Well not really a review but I've been using this on my hero for a few months and thought I'd share some thoughts about it.
What is a Zagg Invisible shield?
The invisible shield is a screen or full body transparent plastic film that you apply on your phone to keep it safe from scratches.
Price: 25 usd for the full body
15 usd for just the screen coverage.
More info: zagg.com (new user so I can't post a link)
Why did I buy this?
When I first got my Hero I wanted to keep it safe so I first bought a Golla universal pouch. When I got home and tried it out the hero was a few millimeters to big so I had to modify the pouch a bit (made a cut on the short side). Even then it was a big hassle to remove it from the pouch every time I needed the phone. Then I saw the invisible shield on a site and decided to try it out.
- Review -
Applying the shield
After watching the installation movies and reading the instructions I started applying it. You apply it by spraying a liquid they provided on the sticky part of the film and then sticking the film on the hero. After that you use the supplied squeegee to even it out.
The flat parts were easy to apply, like the screen and some pieces around it. The bottom part (around the buttons and trackball) were a bit harder since you have to bend it around the corners. However this was pretty easy compared to the backplate. It might just have been my rough handling but I got some creases around the curved parts and corner.
4/5 points
Look and feel
The shield makes the phone look almost gloss black (I have the urban brown version). First when the shield is applied you will probably have some air bubbles below the plastic film but they disappear after about a week.
The shield on the backside makes the phone very grip-able, however the Hero's original grip is fine as it is.
3,5/5 points
After a few months usage
I've been using it for about 5-6months now and I'm satisfied with the shield. It protects good, no scratches on the shield at least but I haven't looked under it for obvious reasons. The screen shield have a few more creases now that wont be smoothened out, basically the shield is durable against scratches but not pressure along the screen, then creases appear. However if I didn't have the shield those creases would probably by big nasty scars in the screen instead. The top part of the front of the phone (above the HTC logo) didn't stick as good as the other parts so it collected dust under it so I removed it. You might want to change the parts or the whole shield after 10-12months of usage.
4/5 points
Conclusion
If you want good protection without getting a bulky case for your phone, you should seriously consider this shield.
Total:
11,5/15 points
is it hard to apply the shield on, and i always get air bubbles, will it leave a mark if you have to remove it?
The application of the shield was pretty simple, spray on a special liquid (supplied) - apply - smooth things out with a squeegee (supplied). No air bubbles whatsoever, there was some at first but they disappeared after a week. There are no marks after it either, just some dust/glue that you can easily remove with a cloth.
The biggest problem I had with the invisible shield was on the chin. The part that covers the trackball, I understood where it needed to crease, but it would not stay put on the creased part. After I put the rest of the shield onto the phone I ended up taking a piece of tape and putting it on that part and leaving it overnight, this proved to work fine.
I'm not sure if I like the glossy black look myself, especially after having gotten used to the way the phone looked, having had it since August. The glaring problem is that it is obvious where, especially on the back, where the invisible shield ends and the rest of the phone begins, as there are a few parts that are not completely covered.
I do plan on using it for a few more weeks, although I think I may decide to try to remove the back invisible shield and just leave the front components (the part I'm really the most worried about anyways. Not too shabby with my 75% RadioShack employee discount.
Related
I've just ordered an MDA Vario and it's going to take a little time to reach me (I'm not currently in the UK). Before it gets here I'm trying to work out which screen protector to buy. Has anyone tried the Invisible Shield protector? The material looks superb and I've read load of good things about their performance on iPods.
My current PDA is a Tungsten T3 and I have a Martin Fields screen protector on it. (MF protector for Wizard here).
I love the MF but am really interested in hearing experiences with the IS if anyone on these forums has tried it.
Yeah i want one too but was wondering, do they leave any marks when you peel them off afterwards? From the glue and stuff?
Quality screen protectors like Martin Fields and the IS should leave nothing behind after they're removed.
I think brando screen protector is not bad too. Im currently using it.
I have change 2 screen protector since I got my wizard.
