Apple has filed a new patent – known as Solar cells on portable devices. Clearly, they hope to integrate them into small devices, such as iPods and iPhones. Judging by what the application says, Apple wants to cover the device in question in a layer of solar cells. Should this come to fruition, it would certainly extend battery life to no end, especially on devices using 3G and Wi-Fi.

However, it is not all good news, there are a few challenges to be had – limited space for the solar panels, effectively wasting the space on portable devices. Perhaps most interestingly, is putting the solar panels behind the screen – the panel would take in ambient light, which passes through the screen, potentially eliminating any additional energy that solar panels tend to use.