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If you’ve ever seen the HBO show Entourage, you might remember a scene where the four main characters were lounging in and around their pool. A call came in, and one of them tossed a cordless phone to the other — and both were in the pool. Apparently it was protected by a waterproof layer, which allowed them to even throw the phone directly into the pool. We’ve seen the same kind of technology applied to iPods, though we’re not sure how long they can last underwater before the pressure becomes too great and water starts leaking in. The same technology is now being developed for mobile phones.

Just so you can use your cell phone while showering, British military technology is being employed to protect phones from various levels of water immersion. This would have been useful for us about a month ago, when our phone vibrated off our nightstand and into a cup of water. How the cup of water got directly below our phone, we’ll never know.

“Mobile phones and MP3 players are too small to be fitted with seals to make them waterproof, so water inevitably can creep in,” explained Ian Robins, a development director at P2i. “By making the surface repel water, we have been able to take devices that fail the normal… shower tests, and make them pass.

“Obviously, how waterproof a device is depends on design, but we can ensure that water doesn’t seep through joins or small gaps. Some electronics companies want the individual components to be treated too, so they have a much greater level of protection.”

So this isn’t carte blanche to throw your phone around in the pool, a la Johnny Drama. However, it does mean that if you have an incident where you’re, say, thrown into a pool, you should be fine, provided you get right out. We also expect to receive a lot more text messages from people in the shower.

Water damage is one of the top reasons for insurance claims on mobiles, with more than 1.2 million being dropped in lavatories, drinks or put through washing machines last year.

This illustrates one of the problems people have with buying expensive phones — they’re so fragile. Adding this water-resistant technology will help consumers justify high cell phone prices. It’s one less way your phone can be destroyed.

[Telegraph]

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