Soon a session of reading in the backyard may serve a more practical purpose than just offering a relaxing afternoon. LG has debuted a prototype e-reader in the same vein as the Amazon Kindle, the Sony Reader, and the rumored Barnes and Noble e-book (which may feature color), but LG has taken the paperless idea of the e-readers a step greener by attaching a thin film solar cell to their e-book.

Attached opposite the e-book’s main screen, the credit card-thin, super lightweight solar panel soaks up sun and can provide an additional day of power if it receives 4-5 hours of sunlight (a bit tricky for winter reading in rainy and cloudy climates). A battery provides main power to the LG e-reader for conventional recharging and is backed up by the solar panel, which could theoretically support the e-reader for days with consistent solar charging.

The LG e-reader, while still in a prototype stage and unlikely to be available until 2012, could set a new standard in e-readers, which are already hailed for their eco-friendliness because of the reduced impact from not having to create and transport traditional paper books. If LG’s solar e-book proves successful, it could lead e-readers the way of calculators, one of the first devices to switch to full solar power successfully.

Before their e-reader enters the market, however, LG wants to improve the solar energy conversion rate and they’ll most likely work on improving the aesthetic of the solar cell panel (which isn’t so different from an open book cover, albeit slightly bleaker), as well as tackling the tricky issue of reading an electronic screen in direct sunlight.You can expect lots of other companies to begin work on similar e-readers in the meantime, though.

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