San Francisco - Apple is planning a solar-powered iPod, according to a report Tuesday about a patent application submitted by the company. The patent, which was unearthed by the Apple fan site MacRumors.com, describes an iPod with a solar panel under the LCD screen that could be used to provide additional power.
The company itself has not released any information about the
plans.
Technology experts said that Apple's iPhone would also be a good candidate for the new system since its large screen occupies virtually the entire front of the device.
The solar technology would require a new type of screen that would stack a touch-sensitive layer, a display and the photo-voltaic cell on top of each other, according to the patent application linked from the fan website.
This integrated design would allow the mobile device, be it a PDA or portable music player, to be charged from daylight without having a separate solar panel that needs to be plugged into it.
The patent application also describes using multiple solar cells coupled to specific electrical components within the device, including the data-processing system and the memory.
Other companies have already looked at the idea of using solar power to run mobile devices, but what makes Apple's idea unique is placing the collector panel under the screen, which allows a larger area to be used to gather the sun's power.
