Waterproofing gadgets
The days of cheap flip phones are now over and we have become accustomed to spending hundreds of dollars for the tiny portable computers that we call smartphones. The most common type of damage devices receive is water damage which tends to be one of the only conditions under which an insurance plan on a device is invalid – just try dropping your EVO into the toilet and explaining to Sprint why your phone should be replaced. You’ll get radio silence.
Rather than installing a bulky case around your device to protect it from the rain, lake or toilet, Liquipel is a new technology that protects your gadgets with a nano coating that they say is 1,000 times thinner than a human hair and is undetectable to the eye, but what separates this technology is that you send in your device to be coated outside and inside as demonstrated in the video below.
Liquipel covers the interior circuit boards and components to protect it from the water. In the fine print, the company encourages you not to submerge your device and that it is (despite their tagline) protection against water, making a device water resistant but not necessarily water proof. Despite the small print, they demonstrate over and over again expensive devices in wet conditions that function perfectly after the demo.
Currently, Liquipel is available for the Apple iPhone 4, (and 4S, 3G/s), HTC Evo 4G (and Shift 4G, MyTouch 4G), HTC Thunderbolt, Motorola Droid X/X2, and the Samsung Charge. We anticipate the company will protect other devices in short order.
The price starts at $59 and costs $10 more for a rush order and another $10 for Gadget Film which protects from scratches. Users send in their device to be coated and it is sent back – currently, ground shipping is free as part of their Grand Opening promotion.
Liquipel looks to be helpful for users that live in a rainy region or work around water (home repair professionals, boaters, etc.) but is especially helpful as a precautionary measure to save your phone from the drama of water.
