Review - Exact Case (Slender) & Sparin Tempered Glass Screen Protector for Shield K1 - Shield Tablet Accessories

Review - Exact Case (Slender) & Sparin Tempered Glass Screen Protector for Shield K1
A few weeks back I purchased both of the above from Amazon. I figured I'd give a review on both items.
http://www.amazon.com/Nvidia-Shield-Tablet-Case-Lightweight/dp/B00MV9TPEU
http://http://www.amazon.com/Protector-Tempered-Bubble-Free-Repeatable-Installation/dp/B0198717W0
I purchased the case in brown. If you search Amazon, the prices for this particular case vary greatly, even from the same vendor. I found a deal where it was only $1.95 for the case and $4.95 for shipping. Other ads by the same vendor have it for as much as $12.00 plus shipping, so look around. Be advised, there is also an Exact case sold without the "Slender" designation, and this is a case where the tablet slips inside and is surrounded by a leather-like material and it's velcroed in place. The case I'm reviewing holds onto the tablet by its four corners, and there is absolutely nothing that gets near the screen or top speakers.
Fit - it fits almost perfectly. I say almost with a small reservation. When you press it into the case, it fits just right, almost a perfect fit. I say almost, as I would have liked it to fit in with a "snap". The four corners do hold the tablet in quite well, and I do not think the tablet will come out of the case in normal use or thrown in a bag. But, I think that if the tablet were dropped from a small distance, the case would go flying one way and the tablet the other. I'm not going to try this, as I don't want to find out for sure, but it seems as though the four corner retention clips are more of a press fit than a snap fit (if that makes sense). As to quality, I give it very high marks! The finish is great! It looks like leather in texture, and it is all attached to the plastic shell quite well with no gaps or irregularities or glue lines or anything. In looks alone it looks like it should cost at least $20 to $40. When the cover is folded fully open, the tablet still fits the hand well with no annoying sharp edges, and it's comfortable to hold. The flexible hinge where the cover meets the shell is also great...no glue lines, and no peeling in about 2 weeks of daily use. The cover is held closed to the tablet with 2 magnets. The magnets hold it quite positively, and it's not going to open on its own. I was worried that I would permanently bend the cover along its edge while opening it due to the good hold the magnets have on it, but It's still straight and showing no signs of bending or wear. The magnets in the cover flap itself put the tablet to sleep 100% of the time when the cover is closed, and it takes an inch of opening the tablet for the built-in magnets to get far away enough for the tablet to wake up. My only gripe, and it's not fully a real gripe is that this case/cover was made for the original Shield Tablet, and not specifically for the Shield Tablet K1, so it has the cutout on the side for the original tablet's stylus (the K1 does not have a stylus silo, nor does it come with a stylus). But, I knew the cutout would be there before I purchased it, so in effect, it's not really a gripe at all. The cutout does not get in the way at all when handling the tablet. As to the rest of the cutouts, they are perfect! No issues with the camera being obscured as it is with some other cases out there, and there are even cut outs for the two bass ports that are situated on the edges of the tablet to the sides of the larger forward facing speakers. The cover at this point does not work great at holding the tablet up to view videos, for example. There are magnets in the flap that are supposed to hold onto the case to allow viewing in landscape mode, but they don't hold well and the tablet slowly settles down flat to the table. Bear in mind it has gotten better since new, as it would not hold at all when new. This appears to be because the creases in the flap are still new and not as flexible as they need to be. Over 2 weeks time they have become a bit more flexible and are holding better, but not perfect yet. I've only tried it a few times so I've not really been flexing these hinges much. But I think over time, with more use, it will work as it's supposed to. Time will tell! Lastly, drop protection...I don't think this case really has much if any. If the tablet falls on one of it's corners, there is only about 1/16" of plastic sitting there. Would it help? Maybe. There is absolutely no rubber anywhere on this case, so the only shock protection there might be, if any, might be is the soft cover flap. But, I did not buy this case for drop protection. I bought it for its minimalist dimensions, non interference with the screen, properly sized openings, light weight, and scratch protection while traveling. In those regards, it is perfect.
So, if I had to give a numerical grade on this case, I would give it somewhere between a 95% to 99% . My only points of detraction would be for what I believe would be it not retaining the tablet in a fall. If you were to pick one up, it's possible yours might snap in better than mine, but I'm only guessing at this as I only have experience with the particular one I own. Would i go out and buy it again? Definitely YES!!!
As to the Sparin tempered glassscreen protector...I only installed it a few days ago, so my comments on my experience are limited. What can i say? It was postal packaged well for shipping (it was sent direct from the manufacturer with no damage). It was packaged well within its manufacturer's case too. The item comes with everything you might need to successfully apply the glass protector to the tablet. There were both wet and dry wipes (Not sure but the dry wipe might also be an anti-static wipe, which would help with static attracted dust), a microfiber cloth, positioning stickers, dust removal sticker, and a cardboard squeegee (which IMO seems to be totally useless with a tempered glass screen protector). There may have been more items included, but I don't remember. After cleaning the screen many times along with eagle-eye inspection to ensure no dust specs remained (and a steamy room to keep dust down), I applied the protector free hand. It went on with no issues and sucked right down onto the glass. I did have one bubble that formed during adhesion, but I was able to wipe it away to the edge of the glass with some pressure from my finger and it disappeared. There are a couple of line of entrapped air along one edge, near a speaker grill, which I cannot push away, but it's nowhere near the light-up portion of the screen so I'm not too concerned about it. It does not appear to be caused by dust or anything. i'm wondering if it might be a small depression in the tablet's screen. As far as I can tell...no scientific tests available here ...there is no difference in the slickness compared to a stock screen, and no loss of screen sensitivity. As an asides...I placed the glass, with adhesive peel sheet still attached, while still in its foam shipping sleeve upon the tablet, and it still didn't seem to affect touch sensitivity. I also don't think there is any loss of brightness through the new glass (impossible to tell once it's actually affixed), but it looked crystal clear before it was applied. Not sure just yet, but I think there may now be less of a fingerprint issue with this glass' coating. The protector is a slight bit shorter in the long dimension than the tablet's glass...maybe 1/16" shorter, but it's a non-issue as the light-up portion of the screen does not come anywhere near this area. I'd rather they err on it being shorter than longer. The edges of the glass are rounded all the way around, so no sharp edges to the fingers. I really can't find any fault with this item, and when I review, I'm always looking for faults! I guess I'm more of a pessimist than I am an optimist. So, I'd give this item a 100%
Would I buy it again? Definitely YES! Also, compared to reviews on other tempered glass protectors for the Shield Tablet, this item had the fewest complaints of them all, which is why i went for this one in the first place.

