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Iphone 4 May Be Able To Solar Charge Itself

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xxchefxx

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 7, 2008
87
2
just seen this on another forum what do you think?

Apple has a patent for "Integrated touch sensor and solar panel stack-up" Patent No. 20100079387 applied in 2008.

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2010/0079387.html

Thats why the back of the phone is now glass!

Thats why even the accessory Apple is offering is a bumper for around the edge of the phone.Back stays open for the solar panel!

Probably has solar panel in the front somewhere too.

Thats why Apple formally asked FCC to keep details of the iphone 4 secret for 45 days.

Makes perfect sense.
 
Apple would probably have announced this in the WWDC if the iPhone 4 had this capacity. Keep it for the next iPhone generation.
 
You're totally right! And the led light is actually a laser gun and the flat front heats up as a hotel hot plate for small meals. :p
 
Not my words also but very valid points.

Keynote didnt reveal every single tech spec. Like the ram is 512mb wasnt mentioned in the keynote.

There's no reason to have a glass back.It just makes the phone more fragile. A plastic back is much cheaper to produce than a glass back.Apple would keep more money if they stuck with their plastic back.They opted for glass.

Apple already has the patent for an integrated touch screen solar panel.It all falls together perfectly.

What an incredible iphone it would be to always have a trickle charge! Solves the problem of always carting around a charger.
 
The reason there is a glass back is because the plastic scratches, chips, and skuffs easier than the glass on the front of the iPhone. They figure if they put that glass on the back as well, it's harder to damage the phone. Believe it or not, that "glass" is very strong.
 
xxchefxx said:
Keynote didnt reveal every single tech spec. Like the ram is 512mb wasnt mentioned in the keynote.
Click to expand...
The keynote is carefully orchestrated to touch on things that are of CONSUMER interest. Tech specs are intimidating. That means an A4 processor is touted for its battery saving characteristics and speed rather than touting GHz. Likewise, RAM on a phone is only of geek and developer interest, and so Apple only talks about that to their developers.
There's no reason to have a glass back.
Click to expand...
Apple is selling the value as scratch resistance.
Apple already has the patent for an integrated touch screen solar panel.It all falls together perfectly.
Click to expand...
Apple has a ton of patents for stuff you probably won't see in your lifetime. It's a cool idea that certainly fits well with the iPhone; however, bottom line is if it's of consumer interest it would have been brought up in the keynote.

The keynote is a marketing tool, and hiding stuff like this would do the business a disservice.
 
Is the glass scratch resistant to keys?

That is how my iPhone 3G is scratched up-- in my pocket with keys.
Not big scratches, but scratches nonetheless.

I refuse to cover up the iPhone with an ugly case or cover.

Naked only baby---
 
Um, sorry dude. There's no solar panel. Go use your iPhone outside for a few straight hours and then make sure you come back here and let us know how that worked out for you.

However, that being said, I am guessing that the new iPhone doubles as an automobile. I mean, with all that glass, there's no reason it couldn't. I think you'll need to download the new driving app from the app store however. I hear it runs around $30,000 though.
 
If the entire back surface was a solar panel it would still take forever to charge. Solar cells as they are today are incredibly inefficient. Maybe someday but not today.
 
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