Liquipel and HZO provide waterproofing for your gadgets
Both Liquipel and HZO showed off their waterproofing products at CES this past week. Both submerged treated iPhones in water. HZO used a fish tank and Liquipel used a casserole dish and sprayer. The iPhones continued to work in both instances. So how soon can you get your phone/mp3 player waterproofed? Depends on which technique you choose.
HZO has said that their technology is so expensive that it is pitching its product to manufacturers. The company says that they would have to charge so much to waterproof individual devices that it isn’t practical. Instead the company wants device manufacturers to have their products treated and then sell them. HZO’s treatment would be an added feature and because the treatment would be used on large quantities of devices, the cost per device would be negligible.
On the other hand Liquipel will waterproof your device in one to three days depending on how much you want to spend. If you need your phone back immediately, you can pay $69 and they will treat your phone within one to two hours of receiving it and ship it back to you. Fifty-nine dollars will have your phone treated within one to two days of receiving it and then it will be shipped back. Seventy-nine dollars will get you treatment within one to three days of receipt and Gadget Protective Film that will scratch proof your device similar to Zagg’s InvisibleSHIELD. So far, there is a limited list of devices they will treat.
Both HZO and Liquipel are nano coatings that are applied to devices to prevent accidental water damage. Neither company recommends that you go swimming or surfing with your treated device. The coatings are supposed to guard against the most typical causes of water damage such as dropping your phone in a sink, toilet or puddle. It should also guard against spilled liquids. It does not, however guard against stupidity like dunking your phone in your drink to show off its waterproof coating.
Liquipel doesn’t say much about its technology other than it is a nano coating. There isn’t any mention of how it is applied. HZO’s coating is applied through a vacuum deposition process. Should you want to waterproof your current device, you can use Liquipel’s service. In the future we may see devices that are already waterproofed using HZO’s process.
Either way, it is nice to know that expensive gadgets can be saved from damage from accidental water exposure.
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