Could the next Apple and Samsung phones be waterproof?

These days smartphones can do everything from showcase live TV to incredibly accurate GPS systems, yet accidentally drop one in the toilet and it's game over. Or maybe not.

Though water damage can sometimes be alleviated by shoving your phone in a plastic-wrapped bowl of rice (trust us, it works), one US company has a better idea.

Better still, HZO's invention of coating that applies to circuit boards and screens inside phones to protect from water damage are attracting interest from Samsung and Apple.

We showed the Samsung Chairman the technology with a Samsung Galaxy S that we had coated with HZO and he couldn't believe his eyes,' a company spokesman told tech portal Pocket-Lint, 'Samsung is really excited by the tech.

"We expect HZO to be in next season's phones," added the company. The 'WaterBlock' technology is applied by HZO during the manufacturing process and thus would be invisible to smartphone owners.

Even if HZO don't feature in the next generation of Samsung and Apple devices, the company is planning to release its own custom iPhones later this year.