Screen Protector Reviews

[jasonsf]

Originally Posted by ksfoster

Durability - After having this screen protector on my phone for a week I realized that the one thing they could improve is how well it resists scratching. I keep my phone in my pocket most of the day and occasionally I forget which pocket its in and I'll drop my keys in the same pocket. I pulled it out yesterday and discovered a small scratch across the bottom corner of the screen. Now, I understand that this is EXACTLY the reason we use screen protectors - the scratch did not go all the way through to the actual screen, so it did its job. But with so many other products out there like BodyguaurdZ that are clear AND scratch resistant, I would have been happier if this was a little harder to scratch. Its a small scratch and its only visible when the phone is turned off - as soon as the screen comes on is disappears - so I am still extremely happy with the Realook screen protector. The only reason I dropped my rating from a 10 to a 9.5 is, like I said, in a perfect world, it would be perfect. In this case, its almost perfect.

I assume that is why we get 2 in a pack. I imagine I can deal with the scratches for a while (of which I don't have any yet) and when it is really annoying, apply the second film. I'd much rather have scratches that I can make go away than ones that are permanent.

Great review.

Jason

[Johnny.Bravo]

Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.80 (Android; Opera Mini/5.1.21126/20.2485; U; en) Presto/2.5.25)

Originally Posted by jasonsf

I assume that is why we get 2 in a pack. I imagine I can deal with the scratches for a while (of which I don't have any yet) and when it is really annoying, apply the second film. I'd much rather have scratches that I can make go away than ones that are permanent.

Great review.

Jason

And like I said its only visible when the screen is off. As soon as I turn the screen back on its completely invisible.

[mykie]

I'm going to basically copy ksfoster's review format, since it covers all the bases pretty well.

Review for the Zagg Invisible Shield full body Easy Install
Price paid: $24.99

I had the Zagg Invisible Shield on my Touch Pro 2, and found that it was best for me to protect my new Epic 4G in the same manner.

The package came in a nice box with a protective flap to protect the shield from being creased. Also included was a microfiber cloth, a rubber squeegee, and a small spray bottle of installation solution. The presentation was very nice, and included instructions right on the package.

Clarity - Initially the Invisible Shield did not interfere with the SAMOLED display at all; The viewing angles were the same as naked. It wasn't until I started using the touch screen, getting my greezy finger oils all over the front did I start noticing color scattering and rainbow effects. So there is definitely more maintenance required to keeping the screen clear than just leaving it naked. Furthermore, the shield also leaves an "orange skin" texture that doesn't look smooth at all when the SAMOLED is off.

Form - From top to bottom, the skin fit perfectly, even leaving holes for the front camera, proximity sensors and LED. The only problem was that the shield was not as wide as the display, so there was a gap between the edge of the shield and the side edges. I reapplied the skin, stretching it a little to try and get the side edges covered more, but still didn't reach the edges completely. The shield for the rear of the phone covered the edge, and made it look darker and more "sparkly" than the rest of the plastic.

Ease of installation - The included spray solution and rubber squeegee made installing the Invisible Shield easy, but in order to really "slide" the protector into place (as per instructions), you have to really spray the shield down, which made me a little nervous about liquid damage. With the included squeegee, you can easily channel out the solution into an absorbent material like a cotton ball. Installation took me a few tries, but luckily the shield is durable enough to take it. Unfortunately, no matter what, I couldn't get some small bubbles to work themselves out, even after a few days.

Feel - Terrible. The Invisible Shield is rubbery, and not conducive to swiping and dragging at all; Because the surface is so rubbery, swiping may actually register as a series of taps, which is really annoying when trying to unlock with a pattern! I also noticed in a number of places where this interfered with multi-touch abilities, such as Pinch To Zoom. Testing with the multi-touch test program Dotty, I found that sometimes a lifted finger will continue registering a few moments afterwards, or that multiple finger presses would not register properly at all. This shield impairs device function which is unacceptable.

Maintenance - In order to avoid rainbow effects and scatters, you need to continually wipe down the surface of the phone. Otherwise the shield is fairly maintenance free. If it's anything like the one I had for the Touch Pro 2, the Invisible Shield is built to last.

Durability - Bulletproof. Invisible Shields take a licking and keep on ticking. I performed a key scratch test and it came away clean with just a small imperfection where the key stretched the material a little.

Overall Quality - This is a skin you'll want if you think you're going to subject your phone to some severe damage. You won't have much trouble getting this shield on your phone, but may have issues with bubbles that never work themselves out. Unfortunately, because of the extremely rubbery feel and the usability issues caused by it, I could not get "used" to this shield and took it off after less than a week of use.

