Well-Suited

It is the ultimate El Nin~o accessory. Shock absorbent, water resistant, and, most important, fabulous looking in any weather.

Let the rains come, let the winds blow--your cell phone or beeper will be safe and warm inside its very own wetsuit.

Crafted from neoprene--the same soft and squishy stuff that pads and protects surfers against monster waves, Cellsuits were developed by a Santa Monica company to shield even the tiniest telephone against the predicted deluge.

But the best thing about the little cases might not be how well they weather nature’s extremes but how extremely cool they look while doing it.

Marko Babic, a 30-year-old surfer with a product design degree from Stanford, came up with the concept last year. He knew what neoprene could do from his many years as a long-board surfer, and from his years in retailing he also knew that the wireless electronics market was, as he puts it, “accessory-starved.”

With an eye on feeding that appetite, Babic created a new company--GoNeo--and, as a licensee of Hermosa Beach-based Body Glove, merged high surf fashion with high-tech function.”We think of this product as a lifestyle accessory,” he says, “needed by anyone who wants to protect the cell phone or beeper from dirt, the environment, and mishaps.”

Such as El Nin~o?

Sure, says Babic.

The Cellsuits, which retail for $24.99 each and come in sizes to fit snugly most phones--including the newest, smallest and hottest cellular on the market, Motorola’s Startac.

GoNeo’s Beepsuits do for pagers what the Cellsuits do for cell phones, but in different colors and retail for $12.99 each. Although the mini wetsuits look like beachwear (but don’t take them swimming), you’re more likely to find them at an electronics store than in a surf shop. They also can be ordered from the maker at (888) 55-GONEO or through GoNeo’s new Web site at https://www.goneo.com.