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Nearly one in 10 Brits 'fess to shower phone faux pas

And other daft ways to destroy a mobile

MWC 2012 Promoting its waterproofing spray, Oxford-based P2i has polled punters on the soggy environments to which their phones are exposed and expectations on their survival.

Three per cent of the thousand respondents regularly share a sauna with their phone, and expect it to work afterwards, but it's the eight per cent who take a handset into the shower who seem to be taking the piss - possessing cavernous bathrooms or enormous optimism, or a bit of both.

88 per cent of us take a phone to the pub (we're assuming the rest don't get out much), but despite that alcohol accounts for only just over eight per cent of liquid-related incidents.

That's in the UK - Americans seem more slap-handed with their drinks, which account for 12 per cent of reported incidents, or perhaps the American preference for inherently unstable bottles is to blame.

P2i's point is that users like to be able to take their phones everywhere, and are genuinely surprised when they're told that a single drop of rain (in the right place) can render their pride and joy into an astoundingly expensive door wedge.

P2i happens to have the perfect solution for manufacturers wanting to meet those needs. Motorola Mobility has been an early customer, with both the Droid RAZR and Xoom tablet sporting the biz's coating, making them splash-proof if not actually submersible.

Waterproof gadgets have always been around, initially funded by the military which has the budget to demand electronics at least as robust as the chap holding them. P2i's coating was developed by the UK Ministry of Defence, then taken private when the potential was realised.

Digital cameras and MP3 players are now routinely waterproof, and mobile phones are catching up. Companies like Sonim will continue to make kit certified to work at depth, but most of us would be happy to know our phones will survive a spilled pint or a rainy-day call. ®

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