Waterproof Phones? It’s Possible

It happened to me when I was running a half marathon a couple years ago.  I’m sure it’s happened to you, too.  It’s honestly happened to everyone I know of who owns a phone.

You got it wet.  In my case, it got sweaty.  Then it got drenched when I forgot I had it secured on the strap of my tank top and threw a cup of water on my head to cool down during my mega run.  Yeah.  No more phone for me that day.

It’s so common that we all have our own handy solutions for fixing wet phones.  My favorite is to stick it in the freezer for five minutes.  Then use a hair dryer to blow out the moisture (it’s worked, I promise!).  Others say stick it in a bag of rice.

But some new technology may eliminate the need for solutions because it may eliminate the moisture issue once and for all.

The solution, scientific yet simple:  a nanocoating that wraps devices in an invisible armor.  Scientists say it’s only 1/1000th the thickness of a human hair and will save your phone with its protective barrier that repels liquids.  A couple companies are touting their products (P2i, HzO, and Liquipel).

Motorola is already using P2i to protect the Droid RAZR Android phone and XOOM 2 tablet. They say they are water repellant, a distinct difference from being waterproof.   But still, it’s progress.

This is the kind of technology that I can embrace.  I’m impressed.  Maybe I’ll even sign up for another half-marathon knowing I can safely bring the phone along again.

Yeah, maybe not.

But at least I won’t stress if it gets left out in the rain a minute or two.