Invisible Shield Review
Invisible Shield by Zagg Review (Provided by www.invisibleskinz.com)
Everyone who owns expensive devices is always looking for a way to protect them. There is no shortage of cases, films and other protecting products out there, and each has its own benefits and downfalls. When Invisible Skinz reached out to me to take a look at the Invisible Shield, I was happy take another look. I say another, because I have used these products in the past, as I had one for my Motorola Q back in 2006. At the time, I ended up having to send my phone back to Verizon, and forgot to remove the shield before sending. Fortunately, I am able to take another look.
In the Box
- Invisible Shield
- Install Squeegee
- Shieldspray
Installation/Thoughts
Installing the shield on your device takes about 30 minutes, but it’s worth the time. The secret for Zagg is the shield spray that they include with the shields. The formula interacts with the adhesive on the shield to make the installation process easier, and more effective. The actual installation process is simple; peel off the shield from the paper backing, spray, apply and squeegee. Each shield is created specifically for the device its sold for, so the longest part of the installation is getting each little piece lined up perfectly. The result is full device coverage that looks incredibly professional. Out of all the devices I have, I thought the iPhone 3G would be a great representation as a test device for the product. The capacitive touch screen was my biggest concern, as I wondered if the screen would still be sensitive to my fingers. Good news, there is no noticeable difference in user experience on the screen.
I’ve had the Invisible Shield on my iPhone for the past week and have been happy with the results. The full body coverage gives me the peace of mind that I my phone is protected. The texture of the shield gives it a “grippy” feel, which makes it less prone to being dropped, and overall is a very unobtrusive solution to keeping your device protected.
Invisible Skinz is an online reseller of the Invisible Shield product. The iPhone 3G specific shield is available for $24.95.
About the Invisible Shield
ZAGG’s invisibleSHIELD™ is a thin polyurethane film originally created for the military to protect the leading edge of helicopter blades. What’s unique about this military-grade, patented film is how tough it is – it doesn’t scratch. What makes ZAGG’s exclusive invisibleSHIELD™ so strong, flexible and scratch-proof? Its Nano-Memory technology™. With this technology, it also allows it to curve and contour around an entire device (not just the screen) and adhere to the device unless you want to remove it (without leaving adhesive).
The invisibleSHIELD has been designed to protect over 2,500 handheld electronics, including the Apple iPod touch, the Apple iPhone 3G, the BlackBerry Curve and more.
This product is hardly “invisible”. If you have a touch screen phone, this product is no more “invisible” than any other screen protector. It is hardly worth the money or the hassle of installation. I’m not an idiot, I can tint windows very well. This does not apply in the same manner. It is sticky from the beginning. To “float” the material would require heavy installation liquid application to keep it wet enough. This cannot be done with the lame little sponge provided in the package. The material will stick, causing many air bubbles which the provided squeegee will not remove. Using your thumb to press them out will remove the bubbles, but cause small stretch marks in the film, leaving the surface with a scalloped “fish scale” ripple effect. It makes the phone look like it has been painted with clear coat, rather than maintaining its glassy finish. GARBAGE.
Tyler,
Granted, the Invisible Shield is hardly a perfect product, but I wouldn’t classify it as garbage either. I have applied an I.S. to many different phones and computers, and have occasionally had the bubble issue, but after some trial and error, I have the hang of installing them now.
Also, if you have an I.S. dealer in your local mall, they will install them for you as well, and with the number that they do, they are very quick and efficient.
The invisible shield was hard to apply and was very sticky. Even with soaking my fingers with the solution, there were fingerprints all over the place. I can not get rid of the bubbles, the card that came with it was worthless. Wish I had gotten the one with the spray, instead of the sponge. And as for the retailer applying it for me, this is my 3rd screen protector and I have yet to find one dealer to apply the screen protector for me.
The installation is a buggy one. Having that said, I’ve used up all my solution before inserting the little pieces. So those are now completely useless after not having them stick.
I’ve also been an owner for about 5 days, so having said that I am still waiting for all the air bubbles to disapear, the majority of them disapear after 3 days, pretty nifty, but there is still little air bubbles trying to disapear. May have to wait a while.
It stays on good, but also being a “picky” White iPhone owner, it does not show good on the back. Seeing I have used the phone after installation (I left it dry for an hour) and then putting the phone in my pocket, I guess you can say that pieces of lint have appeared on the sticky sides on the back. Being an owner of a White iPhone it’s clearly visible, so if you own the White iPhone/iPod touch, it doesn’t look good, but I think this shield would work better for the black edition.
Also it does seem entirely imposible to not include dirt. I did use a lot of solution for my fingerprints, so there wasn’t a sign of fingerprints at all, however my screen shows that I have a tiny bit of dust in there, but I am not so entirely picky about that. But I think the installation should come with MORE solution spray.
I mainly bought the Invisible Shield to enjoy having to use the iPhone being naked. I have gone through 2 other cases already, without screen protectors, so I’m probably just thinking of just using one of my other cases with the Incredible Shield cover.
I am so disappointed with this product and in complete agreement with the truthful, albeit negative, comments deposited previously in this thread. I bought two of these for my new HTC Touch Pro 2. No amount of spray is going to keep this skin from sticking firm at the first point it touches so forget about sliding it around for perfect placement – ain’t gonna happen. The rubber card for scraping away excess liquid was almost useless and I ended up using a little card that I got previously from a different brand. By the time I had placed it almost in correct position it was stretched and unsightly and could not get the bubbles out – I mean the larger bubbles without badly stretching the plastic material. It looked so bad, I took it off and in the garbage it went. The other package in the garbage as well. I’ll order the Boxwave Cleartouch Crystal – I know for a fact that one works as advertised.
I was excited when I heard of the ivisible shield but highly dissappointed when I bought it. The installation was a hassle, the air bubbles difficult to get rid of. The reason of getting the shield was to make it phone looks good by itself, it made the i-phone looks like shit now with the shield.
Sorry, I just don’t agree. I think the problem is that people are just not careful enough and are not patient enough to let the produce cure before using it.
I have installed IS on 2 phones without issue. Within a few days the initial “sticky” feel disappears. I don’t have any fingerprints or stretch marks in the film. My current phone has had IS on it since I bought it 15 months ago and its still good. There are a couple of small scratches on it where I used it screen with a sharp, broken finger nail, which did surprise me, but just shows how sharp finger nails are. Many people have been surprised when using my phone as they didn’t initially realise it had IS on it.
HI I got this product yesterday and I was wondering how long does it take until the product drys and the bubbles will go away on my iPhone?
It takes just a day or so to totally dry, and the bubbles will subside over the first few weeks. However, if the bubbles a large, then they may not go away at all…the shield can be a bit finicky.
So when can I use my cell phone again? Do I have to wait until all the bubbles are gone?
It’s up to you, but I would wait about 8-12 hours from the time you apply it. See the instructions on the packaging for their recommended time.