Gadgetell Review: InvisibleSHIELD for iPod touch
Product: InvisibleSHIELD for iPod touch by ZAGG
Price: $24.99
Rating: 9 out of 10
Pros:Adds military-grade protection to most surfaces, improves grip, frees mind from worrying about most scratches
Cons: Lacks protection around middle edge
Overall: 90% fantastic protection that adds to the look of the device. More grip is a very good thing vs. the iPod’s slick metal back.
At CES, one demo sticks out in my mind: picture me a husky man trying his best to pull an InvisibleSHIELD up and over a key held by a rep from the company. I failed to get the key to damage the surface. I was so impressed, I ordered one for my iPod touch and installed it. The result: I am still impressed.
We did a review of the InvisibleSHIELD back in 8/06 for the then-hip Moto Q. Reviewer Jerry Bingham said, “the screen’s shield is indeed invisible and needless to say, this shield is a keeper and a perfect shield for my Q.”
I am back with a fresh review of the product, to see what’s different now that the company is publicly traded. The shield arrives in a neat box that holds a rubber squeegee, magic spray and decent instructions. The instructions also point to an online video that can be handy as well.
The shield is made of a urethane plastic and was once used to protect the leading edge of helicopter rotor blades. For the iPod touch, the shield comes in two parts: a front side and a back side. The front covers the top of the device all the way to the edge of the dark gray metal running around the device. The bottom covers all the bottom and wraps up the side, completely covering the shiny metal backside. The only exposed parts are the button on top, the gray metal edge that runs around the circumference and the entire area around the earjack port and ipod dock port. Only the outer edge makes me nervous and it stops the product from a 10/10 rating. To be fair, their website does show this gap in coverage.
At CES, the rep told me installation takes about 20 minutes. I found this to be a reliable estimate. After removing the paper backing, the shield is sprayed with the magic spray, applied then squeegeed and pressed into position. I’ve put on similar products and installing this was my best work to date. I can’t tell if that is because this was a better design or my skills are improving. I believe the spray had a lot to do with it.
The shield has a rubbery-tacky like feel that is a welcome addition to my slippery touch. My fingers tend to be oily so the tackiness should keep the unit from sliding around. Also, oils don’t seem to build up on the surface like they did on the naked touch screen. The shield is clear and besides the added shininess, you would be hard pressed to tell a shield is on it.
Overall, the shield doesn’t detract from the look of the device as most protection add-ons do. I am very happy with the shield and would recommend it for any of your electronics from laptops to phones to well, lots of different devices are supported.
Product site: [invisibleSHIELD]
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$25 for a screen protector- do I at least get a jar of Vaseline with it? You can get the same thing from bestskinsever.com for $8…
I don’t see what the big deal is about this product; I have been using skins identical to these on devices (iPhone, Blackberry) for over a year- and I don’t feel like I was robbed afterwards.
on January 23, 2008 at 08:26 PM - LINKi already have a griffin chrome case for my touch, but i went ahead and bought the invisible shield anway. i’m REALLY hoping i can put on the shield and still use the case (which i like). i bought the front/back shield, which wasn’t cheap. i wish i would have bought it as soon as i got the touch because the back is scratched all to heck.
on June 17, 2008 at 11:01 AM - LINK