- Expansys, Cant fit in properly. Bubble occur after stick in.
i've tried 3 different screen protectors, then i used pocketpctechs AG shield and i'm not gonna try anything else. It's perfect, reusable, no glue is used and installation is pretty simple. also it comes with screen cleaners and all that. highly recommended
For me brando's would be ok. I usually have the store person do the application since I can't do it on my own [I messed up 2 protectors when I tried doing it at home]. I'd say choose one that isn't adhesive but static that way no residue is left on the screen when you remove it. also most of them are washable/reusable... if you find a scratch on the side you use most often [i.e. the area along the SIP] just have it removed and re-installed reversed [not the face but the top and bottom].
The Brando ultraclear is OK. If you prefer a non-glossy one, the Brando regular is perfect (you will lose a bit of brightness).
I like www.boxwave.com 's version
They have a anti-glare, and a regular one, they are washable you can remove them and wash them under soap and water and reapply, they come with cloth cleaner, and a little scraper thing that helps get the bubbles out.
Here's a super cheap solution, and it works GREAT for me.
I went to Staples and bought a package of baseball card protector pages that are designed to fit into a 3-ring binder. The size of each card holder is just slightly larger than the screen on the MDA.
What I did was take a straight edge and X-Acto knife and cut a small piece of plastic that is a couple millimeters larger than the screen on each side. I simply tuck the plastic I've trimmed under the lip between the device and screen, and it holds in place just fine.
No adhesive, no mess, easy as pie, and the entire package of plastic sleeves was less than 3 bucks. It will surely last longer than the life of the device.
- Justin
Got my second Brando regular protector (first one wasn't returned when my magician was replaced). Fits perfect, very scratch-resistant & the anti-glare is very useful while navigating in the car.
Cheers, M
fone_fanatic said:
i've tried 3 different screen protectors, then i used pocketpctechs AG shield and i'm not gonna try anything else. It's perfect, reusable, no glue is used and installation is pretty simple. also it comes with screen cleaners and all that. highly recommended
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here.. I have used BoxWave, wich are also very good, but WriteShields from pocketpctechs are great.
I also had an "InvivibleShield" on my 8125 for a couple minutes. I installed it and saw that it was not plum on, so I went to take it off and reinstall.. When I removed it I thought I was going to pull my screen up with the protector. Stay away from those things... I then tested those claims they make on the website, about being indestructible. Pens had no trouble getting through, and scissors went through like soft butter.
$.02
I bought a boxwave and was not happy with the glare free one. I have used them on my Treos and liked them, but the one that came for my wizard sucked. It really blurred the screen and made it look like a prism. Maybe it was defective, but I ended up buying another one from javoedge and I am quite happy with it.
just my $.02
greg
I also got an anti-glare from boxware, it does have issues however I emailed them about it and they are getting a new one that doesn't have the issues and they should have it in about a week. To make it even better they created a gift order for the new one for me.
I've tried a number of the commercial screen protectors in the past and wasn't happy with any of them. Of course, there is the ridiculous cost for a little piece of plastic.
The best solution I have found is to use clear vinyl sheeting that you can find at any fabric store, typically for a couple of dollars US per yard. Just cut to fit your screen, clean your screen, wash your hands and vinyl rectangle with liquid hand soap, shake off as much water as possible (but not all), and attach and smooth out bubbles.
Benefits:
- Minimal screen image degradation as compared to many commercial screen protectors
- No adhesives to gunk up the screen
- Lasts 6 months or so
- Easy to replace
- Costs about a nickle per cover
I also have the pocketpctechs write shield anti-glare.
Comes in a nice kit, can't tell its there when the screen is on.
http://www.pocketpctechs.com/main.asp?unit=Cingular_8125-559&area=home
I bought mine from www.nushield.com, but I haven´t been able to apply the first one to my screen.
I´ve used them on my Handspring Visor Edge and on my Himalaya with very good results, but on the Wizard, I just can´t get it installed. Will keep you posted!
