Best Skins Review

[Kender]

I did my Best Skins Ever application last night, and here's my trip report:

I am overly paranoid. Last time I bought a skin-type-product (not from Best Skins Ever) I spent $55 on a MacBook skin I wasn't careful enough applying, and I ended up with a $55 ball of scratch-resistant plastic that the cats played with for a week. So this time, I decided to be better prepared. I went to my local Walgreens and got some latex gloves, and baby shampoo. Following the instructions provided on BSE's website, I mixed about a "thumbnail" size amount of baby shampoo into about 1.5c of water in a bowl and let it set in the bathroom for about 20 minutes. (Gets the suds/air bubbles worked out.) After turning off the iPhone, I put on a pair of gloves and grabbed some of my iKlear travel kits and went into the bathroom, turning the shower on hot to get the room steamy. (Adding moisture to the air supposedly lessens the chances of airborne dusts and cat hair from landing on your work while doing it.) I used the iKlear cloths to clean the front and back of my iPhone thoroughly, then set it aside for a moment to dry.

Face Piece: Once the face was clear and dry, I wet my gloved fingers in the solution, and peeled the face-skin off and dunked it in the water solution. Shook off a lot of the water, and slapped it on the phone. I got it lined up with the ear-hole and Home button just right and used the dry iKlear cloth to daub up the extra water and press down on the skin. Then I let it sit for about 15 minutes. I removed it from the steamy bathroom and did a final nudge of the skin into it's final place, then used a credit card (while holding it firmly in place with my other hand) to squeegee water out. Then I let it sit for another half hour.

Back Piece: What a bitch and a half. I did the exact same thing I did above, but it was just *so* finicky about being in place - I think I had too much of the water solution on it when I applied it. When you get the back piece on, you're supposed to let the 'flaps" that wrap around the corners dry out, then press 'em down about 30 minutes later. Ugh - much easier said than done. When it's all said and done, I ended up with a few bubbles that I am not happy with - one I tried the old bubbles-in-vinyl trick and pricked it with a needle - however the skin was tough enough to get through that I made a bigger hole than I had intended, and it's not perfect. The bubble is about 50% gone, but you can still see where it was.

Summary: All in all, it took me a bit over an hour, and I'm mostly pleased with the job I did. The face is great - it went on easily and ended up 99% perfect. The back I'm not too thrilled with - it has a few bubbles and didn't line up quite right - the camera lens (what I was using to judge) is nicely centered but the edges near the volume and mute switch are *almost* overlapping the switches, so that also brings the wrap around maybe 1/2 mm too far towards the face piece, so there's a little 'ridge'.

I may buy a new back skin and try again - but the face portion I am very happy with. It doesn't lessen screen responsiveness (so far) and although it feels just slightly "tacky", it doesn't hinder movement, and lends the phone to feel far less slippery in a bare-handed grasp. The front cover in the pictures seems a bit more reflective, but honestly when looking directly at the phone (i.e. while using it) it is unnoticeable unless you are looking for it. (It also is much easier to clean fingerprints off of!)

I recommend this product. Easily worth $10 (shipping included) and I had mine within 48 hours of ordering it.

[ceemeenG]

that is pretty nice