Does invisibleSHIELD really work?
Though I received a screen protector with my dermaSHOT case it recently became a bit scratched up and got a couple of small nicks in it. I figured screen protectors are kind of disposable so I went out to my local BestBuy to see what they had in stock. I looked at a couple of different products but one jumped out at me: the ZAGG invisibleSHIELD. There was only a single shield in the little box, unlike a competitor that had 5 shields in it, but it came with a lifetime warranty. Reading through the information on the box it looked like it was worth a try.The invisibleSHIELD claims to be made from the same material designed to protect the leading edge of helicopter blades. The material itself is very durable and reminds me of the invisible car masks applied to the front of cars. I figured that anything designed to withstand supersonic gravel pelting would probably be overkill on my little iPhone but that's fine.
Turns out the invisibleSHIELD is rather difficult to apply. First off, make sure you cut out and remove the holes for the handset speaker and primary button before peeling it from its backing. Otherwise you will do what I did and realize they were not punched all the way through and then try to take it off while you're holding a very large, tacky shield, trying desperately not to get finger prints on the business side.
There is a spray and squeegee provided in the kit as well. You spray down the adhesive side of the shield and apply it carefully to the iPhone. The spray makes the shield a little moveable so you can reposition it as needed, then you start in with the squeegee and work out all of the bubbles and air pockets. This is a rather difficult process because you are basically pushing out the liquid right into the areas where the handset speaker hole is and the main button. Having a clean, soft, lint free cloth handy is important in order to ensure that you can wipe up the excess liquid before it seeps into any of the openings on your iPhone.
Once applied the surface of your iPod will feel a little different. It has an almost tacky feeling to it that does not impair the ability to use the touch surface at all. The surface itself appears impervious to anything and my iPhone's screen now seems like it could repel a high speed bird strike.
The Downside
The problem with the invisibleSHIELD is that it creates a slight distortion to the screen, though this may indeed be in the way I applied it. I followed the directions exactly but could not get what appeared to be very fine bubbles away from the top portion of the screen. While I love the protection this affords the difficulty in applying this properly and the resulting distortion means I'll be returning it to BestBuy. I looked through the warranty information on the ZAGG site and it's pretty clear that problems resulting in "installation errors" were not covered. I'll likely be going with the slightly cheaper, disposable screen shields that do not require that I apply liquid in such close proximity to my iPhone.
Last Friday ZAGG announced that they were releasing a more clear backing. Who knows, maybe that will be a little better than what I experienced.
Comments
Screen protectors are only necessary if you have a plastic screen. Apple deciding to go with glass was brilliant, because it doesn't scratch like plastic and if a scratch does develop you can potentially buff the scratch out.
The glass screen on the iPhone doesn't scratch - I have a day 1 iPhone used daily with no protection and the screen is still perfect.
I am of course assuming here that the Touch is using the same glass as the iPhone.
For the low cost of these things (well under $20) it's a very cheap form of insurance. Given the replacement cost if something does happen I just don't want to deal with that.
When Apple replaced my phone because of really bad static caused by the phone itself I decided not to buy a new IWrap. I didn't like that the corners were so difficult to smooth down, and the Apple Guinesses said they've seen many iPhones/iPods (including one owned by one of the Guinesses) damaged beyond repair by the liquid used in application.
It seems to be a good product with a flawed application process. I'm now using my phone unprotected, and I have dropped it and gotten a couple of very tiny almost unoticable marks. But I've come to the conclusion that it's not a big deal because I'll just buy the new model anyway. :-)
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/reviews/sort_grades/282/
It works as advertised.
Applying it with a layer of water that eventually evaporates was a concern but it was no big deal.
I liked it because the iPhone had fewer fingerprint marks also.
The main problem was that the invisibleSHIELD and all other similar screen protectors put your finger farther away from the screen. The iPhone screen needs to measure the electrical field your finger gives out in order to sense your finger's location. But using the finger become more imprecise with the invisibleSHIELD. This drove me nuts with both the invisibleSHIELD and its other competitors.
After a while, I ripped off one after the other.
Luckily, the iPhone's tempered glass touchscreen is fantastically tough. I keep my iPhone in my front pants pocket with other stuff including keys. It has zero scratches.
I can live with the fingerprints. I just wipe them off - even with my shirt, realizing the glass screen is TOUGH.
After the imprecision with the clear screen protectors, I love going BARE. Nothing comes between me and my iPhone - to paraphrase a Calvin Klein ad.
If its true that Apple is now serving Guinness, the lines at the Apple Store are going to get longer and longer!
@Anon: Thanks for the link on the iLounge reviews, very helpful.
I too, purchased the invisibleSHIELD for my iPhone. I was excited when it came, and quickly became REALLY frustrated. I first tried to put the backing on. I could find NO possible way to get the corners to fold around the rounded edges of the iPhone without a crease forming on the invisible shield. Since I didn't want any sharp points on the back of my phone, I kept trying and trying with no luck. On top of that, I couldn't even get the sides of the invisibleSHIELD to stick down. Eventually, I just decided that since I was going to be getting a plastic or silicon case anyways, putting the shield on the back was worthless.
Putting the invisibleSHIELD on the front was a bit simpler, but I ran into problems. A spec of dust got trapped in between my screen and the SHIELD (despite having a lint-free cloth handy). I took the SHIELD off and tried to get the spec of dust off -- no luck. What ended up happening was I got even more dust stuck under the SHIELD. This was pretty annoying but by now I had spent over an hour trying to get the stupid thing on. I gave up, left the dusty shield on, and emailed invisibleSHIELD's support to complain. They offered to send me a new one, but I was so turned off that I haven't written back.
There also are some small bubbles still on my invisibleShield.
