Apple has filed a patent for "integrating solar cells into portable devices by placing them underneath the layers of a touch-sensitive display," according to the IDG News Service. It certainly sounds like a promising application of solar energy. But is it really original? Not quite: Motorola received a patent of its own last year for "displays such as [LCDs], organic light-emitting diode displays, and touch sens Apple has filed a patent for “integrating solar cells into portable devices by placing them underneath the layers of a touch-sensitive display,” according to the IDG News Service. It certainly sounds like a promising application of solar energy. But is it really original? Not quite: Motorola received a patent of its own last year for “displays such as [LCDs], organic light-emitting diode displays, and touch sensitive displays are stacked with one or more solar cells.” (You can read Computerworld’s write-up about it here.)Now I’m no patent lawyer, but I don’t see the difference between the patent Motorola has and the one Apple is seeking. But it might prove to be a snag for Apple if it has plans to roll out an iPod with solar cells under the display. Of course, the notion of using solar power to charge a wireless device in general isn’t new either. At CeBit last year, Chinese company Hi-Tech Wealth unveiled a phone with a solar panel built into its flip side. That’s not quite as slick as having the solar cells in the display, of course — plus as far as I can tell, the HTW phone isn’t available in the U.S. Technology Industry