Solar Screens May Make Phone Chargers Obsolete

[n2doc]

By Charlie Sorrel March 23, 2011 | 9:06 am | Categories: R&D and Inventions


How would you like to have a cellphone that never needed to be charged? That’s the promise of French company Wysips, which wants to turn your phone’s screen into a solar charger.

It works like this: a transparent photovoltaic film covers the screen of your device, and provides 250mW of power to trickle-charge the battery. The film is thin — just 100 microns or 0.1mm — and won’t dim the screen when incorporated into the LCD panel. Wysips says the film will typically add just a dollar to the cost of a phone, and hopes to have shipping units within a year.

The beauty of the design is that it scales. The bigger the screen of a device, the bigger the solar panel. A typical phone will be fully charged in six hours, and the second-gen version will give you a half-hour’s worth of power with just one hour of charging.

The real winner here will be ebooks. These typically sip power anyway, and have pretty big screens. While you may still have to plug in an iPad to charge it at night, a Kindle with Wysips’ tech in its screen would likely never, ever need to be charged, especially as you can only read it when there’s enough light to do so.
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/03/solar-screens-may-make-phone-chargers-obsolete/

[tridim]

1. Everyone leave your iPads outside in the sun. Yay!

Sorry, but this is an awful idea. Just make the panel remote.

[n2doc]

2. I have a solar powered calc that never sees the sun, works fine

Perhaps these devices could work well enough on office/house light?

And...This would be a terrific option for those of us who do field work away from regular power sources, or on hikes.

[NV Whino]

3. So if my phone is folded or closed or in the holster

it still gets charged? I see some gaping holes in this technology at the present time.

[Skink]

4. But I always charge it at night.

[byronius]

5. This is absolutely a great thing. I don't get the lukewarm response.

Especially as it's supplementary power. WTF?

[krispos42]

6. It will be useful in certain circumstances, and harmless otherwise

Especially on long car drives, when people often leave their phones in a cupholder or storage nook of some kind. One less charger plugged into the car's electrical system, one less wire to play with.

Imagine... an iPod that never needs to be plugged in!

[diane in sf]

7. I have an Eco Drive Citizen watch that works like this--it has to see light every 6 months

I never have to buy it a battery.

[Cleita]

8. I have a hand calculator that dates back to the

eighties that runs on solar power. It never needs batteries. It was given to my husband, an architect, by another architect from China. Said calculator was made in China and was sent to him by relatives. I don't think it ever retailed here. I still use it and have often wondered why we couldn't power cell phones and laptops with that kind of technology.