While everyone else announces SmartThis and SmartThat and X1's and 1X's and all other forms of X, the more interesting announcements at CES tend to be things you have to look harder for. One of those: Liquipel. Update: there's more than one, and the relationship between them (competitors, licensing?) is unknown. The other is HzO, a Utah-based company, whose product is WaterBlock.
Liquipel is a nano-coating agent, and you can get it today for a number of smart phones (iPhone, for example). But I suspect we're going to see manufacturers who don't have to be hit over the head with this new technology to appreciate what it might do. Like underwater cameras without housings, or at least cameras that can function in rain without concern.
Okay, maybe we do have to hit the camera makers over the head, can someone please hand me a bat? This seems like a no-brainer for high-end equipment, and it can be integrated into manufacturing. Would I pay a few dollars more for a camera more impervious to water? Absolutely. More than a few dollars, actually. SWINGS BAT. SWINGS BAT AGAIN. "Hello, anyone there?"
Love their tag line, by the way: wet and wired. Just don't mispell the last word ;~).