I noticed that a friend of mine bought one of the screen protectors from the Apple Store. Apple put it on for her and it looked like they did a perfect job applying it to the screen. The only thing I didn't like was that it was a Matte finish and not a glossy finish, and I didn't like how it made the screen feel/look. Normally I'm a matte fan, but putting a matte on top of a glossy screen just made it look.... rough.
The thing I like most about it is it doesn't smudge neraly as much from the oils on your face or hands. Also, it allows your finger to glide over the screen A LOT nicer than a crystal film screen protector.
My Switch Easy color case and anti-glare screen protector are the best combo i've had so far. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
http://cyberwerks.net/GuinessBar.jpg
I do have a translucent Belkin case for the backside and edges, but for the front I prefer touching nothing but glass!
Cheers!
---RASTER
David, give it a few days to finish drying. It sounds like they used the window-tinting adhesive (at least the install process is exactly the same) and when I was done installing the tinting the windows were very wavy and blurry. A couple of days later the adhesive had finished drying and now they are crystal clear.
-Greg-
The bubbles go away over time, you have to let the shield seal to the phone and dry completely which takes a few days.
powersupportusa.com
1) reasonable price
2) super duper easy to apply
3) protects well w/ no drag
4) super clear, can't tell it's there
5) the rear one covers mainly the custom or factory laser etching
6) can be cleaned w/ soap & reapplied
7) Apple sells it at retail & online store
8) I used one since my first iPod Mini years ago. Still using it.
Very satisfied, repeat customer.
Very good value for the good bottle, cleans beautifully. Covers scratches a tiny bit too.
Really takes cares of fingerprints & prevents scratches from papertowels, Kleenex, & "non-approved" cleaners.
Many companies including Apple approve of and use this stuff to clean their stuff.
Works well, but follow directions.
- Jon
i can tell who wears diamonds and who does not by who has scratches in the screen. either that or a machine shop that uses diamond tipped drills etc.
if it goes in your pocket/purse and you have diamond rings, it WILL scratch it.
enjoy. ;0)
Putting the front cover on was an absolute breeze. Properly cut out, too. The back, however, was exceedingly difficult. They give you two and by following their directions, I managed to dirty an edge cover so I have the second on the back now. The one thing I really liked about their product is they have several YouTube videos on how to install it. It still took at least two hours due to me being meticulous. Yet, I ended up with two corners that were "folded" so I carefully took a razor to smooth them.
It seems to recognize fingers just as well, too. Overall, I'm happy but I wouldn't recommend setting the phone down as their video said while applying the back.
I got one from the Apple store; the Power Support Crystal Film. Five dollars less and much easier to install. You also get two in the pack.
S.
"Yet, I ended up with two corners that were "folded" so I carefully took a razor to smooth them."
I'm so glad I read this comment, as I had the same problem on one corner of my iPod Classic after installing the Invisible Shield, which was no where near as tricky as I imagined it would be!
I duly went out and bought a packet of razor blades and carefully nicked the corner in question and the offending bump came off with one slice.
The bump on the corner was irriating me to the point where I was going to take the Shield off and abandon it, but I'm glad I didn't.
The "nicked" corner feels no different from the other corners, as they aren't covered anyway and there's no way to tell it's been "doctored"..
My only other niggle with the Invisible Shield is the length of time we're told it'll take for the bubbles to disappear.
Most of mine DID go in a day or so, but two or 3 smaller ones have remained after a week, though they too are diminishing.
I gather this isn't an unusual experience and I've come across some people who claimed they've taken two weeks or more to go.
I think that ZAGG would do well to emphasize this as I think some people panic and take the thing off before it's had time to cure.
It really does need time to "cure".
What's amazing for me, is that over the days, the thing seems to have merged with my iPod, like some sort of alien implant!
:O)
I've showed it to a number of people who haven't even noticed it's there!
So, all in all, it looks great, feels great, my iPod doesn't get scratched every time I look at it, shame on Apple, so far as that goes..
But, more importantly, I can dock it, which I do constantly, in my stereo and don't have to keep taking it in and out of a bulky case to do so..
Rich.
One ZAGG was on 8 months, Not if it was the sun, or the heat, or the putting the cover... but getting that this helicopter stuff cling residue off the screens is a nightmare.
invisibleshield offered no help on removing the residue, other than suggesting using water. That did not help.
I've switched to the cheaper option, gadgetshieldz. They shipped for free and it cost me much less. I reckon if I have to change the skin often I'd rather be spending what I can get every time I need it.
In any case, I've been covering all my iphones (since the 3G) with ZAGG, and I'm a big believer in their products. The trick is to use the hell out of the magic juice to apply the shield down initially. Yes, that does of course mean a larger risk of getting water into the phone, but if you are careful, then you'll have no problems. BTW, if you run out of the applicator liquid, just use a small drop of dish washing soap or baby shampoo (and I do mean a DROP) and fill the rest with water. You'll probably need to refill in this manner as another trick is to spray the heck out of your fingers with this stuff to prevent leaving fingerprints on the sticky side.
Once you get it on, and you've used enough liquid, then you can slide the film until it fits perfectly. Then squeegee the rest of it out and make sure you have some lint free cloths available to soak up the excess water before getting into the cracks of the button holes, speakers, etc.
My big complaint about this product is that it tends to start peeling up around the edges after an extended period of use, which then allows dirt/lint/dust to get trapped underneath, eventually nullifying any of the tackiness of the film and allow further peeling. But this can be a problem with any "screen protector" but it has happened to every Zagg product I've ever owned.
Other than that, I think these are great products and the film is very clear. Yes, if you hit the light at the right angle, you can see a "rough" film on, but if you view the screen in relatively low light conditions, the screen is crystal clear.
Anyway, I've used Zagg on my phone, and my wife's phone and we've both had few complaints with it.