By E.B. Boyd

With older cell phone models rapidly filling our landfills, researchers are now finding new ways to recycle cell phones and build biodegradable phones with everything from chicken feathers to lasagna!

Could you be addicted your cell phone? Could you cope without it? If you have a mobile phone, is it a constant companion?

Problem: You're boarding an airplane, dashing onto a bus, or hiking off the grid and your cell battery conks out or your iPod runs out of juice. Solution: Reach for your Solio – a cool new portable solar-powered charger that can collect the energy of the sun and transfer it directly into your hand-held devices.

Compatible with major brands of mobile phones, PDAs, digital cameras, and music and game players, the Solio has three photovoltaic strips that fan out like a flower to expand surface area when soaking up the sun. When folded up, the charger fits in the palm of your hand.