LG has announced that it has developed a solar panel for a Sony e-book reader. The chip is less that 1 mm thick, 10cm wide and 10cm long and weighs 20 grams and will be on show at the International Meeting on Information Display (IMID) in Seoul. The question is whether eInk devices that already have a long battery life need a solar panel. Will it result in obviating the need to ever recharge the battery and to claim the ultimate green credentials. However, we wondered whether it could prove useful for the iPhone that is constantly in need of recharging.
LG claim that 4 to 5 hours exposure to sunlight would be sufficient to run the e-book reader for 24 hours. The prototype is 9.6% efficient and LG expect to increase this to 12% in the next 12 months and then to 14% by 2012 when it is envisaged that it it would be ready for commercialization.
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