Stefan out
Brando screen protector, Boxwave and Martin Fields are my favorites!
I've heard a lot about this Brando, but it is a bit too expensive for me for a piece of plastic. I think they are selling for GBP7+ in eBay. I wonder, is it so good? I've been looking for those 'card' type screen protector that is ultra easy to apply and bubble free because the protector itself feels like a card. Imagine, since the protector is like a card, it is impossible to get bubble under it. Anyone know where in the net I can get one card type for UK??
BTW, I've bought the 'Sensifilm' protector from eBay. It said many things, but of the two thing, antiglare and antiscractch is 100% bluff. Mine still give me glare and it has been scratched like mad with my stylus. Either the HTC is very bad in designing a stylus, or the screen protector is terribly weak. I think the weak protector is a more likely answer.
30$ for a screen protector. That is so silly. I got a protector for my psp for 6$ and it works great. Geez, pocketpctechs is a rip.
Cant i get some from a local store instead?
I can highly recommend Brando UltraClear too! Easy to attach, not visible when attached carefully, no reduction of brightness - display looks like without one (for those who do not like the reflection of the display: buy the Brando classic).
Regards
Carsten
Well, for the benefit of the community, I thought it'd be nice to share my experiences with some screen covers.
I received the phone from a friend with ghost armor on it, but it had some indentations and weird spots on it so I went to the kiosk to have it reapplied for $5. I turned on the phone, and there is a big piece of dirt AND a hair under the screen, pissed me off because I had to go all the way back to the mall to get it reapplied again. The second time it seemed alright, but liquid "hazing" he said would go away never went away, which was also angering. I ordered ZAGG invisible shield, since they were having a 75% off sale for screen only. They sent me one, but it was really odd. They sent me one that was cut to cover the buttons, which makes no sense because the buttons aren't touch sensitive, you have to press them, which would cause air bubbles and deformations in the cover. Sure enough it did, I don't know why they designed it to cover the buttons, which aren't level with the screen at all times. I did my best to just cut the bottom portion off so it wouldn't cover the buttons. It worked enough, it doesn't look pretty, with pretty jagged edges, but at least the screen area itself has no irregularities. There are still a couple of vertical scratch marks I can see on a white screen, from the squeegee i'm guessing, so I'm hoping that those will go away in the next few days.
The whole screen protector covering the buttons also caused some issues with the liquid solution getting into the phone, and my home key stopped working for a few hours, but it seems to have come back, I was panicking there for a bit.
I had a ZAGG invisible shield on my g1 before it finally gave out, and ghost armor seemed to scratch easily, I always got dents and malformations imprinted on it within a few days. With the invisible shield I can take a key to it, and it won't scratch. I actually did this with my g1 as a demonstration. I think they have modified the material to glide more smoothly since my g1, so it's not AS resistant, but I'm pretty sure it'll be stronger than ghost armor was.
If you DO get invisibleshield though, cut the bottom off to make it flat, it will screw up your buttons otherwise. Also, with my experience and others' that I have read, applying it yourself ends up being better quality.
As for the "orange peel" thing, you can see it if you look at the reflection, but I can't feel it. That might be because I play guitar and have thick calluses on my fingertips, but I don't notice it when I touch the screen.
Ghost armor seemed to be better resistant to skin oils and smudges as well. My experience has been better with ZAGG though.
Personally I use the Mirrored Finish protector from Wireless Emporium online and after 4 months I simply clean it a couple times a week when I'm bored. Though I do have a clear one on order from them because the Mirrored Finish does darken the screen some and causes some refraction issues with some colors. I'm fairly rough with my phone and have no scratches after about 4 months of use. It is fairly fingerprint resistant but I do have kids and get odd stuff on my hands now and again.
Oh, and the protectors here don't overlay the buttons on the bottom at all.
kudos on the zagg shield i work at best buy and use that cover on my stuff. i just got a generic cover and cut out to match the screen of my slide but yes it is good stuff
I've owned several smartphones, but I've never put a screen protector on any of them... With the Note being as large as it is, it's only a matter of time before something scratches the screen. Therefore, I got a hold of the Cellet Screen Guard.
