Apple dreams of a solar-powered ... iPhone?

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Each iPhone debut causes a stir, but just imagine the buzz if the iPhone 5 came out with a solar-powered touch screen.

And Apple Inc. just might pull it off. According to a patent filed in late 2008, recently unearthed by the Patently Apple blog and dissected by Good Clean Tech, the company is looking into technology that would integrate solar cells under the surfaces of the smart phones, and also iPods and iPads.

And the glass casing found on iPhone 4 might allow for double-sided solar panels, which would help the phone soak up the sun’s rays from the front and back.

-- Tiffany Hsu