Design blog Tuvie.com has some images of a solar-powered notebook prototype that raises the question of just how unwieldy any gadget dependent on solar panels for power will have to be.

While we've all seen compact handheld solar chargers such as the well-known Solio, it's important to remember that when it comes to solar, the size of the charger is directly proportional to the amount of juice it can deliver.

In Nikoladesign's solar laptop prototype, we see that the solar panel required to generate enough power to get a serious computer running is about as big as the computer itself. It's a sort of third flap that folds out like an awning from the top of the screen -- clumsy for sure, but could come in handy for outdoor research types who find themselves in the middle of nowhere with the need to stay in touch via the Internet access, satellite phone, and GPS system that are part of the prototype design.

Luckily, the solar panel can be detached and charged separately while the notebook runs off an internal battery. That would seem to be a necessary component of any solar notebook design, since as things stand today, the solar panel itself will make any portable PC a whole lot less portable.