I purchased it from Frys electronics, however, there are several other places online to get it as well (such as Amazon). I paid about $8 tax included. Amazon has it for roughly the same price after shipping.
Package contents include: Screen protector with two removable films (front and back of the protector), microfiber cloth, and a little "squeegee." The instructions are listed right on the back of the packaging, very straight forward. Again, I'm not experienced with screen protectors, but applying this protector was very easy. The first time I put it on, it was a little crooked, but I got it the second time around (hah). I'm not exactly sure what that's going to mean down the road, but as of now, the screen looks great. There is a small portion on the bottom right of the screen where it seems like a small flap is elevated by the edge of the phone. I have the Seidio Active case which surrounds the phone enough to cover the outside edges of the film, which completely covers the fact that there is a protector on the screen. The squeegee process went fairly quickly, which I wasn't expecting. I thought I was going to spend a good ten minutes just getting bubbles out of the surface. This was not the case, since most of the bubbles came out with a few good swipes of the squeegee.
All in all, this was an easy application and the phone looks great with the new protective film. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a fairly inexpensive product to give a little more protection to their devices.
I have a question about this case. I found it for $12 on amazon and I think it's worth it and I think it will work great. However, I have some concerns about the screen protector and how messy/clean it is and how easy it is to apply. Also im worried about if it glares a lot because that would be a problem to me. My other concern though is I saw in some video reviews that the top of the case it doesn't 'hug' it firmly there and is kinda loose at that spot. Is this an issue or should it be fine?
Thanks
The screen protector scratches relatively easily, but that isn't a huge problem, and it doesn't glare. The protector is also the exact size of the screen, so if you get it a millimeter off, you'll have an ugly white line with grime underneath. The protector is applied dryly and needs to be applied very quickly or else dust particles will quickly attach to it. It's also kind of tricky getting it on, as the instructions aren't the best. If you don't get it on right the first time, it's a real pain. I resolved this by washing the protector and using a lint roller to get the dust off before reapplying.
The case itself is great and looks nice, and it's protected my phone from a launch onto hardwood from about 4 feet. As you said, the case doesn't hug the phone properly at the top and bottom. The amount of "hug" will vary from case to case, mine is right on there (still floppy though) but my brother's case has a massive gap. I heard they fixed it with a more recent design though. One of my biggest gripes is that the silicon is a dust/lint magnet, and there's always dust/lint getting into the top/bottom gaps. This is really unsightly and I need to clean the dust regularly as it bothers me, and do a full case clean every week. I also don't dig the hard plastic as I have dry skin, which makes it difficult to hold.
yeah that would be a deal breaker for me.. I had a silicone case for my previous phone and I actually didn't use it because I needed to freely move my fingers off and on the edges (fruit ninja lol). Tho I don't play that game anymore really. My other concern is will the top of the phone when your putting it into your pocket have like a 'drag' effect due to the silicone and it not being tight on the top or does it cleanly go in/out of the pocket when its rubbing against your pocket? That was also kinda an issue to me as well with my old phone. Also what other cases would you recommend (can be another otterbox)? I might be looking for another case if I don't determine this one suiting me.
I have this case. I chose not to use the screen protector so I cant comment on that. The case is great. The rubber piece that protects the mirco usb charger is annoying as hell (not sure why i havent cut it off yet.) The phone does seem to slide towards the bottom sometimes so there can be a small gap at the top. I would recomend this case. especially at $12
Hello there,
First of all I didn't found any thread about full phone film protection here, so if there is anyone who uses please share your opinion.
I ordered Clear Coat for my brand new Pixel (witch is currently waiting for me under Christmas tree). To be honest I'm a bit sceptical about this kind of solution, because I never used this kind of phone protection. In the other hand I used cases made of TPU or silicone and phone screen still gets broken while using it. Therefore I want to try this. Moreover it gives better grip also to phone and it's electrostatic. Probably it will arrive 27th of December.
