CES: This iPhone case can heal itself when it gets scratched
Nissan’s breakthrough coating could keep your gadgets looking brand new for years.
CES 2012 has officially wrapped up, and there’s one type of product that’s never in short supply at the Vegas convention: iPhone cases. From the bizarre to the truly useful, CES vendors offer something for everyone.
Some of the accessories come from unexpected sources — like Nissan, for example. Better known for their innovations in the automotive space, Nissan was on hand showing off a potential use for one of their technologies that’s a bit more pocketable: a self-healing iPhone case.
The Scratch Shield case utilizes paint technology that was developed back in 2005 as part of a cooperative endeavour with the University of Tokyo and Advanced Softmaterials, Inc. It’s currently utilized on the Nissan Murano, 370Z, and X-Trail, as well as the company’s Inifinti line-up. When a scratch occurs, the coating’s chemical structure reacts by gradually returning to its original shape.
But why stop at body panels for cars and SUVs that can mend their own minor blemishes? And where would something like this be hotter than on a reasonably-priced aftermarket case for your smartphone?
According to Nissan, the iPhone 4 and 4S compatible case can repair minor scratches in about an hour, while deeper scratches may take up to a week to fully heal. There are plenty of cases that look great when you buy them, but as time goes on they invariably lose their luster as the battle scars accumulate. With the Nissan case, it should always look as good as it does the first time you fasten it to your phone.
The next step, of course, is to start building gadgets that use Nissan’s high-tech finish. Japan’s NTT Docomo is already working on their Style Series phones, but pretty much any device with a plastic exterior could benefit.
For now, Nissan has produced a limited number of cases that it’s putting in the hands of journalists, reviewers, and other beta testers. If the demand is strong — and it almost certainly will be — they’ll begin producing the Scratch Shield case for retail sale later in 2012.
What do you think, Sync readers? Sound like the kind of technology you’d like to see on your next gadget? iPhone owners, would you buy one of these cases?
I think that apple ought to make products durable enough that you don’t need to pay extra in order to protect them from the rigors of day to day use.
Dan White
Very true, but it just how they make their money. Things are made to break. Its sad but true, if people legitimately their made products tough then nothing would break and no one would need to buy new ones. I’m sure lots of people miss the days when things we’re built to last, not to break.
They dont need to, everybody wants their own style and look thats why people buy all the different cases for thier phones. Why spend a lot of extra to protect something when the consumer is willing todo it and with the millions of different styles available Apply could possible supply
With the battery life of the new
Apple 4S, I would really like to see a case for the phone with extra battery and boost built into the case. The battery in the new 4S is the worst I have ever seen.
Muriel, I bought my first iPhone in October of last year, the 4S, and I really have to disagree with your comment, my iPhone 4S’s battery is very, very, very, very good. To save battery life you just need to turn off all the apps you don’t need, disable Siri, lower your brightness, turn off Wi-FI, turn off cellular roaming, and charge it every day which I always do. I use my iPhone a lot for talking, surfing the internet on Safari, and my battery life rarely goes below 90 percent.
That’s crap…. You shouldn’t have to turn all the features off to make it through the day on a charge.
Scratches doesn’t mean the phone is broken, just that maybe you dropped it, or scratched it with your ring when it was in your pocket. Things get scratched all the time. I think this is a very useful case and if the price is right, I’d buy one. I have an iPhone, and I also know that I’m very hard on my devices, BUT for the 3+ years I’ve had an iPhone it has never broken. That’s not what I can say about my other phones I’ve had. This technology is also great for other applications. What about windshields or eyeglasses? I say start small, see if it actually works well for consumer use then see what else your an develop with it!
Never seen a bteter post! ICOCBW
I think it`s a great idea as any number of things can scratch your iphone no matter how you try to avoid it and while I try to adhere to my mother`s old word that `If you don`t take care of it (whatever it is) it will turn into something else.` Something like this can help to a degree to prolong the good look of your phone.