future”