What if your next cellphone could heal minor scratches and scuffs all by itself? Well, then you’re probably somewhere in Japan. NTT DoCoMo has announced that it will be using Nissan’s “Scratch Shield” paint, which was developed for cars, in future mobile phones. The high-tech coating apparently “self-heals fine scratches” when exposed to sunlight, repairing minor to moderate scratches on a handset’s exterior.
We bathe our cars in mineral-free water, slather them in exotic waxes and synthetic sealers and generally baby them throughout their lives. Our cellphones, however, take a beating every single day. They get tossed into a purses filled with keys and nail clippers, pushed into already crowded pant pockets, dropped on concrete – it’s no wonder people around the world spend billions a year to protect their devices. The “Scratch Shield” clear coat protects mobile phones from scratches by automatically repairing them. Depending on the severity of the scratch, healing time can range from overnight to several days. But, there’s a catch, if the scratch goes deeper than the clear coat, the scratch won’t heal on its own.
It’s good to see NTT DoCoMo bringing this technology to the mobile space. Unfortunately, there are no plan to ship handsets coated in “Scratch Shield” paint anywhere outside Japanese borders. That might be reason enough to move to the island nation.
[Via: core77]