Apple patent hints at solar iPhone

What’s your thoughts on Apple? It seems to be de rigeur for Mac users* to wander around in a haze of smugness and defending Apple as if it was one of their own children at any sign of criticism.

Now the fanboys have another reason to love the of purveyor all things white, plastic and overpriced: it looks like the Mac maker is going to start whacking solar panels all over its kit.

According to the sites that watch all things Apple, the company has filed a patent which hints that iPods and iPhones might be up for the solar treatment in the future.

Here’s the telltale snipped from the patent filing:

The present invention generally relates to various methods and systems for using solar cells with portable devices such as PDAs or digital media players. In particular, in embodiments of the present invention, solar cells are integrated into a portable device. The solar energy device (e.g., the plurality of solar cells) are an integral part of the enclosure of the portable device; for example, the solar energy device may be coupled, through a shock absorbing material, to the exterior enclosure such that the enclosure, with the solar energy device, may be separated from the internal electrical components (e.g., media processing system, storage device, and battery). According to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the devices have rechargeable batteries. The solar cells embedded into the device then provide the electrical power to charge the batteries. The power generated from the solar cell can also directly power the operations of the device.

*Greenbang is a self hating Apple user. Why? Charlie Brooker sums it up nicely here.