Apple Evaluating Solar Cell Vendors

[Phillip Swanson]

According to Digitimes, Apple and Samsung are actively "evaluating" companies and in some cases even entering discussions with them about the use of their solar cell technologies in future products.

Apple has expressed interest in implementing solar cell technology into their consumer products before, a 2008 patent application even lays out a way to imbed the solar cells beneath a mobile devices screen. Even more recent was a patent that showed solar cells built into the surface of an iPod or other device and integrating a power management system to help compensate for changes in light.

It only seems natural that both of these companies would be researching the possibility, and even entering into discussions with solar cell companies, about purchasing their technology. The mobile tech world is one that lives and dies on batteries, and if solar cell technology can extend the life of my iPhone or iPad even a little bit, it'll be worth it.

Source: Digitimes [via MacRumors]

[The Man of Sand]

But if there's light out side then you turn up the brightness to kill the reflection, so wouldn't that just take power out of the solar cells energy addition and cancel out the increase in power?

[NakedFaerie]

This would be nice on the iPhone 4 as instead of the back being useless glass it could help recharge the battery.

[buttrr76]

This would be nice on the iPhone 4 as instead of the back being useless glass it could help recharge the battery.

did you read the article they are talking about putting the solar under the screen on a phone or on the surface of a iPod. plus i would rather have my phone facing up so i can see the screen as i have the phone on silent with vib off 75% of the time

[scottw03]

It sounds like it would be a good option to put under the bezel of the iPad. Use that area not only for someplace for your fingers to rest but for the added bonus of helping to recharge the iPad or provide addition power for features that us more power like wifi, 3G, screen brightness. This would reduce the power draw on the battery and increase the length the iPad would be able to run.

I get probably about 10 hrs out out of my iPad 2 with wifi on, streaming movies, and brightness of the screen about 50%. But imagine if the solar cells could extend the 10 hr battery to 15 hrs by reducing the power draw.