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Monday, 02 June 2008 |
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Apple applies for LCD-based solar-power patent…
Referring to MacRumours’ breaking of the story last week that Apple was planning to introduce solar-powered mobile devices, the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) suggests that the online newsletter simply checked patent records and found that Apple had applied to patent a technique for ‘integration of solar panels behind the LCD screen of a portable device’. This, says CIPA, would solve the problem of there being no free surface space on mobile phones to put a solar panel.
“The way the media has unearthed this story shows how useful it can be to monitor patent applications,” offers Nicholas Fox, a patent attorney and CIPA spokesperson. “Not only does patent information provide news stories for the media, it also gives companies an insight into what competitors may be planning. Research engineers can also often save themselves a lot of work by checking what has already been patented. It can often be more cost-effective to pay for a licence to use technology that has already been developed, rather than try and develop it yourself.”
Meantime, in other iPhone-related developments (although, of course, if successful, the solar power innovation could drive iPods and laptops too) speculation is turning into near certainty that next week’s Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco will see the launch of a 3G version of the terminal, possibly along with an improved (not solar) power system and an OLED screen. And back in rumour/speculation city are reports that a WiMAX version of the iPhone is in the works.
In a piece of not-iPhone news the first would-be competitive mobile phones using the Google-initiated Android software stack are now apparently set to be launched sometime in the next six months.
John Williamson
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