Solar powered cell phone film - Bye, bye big batteries and so long outlets

(PhysOrg.com) -- Few things in this world can be more annoying than running out of battery. It seems like your cell phone has made the application of Murphy's Law its raison d'etre. It dies right before you are expecting that important call from a client. It dies the day that your kids are sick. It always seems to die when you have just left the spot that had an easily accessible outlet.

It looks like you are not the only person who has had that experience. Wysips, a French company, has developed a technology to charge your phone without an outlet, or a power mat. It is a solar charger. Of course, solar chargers aren't new, but most of them are clunky and external. This one can be built right into the phone. The charger is basically a few layers of a thin and transparent photovoltaic film that can be put on top of a phone's display to let it charge wherever there is light. You may be wondering how thin this film is? The current version is less than 100 microns.

The prototype version is a little bit rough, but Wysips is currently working with companies that produce mobile displays in order to integrate the thin layers of photovoltaic film into next generation phones. This technology could help to significantly decrease the battery related bulk of smart phone. This reporter, for one, would love to see solar charging film announced as a feature on the next generation of iPhones. No details about when, or on what phones, we can expect to see these charging films in the market.