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can you provide some pics of the final result? case + screen protector. tks

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Curl3w said:
can you provide some pics of the final result? case + screen protector. tks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would like to see some pictures if possible. Quick question for you: Is the cover "floppy"? By that I mean does the cover easily bend and flop around at the indentations made to prop up the tablet? I bought a generic case for my K1 which did and it drove me nuts to carry while holding it like a book.

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Here are some pics. They were taken on two different days in two different locations (hence the differences in lighting and background), but they were all taken by me of my personal tablet.
Yes, I realize the "Exact" logo is upside down
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Cut-out for the non-existent stylus silo on the K1 (bottom right of image)
Nicely centered camera
Stands up better every day, but still not a floppy cover
Two magnets along the edge to hold the cover closed
A few long strings of entrapped air. I'm thinking the K1's screen might be curved a bit.
That skewed gray stripe near the top of the screen is just a strange reflection from something in the room. The screen looks fantastic. It's probably set for somewhere around 60% brightness in this image.
The screen protector is just a fraction of an inch on the short side. Maybe 1/32" or 1/16" short, but I don't care as it fully covers the light-up portion of the screen by a very good margin...all the way up to the speakers, but just a bit shy. All the edges that your finger might come into contact with are rounded, and not sharp!

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i bought the "same" cover but with black colour and it's pretty good. Now i 'm looking for a tempered glass, but some brands dont send to my country (Portugal) or the shipping costs are too damn high . tks for the pics

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Anyone tested tempered glass and stylus?
I use my tablet for drawing and note taking, would suck if the accuracy went down...
Anyone ?
D