Liquid glass’ promises to protect your phone from bumps and scratches

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.

2018 Jaguar F-Pace: A New Turbo Four and a Portfolio : The beast

For those with bigger budgets who wish the F-Pace smelled more like a Range Rover, there’s the also-new-for-2018 Portfolio trim level. The softer, extra-pleated Windsor leather seats with 22-way adjustment and winged headrests are exclusive to the Portfolio, which only comes with the F-Pace’s 340-hp V-6. Otherwise, the Portfolio is a Prestige loaded up with three option packages, head-up display, gloss ebony veneer, and 20-inch wheels. Jaguar expects a limited showing, as it’s only offered in Yulong White with Sienna Tan upholstery and, at $64,195 to start, is now the most expensive F-Pace in the lineup, topping even the more powerful F-Pace S.

With a twin-scroll turbocharger, variable valve timing and lift, a new direct fuel-injection system, and an exhaust manifold integrated with the cylinder head, the Ingenium engine is claimed to return greater efficiency and faster warmups. (EPA fuel economy estimates for the F-Pace equipped with the new engine are forthcoming.)



The turbo four’s 247 horsepower and 269 pound-feet of torque are up 7 horsepower and 18 lb-ft over the now defunct Ford engine, and Jaguar claims it can punt the F-Pace to 60 mph in 6.4 seconds. For reference, the last F-Pace S we tested was a six-cylinder, 380-hp S, and it did that deed in 5.1 seconds; we’ve yet to test the 180-hp diesel or a non-S V-6 model. We’ll confirm Jag’s numbers in our own testing, but the four-cylinder’s performance is probably peachy for Jaguar buyers who prefer discounts over power.

Automotive and Tech. updates : February

 Ferrari 812 Superfast Claims 211 MPH, Even More Insane V-12 Power

For its 70th birthday, Ferrari is once again resurrecting the Superfast name, first seen on the 4.9 Superfast that was the quickest car we tested in the 1950s. Then as now, Ferrari’s most powerful 12-cylinder engine resides in this new 812 Superfast, a hairier evolution of the extreme F12tdf introduced for 2016.
Ferrari bored out its naturally aspirated 6.3-liter V-12 to 6.5 liters and fitted a new 5076-psi direct-injection system for just shy of 800 horsepower (the 8 in the name is a reference to the car’s 800 metric horsepower)—call it 789 in American.


He intake tracts to maximize airflow, the new V-12 achieves that lofty power output at 8500 rpm, along with 530 lb-ft of torque at 7000 rpm. That equals the LaFerrari’s power and bests its 516 lb-ft. It also beats the F12tdf’s 769 ponies and 520 lb-ft. Lest a turbocharged 488GTB enter the debate, a full 80 percent of the Superfast’s torque is available at 3500 rpm. Ferrari claims a zero-to-62-mph time of 2.9 seconds, a top speed of 211 mph, and upon request will cite more figures no other front-engined production car could hope to match.

Honda Shows Off an Acura NSX–Inspired Outboard Motor



Honda, of course, doesn’t just make automobiles and motorcycles. Need a lawnmower? Soichiro’s crew has you covered. How about a snowblower? Ditto. That mill for your go-fast boat? But of course! In the spirit of unifying its disparate product lines, Honda has ginned up an outboard with a design inspired by the Acura NSX, set to go on display at the Miami International Boat Show. Because of course Honda did.

Called—inventively—the Honda Marine Concept Engine, the flashy outboard draws its Nouvelle Blue Pearl paint straight from the NSX’s palette, and Honda would like you to note that the heat ducts’ black honeycomb mesh also hints at the hybrid supercar. The “floating winged blade” also pulls its inspiration from Honda’s halo car, and the company says the radical new design points to “a bolder, more distinctive future for Honda Marine.” Whatever the ultimate fate of this design language in the waterborne realm, it’s certainly a far cry from Dad’s old pull-start Evinrude. In fact, it looks a little like some sort of protocol droid with rage issues. An Evil ASIMO, perhaps?


Wild Revealed : Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Off-Roader Priced from $40,995

he 2017 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 may be smaller and less powerful than the half-ton Ford F-150 Raptor, but these facts are unlikely to deter consumers (and automotive publications) from thinking together about the two off-road-oriented pickups. Priced at $40,995, the Colorado ZR2 undercuts the hulking Raptor’s base price by $9160. Those more interested in an apples-to-apples comparison can pit the ZR2 against the $41,930 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro instead.

Like the Tacoma TRD Pro, the ZR2 relies on underhood hardware from lesser lineup mates. A 308-hp 3.6-liter V-6 engine is standard fare, while a 186-hp 2.8-liter turbocharged diesel four-cylinder engine is optional. Additional add-ons include a premium sound system, a sweet bed-mounted spare-tire carrier, and a full-length vinyl floor in place of the standard carpet that can be added at no cost.

LIGHTNING MOTORCYCLES WORKING ON ELECTRIC BIKE THAT COULD GO 500 MILES PER CHARGE

Electric vehicles like the ones Lightning Motorcycles produces need to go farther on a single charge if they want to become a more dependable option for drivers.

Each year, as people work to become less dependent on fossil fuels, the number of all-electric vehicles increases. However, limited range prevents electric vehicles from completely replacing gas-powered ones. Richard Hatfield, head of Lightning Motorcycles, wants to change everything by creating the first all-electric motorcycle that can travel 500 miles on a single charge.

Lightning Motorcycles built its first electric sport bike in 2006 and has been breaking records since. Three years after its first bike, the company broke the world land-speed record for an electric-powered bike. In 2013, the company won Pikes Peak, a 12-mile race climbing almost 5,000 feet. Completing the 500-mile drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles in a single charge is the next record Lightning has in its sights.

Currently, Tesla holds the record for the longest electric vehicle range among commercially available motorcycles and cars. At an Environmental protection Agency rating of 315 miles, Tesla wouldn’t be able to make the drive. Even a gasoline bike maxes out around 320 miles in one tank. Still, Hatfield has faith. “We see ourselves as following in the footsteps of Tesla, and accomplishing the San Francisco-to-Los Angeles run would show that range anxiety is becoming a thing of the past,”

To help him get there, Hatfield turned to the Battery Innovation Center in Indiana. This nonprofit works with industry leaders, universities, and government agencies to quickly develop, test, and commercialize batteries. In order to make it to the market, batteries need to be safe, reliable, and lightweight. “We work with companies like Lightning to pair them with cutting-edge energy storage makers to make things like the 500-mile ride possible,” said David Roberts, the company’s president. “We think that with the technology as it stands, right now, the ride is entirely achievable.”

Getting batteries to that point will not be easy, but it’s necessary if vehicles continue looking for greener power sources.