As we can see on movie material this protection is a few elements thin layer which should protect whole phone from any scratches. The fat guy talks about "getting 50-times stronger impact protection" from regular plastic case - to be honest, it doesn't sound legible. Maybe he means just the protection films only. ...And it should stay on phone for two years...
Here's website:
https://www.clear-coat.com
Here some videos:
https://youtu.be/rVMg9eonb6I
Some info + placing:
https://youtu.be/uRK87YiKd10
Professional placing:
https://youtu.be/76o7BGbkNAA
Official:
https://youtu.be/VgNfJlYU9F4
Scratch test:
https://youtu.be/4n_-O6S-pYg
Wys?ane z mojego Nexus 5X przy u?yciu Tapatalka
basically a soft skin which requires wet application, same as skinomi.
since it's soft, scratches don't show as as easily and has some form of "self healing" properties. It was all the rage when these type of skins first came out, with claims such as this is what the military use to protect their helicopter blades etc.
these are also more grippy than the glass or PET screen protectors.
electric0ant said:
basically a soft skin which requires wet application, same as skinomi.
since it's soft, scratches don't show as as easily and has some form of "self healing" properties. It was all the rage when these type of skins first came out, with claims such as this is what the military use to protect their helicopter blades etc.
these are also more grippy than the glass or PET screen protectors.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm normally I'd agree but they claim the fusion has drop protection. How?
km8j said:
Hmmm normally I'd agree but they claim the fusion has drop protection. How?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still whating for package... Yeah... How ?? Didn't found any drop tests on yt.
I got this for one of my older phones. I couldn't put it on properly. Bubbles everywhere, wrinkles too. It's not the easiest protection solution to put on. But if you got it right, it does look good and protects your device from scratches really well.
It would be helpful if you can make a quick review when you receive and got it installed
Oh I like it. There's a kiosk about 45 minutes away that offers professional installation. If I get time I'll get one. In the meantime, please keep us posted on ease of installation and satisfaction with the final product.
Edit: So I'm on the Pixel page and I don't see the clear coat, only the Reel Feel and Dress Code. Did you find the clear one on their site or elsewhere?
http://www.moutfitters.com/clear-coat/original/google-pixel
Think this is what you are looking for.
So for now i havr to say that installation of this coat is quite difficult. Layers are cutted properly with 0,5mm space on edges.
With package you get application solution (around half of the bottle) and no cloth. The biggest difficult is to get phone free of fibers and dusts. After hour or two after placing coat on phone I've been so disappointed of result that I almost taken it off... In next hours there cam some bulbs under it and goes off, in the end there are only bulbs where is some dust or small fibers.
About the bubbles in places where wasn't any dust under it - after 24 hours they disappear, as well as glue smudges witch came after few lifts up.
This material have some kind of self healing capabilities. It is some kind of silicone in feeling. And it gets fully transparent after 24 hours.
Currently got few 0,2-0,5mm bulbs under screen cover and 1 or 2 under back glass panel
Even on rounded corners it keeps well and it not coming off easily. Also small pieces around the buttons and connectors are not coming off.
It gives a bit better grip to phone but also a bit of thickness in feeling (it's not thick I only mean that you feel like touching by 1-2 mm glass). It has nice glare wet impression. There is no issues with touch screen - same sharp interaction. Currently it looks to be scratch proof bad because of silicone layer a bit more drop vibrations absorbent, bit for me it doesn't look to be drop proof.
But... There are few issues.
1) The application solution is small amount they it is enough only for placing every piece twice. If you do it wrong you have no more solution.
2) Phone has to be sterile to do that. Application is pretty tough, I would advise if any of you will buy it to give it with phone to some professionals.
3) Touch feeling of it is something between better grip and bit of oiled warm surface (yeah I know how the oiled surface can have better grip... But this is what it is).
Maybe later I will post some pics
Wys?ane z mojego Pixla przy u?yciu Taptalka