by Saleem Khan, CBC News Online

Earth Day was yesterday, which is particularly appropriate in light of news that the prospect of thin, lightweight, (and likely flexible) displays that could do double duty as solar cells is inching closer to reality.

As we noted in a news story last week, researchers are working to make OLED technology commercially viable for use as devices that range from display screens through to solar cells.

This week gadget blog CrunchGear pointed us to a PatentMonkey post that suggests Motorola could make the technology available sooner rather than later if they can bring the cost down.

Suddenly, the iPhone's all-screen design doesn't seem so silly.

Of course, as our earlier article notes, the benefits of commercializing OLEDs could extend beyond devices the way we traditionally think of them to clothing that employs the thin displays.

For those who can't wait that long, there's always the T-Equalizer, or our favourite: the Pong T.