Charge of the Light Brigade

Battery life technology is struggling to keep up with the pace of mobile technology in general.

We've got phones with GPS, 5 mp zooming cameras, sensors, graphical chips , NFC and the like as well as advanced mobile screens and mobile software (OS, applications like tv, video, web browsing etc..) requiring more powerful processing. These conspire to suck up the battery in the blink of an eye.

I end up charging my phone once a day and am used to doing it, but talking with other people, it seems most, ** expect ** their phone to last days without a charge and use the camera, write texts and bluetooth files around as well as make and receive calls in the normal manner.

Perhaps this is because we have had the earlier experience with our previous old mobiles (now considered basic) which lasted days without charge and were used for just calling and texting.

If we want people to use advanced features and services on their mobiles the battery life issue needs to be solved.

Whilst this problem is not new and all the handset manufacturers are busy working on solutions (it seems for years), Motorola recently announced a patent for solar recharging perpetually through the lcd screen so constantly topping up the charge.

Other previous solutions included the mobile casing itself having a solar panel on it or an external solar charger that can be attached through the pop-port or usb/mini-usb. By using the LCD screen itself would seem a neater solution ... if it actually works...