A patent filing reveals that Apple is researching solar power for its mobile devices. MacRumors was found that the Mac maker is seeking new ways of extending battery life by capturing solar energy through photovoltaic cells embedded in gadgets.

Apple is not alone in this endeavor, as Motorola has also explored this area with a patent filing a few years back. The problem lies in the fact that solar panels take space, which is usually unavailable on the ever-shrinking gadgets. A solution is to use the back of the device to mount a solar panel, but it's quite clear that the efficiency is quite low as the back is rarely exposed to powerful light.

The front is usually taken up by a large display nowadays. Apple is pondering the insertion of solar cells into the display (actually behind it). It remains to be seen whether the idea will ever be used in mass produced iPods, iPhones or Mac laptops.

There are several solar phone and laptop chargers on the market, but no succesful implementation so far of a solar panel in the actual device. A separate charger creates significant incovenience to the user, and the better ones cost in the hundreds of dollars.