Nokia Building Superhydrophobic (Waterproof) Phones

CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom – Nokia is on the verge of releasing Lumia Windows Phones equipped with superhydrophopic technology, which is able to shield them from water, stains and dust damage.

The coating making this defence possible was developed by Nokia in its research center in Cambridge and is based on nanotechnology.

The basic idea is taken from the natural properties of the lotus leaves to remain dry under the rain. Based on this, Nokia scientists developed a coating that is with properties similar to Teflon coating, but with an extra ability to keep a lair of air between the electronic parts and the contact surface. This way, all the parts of a mobile phone withstand even direct contact with water and benefit of better stain and dust resistance. The technology is applicable only on the insides of a phone as the coating is not tough enough to be put on the outsides of a phone.

Nokia is planning to deploy the superhydrophopic coating on all upcoming high-end mobile phones of the company.