[gTen]

please update wiki after your reviews..this makes them easier to locate among the huge amount of other posts...mykie I updated yours with a score of 5...because based on your review it sounds like a 5..if you feel the score should be different you can update it

ksfoster, so far Realook is looking like the best, one question..does it use glue to strap on or is it like the TP2 default screen protector where no sides are sticky..it just magnetically sticks on?

[Johnny.Bravo]

Originally Posted by gTen

ksfoster, so far Realook is looking like the best, one question..does it use glue to strap on or is it like the TP2 default screen protector where no sides are sticky..it just magnetically sticks on?

It just magnetically sticks to the screen. I updated the review to make that a little clearer. Thanks.

[Johnny.Bravo]

Hey, I finally got the name change I asked for about a month ago. So if you want to maintain any consistency look through some of the previous posts and change ksfoster to Johnny.Bravo

JB

[gTen]

Originally Posted by Johnny.Bravo

Hey, I finally got the name change I asked for about a month ago. So if you want to maintain any consistency look through some of the previous posts and change ksfoster to Johnny.Bravo

JB

Yeah I noticed by the Avatar..the reason why it took so long was because only a few people could do name changes..now all mods can do name/title changes so it will speed things up...

[mykie]

Originally Posted by gTen

please update wiki after your reviews..this makes them easier to locate among the huge amount of other posts...mykie I updated yours with a score of 5...because based on your review it sounds like a 5..if you feel the score should be different you can update it

Sorry about that, I had a splitting headache when I wrote that review and decided to lay down right after I wrote it. I'll be writing one on the Stealthguards sheild next!

[mykie]

Review for the Stealthguards Epic 4G Full Body Protection
Price paid: $2.85 shipped!

Stealthguards are a bargain, through and through. And for less than 3 bucks you get the front and back shield, enclosed in a plain white window envelope, your invoice, and a postmarked .44 stamp. No instructions, solution, or microfiber cloth are enclosed; it's as barebones as it gets. But don't let that dissuade you from checking out Stealthguards, there's a lot of good value here.

Clarity - Once applied, and all the air bubbles worked out, the appearance of Stealthguards was obvious when the phone is off or on. Epic's SAMOLED display appeared slightly foggy, but still mostly sharp. When fingerprints and smudges started to appear over the screen, the rainbow scattering became quite distracting and terrible at times. With the display off, there was a obvious texture, with some persistent lines that looked like creases. This may have been due to an installation snafu, but the creased look never worked itself out.

Form - The front skin fit well and matched up on the side edges perfectly, but ended up peeling up a small bit around the lower edges. Reinstallation remedied this a small amount but the peeling around the lower edges never quite fixed it. To be fair, this could have been because of my Seidio case, but no other screen protectors exhibited this behavior.

Ease of installation - I might have messed up the initial installation, due to lack of instructions. Originally I carefully applied without the dish soap solution, and the screen was filled with micro bubbles, and looked shimmery. After discovering that the StealthGuards site has a somewhat hidden collection of Installation Videos, I reapplied the skin with improved results. The protector is sturdy enough to withstand reapplication, and did not stretch at all. For removal, I recommend an ordinary piece of scotch tape to pull up the corner. Once I had a bottle of solution, I have plenty left to reapply more stealthguards.

Feel - Surprisingly good, much better than Zagg, in fact. StealthGuards has a very slightly rubbery feel that only slightly slows down your fingers. No problems swiping or performing multitouch operations, and the unlock pattern only misses about 1 out of 5 times. Testing with the multitouch program Dotty, there were no lingering touches from a lifted finger or any problems registering multiple touches.

Maintenance - The rainbow scatters happen from the moment a slightly oily finger touches the screen. A significant amount of wiping causes the oil to smear, and eventually dissipate, but the color scatters never truly go away. Once all the micro bubbles are worked out of the shield, it stays put adequately, but the peeling lower edge ends up being slightly worse over time.

Durability - Because this shield is slightly thinner than the Zagg version (with the advantage of better screen response), I get the impression that scratches (which should be "self-healing") will have more of a detrimental effect. Indeed with the key scratch test that I tried, less force was required to put a mar in the protector, though it was not very noticeable after a day or so.

Overall Quality - Even though some of the niceties of other packages weren't included, the Stealth Guard is a worthy contender. Visually speaking, Stealth Guards is pretty obvious that it's applied, but it won't interfere with your ability to manipulate your phone by touch. While it's not as bulletproof as Zagg, it will protect your phone nicely, and it's dirt cheap. All-in-all, you can't beat the price at under $3.

Next week, I'll review the Realook sheild!

[Johnny.Bravo]

Looking forward to another review of the Realook. I wrote one (post #1 and I would like to hear what someone else has to say.