I’m not sure about you, but I could most certainly use a more efficient cell phone. It could be my “Sexy Back” ringtone that’s causing it to shut down repeatedly or my repeated use of the LCD as a flashlight. Either way, I’m hooked to the grid more often that I’d like to be.

It’s with great anticipation then that I look to Motorola’s future plans to incorporate solar technology with cell phones. The company was awarded a patent this past week for an LCD panel that will not only display a color image, but also produce energy with integrated photovoltaic cells. Of course, this isn’t the first time something of this nature has been attempted; but past results have been less than successful because of the way current LCD panels absorb light. From the article,

Motorola engineer, Zili Li, recently proposed building the LCD with special filters made from a polymer film that reflects narrow bands of the light spectrum. This allows a sufficient amount of light to pass through the screen to the solar panel, while still providing an adequate color picture on the mobile’s LCD.

While you won’t be able to take this phone out into the wilderness and expect it to remain self-sufficient, this tech will increase the battery life, resulting is less charges. Besides, if you need additional clean green power, you could always check out some of the cool products to assist you that we’ve profiled on GO in the past.

We’re still waiting for solar panels that are integrated onto the back of cell phones. Think of all that wasted real estate! As Amy pointed out here, there’s plenty of potential on the table, but nothing commercially viable as of yet. One thing’s for certain — all of this news regarding the integration of solar cells can only mean a more efficient future for these accessories that “we can’t live without”. Low battery be damned!

Hit the jump for more information.

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