Editor’s note: Since this article’s publication, IndieGoGo has flagged ProtectPax’s crowdfunding campaign for review. We suggest holding off on pre-ordering for the time being.
If you’re the type that worries about wayward car keys or nail files scratching your pricey smartphone’s screen, fret no more. ProtectPax, a new project on IndieGoGo, is a self-described “liquid glass” protector that claims to strengthen any display.
It sounds almost too good to be true. ProtectPax’s crowdfunding page describes it as a “nano protector” pioneered by titans in the aviation and aerospace industries. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles in the gel fill microscopic valleys on your smartphone’s screen, effectively reinforcing it against bumps and bruises.
“It’s as hard as sapphire or ruby and acts like an optical filter,” the ProtectPax team says. “Your screen [will be] more uniform than when it left the factory.”
Applying it is relatively easy, apparently. All you need do is wipe your smartphone’s screen dry, rub ProtectPax across the surface with an included sealing cloth, and wait ten minutes until the gloss turns “shiny.” Once that’s done, the screen’s ostensibly protected from scratches, cracks, and even falls.
ProtectPax ranks 9H on Mohs Hardness Scale, which is higher than a knife blade and steel file. It lasts up to 365 days, and as an added bonus, it protects against electromagnetic radiation and improves touchscreen functionality.
ProtectPax claims it’s good for more than smartphones, too. The team’s tested it with all manner of devices, including smart watches, regular watches, eyeglasses, TV screens, GPS navigation systems, laptops, eBook readers, and digital cameras.
The idea of a liquid screen protector just as effective as tempered glass may be difficult to wrap your mind around, but ProtectPax isn’t the first. Kristall, a liquid protector from Malaysian company E-Mark Global trade, shields screens with a layer nano-particle coating that gives screens a gloss finish, makes them a great deal less prone to fingerprints, smudges, and greasy smears, and protects them against objects up to 9H.
In a demonstration at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, an intrepid Digital Trends reporter saw a Kristall-smeared phone successfully deflect scratches from scissors and keys. Assuming ProtectPax measures up to the competition, it will provide a welcome alternative to the annoying glass and polymer shields that require you squeeze every last air bubble out from beneath the protectors’ surface.
Packs of ProtectPax start at $40.
