I recently decided to change the case on my iPhone 3G from a DLO silicon case to the NLU BodyGuardz skin. The DLO was attracting too much lint, as is the case with the majority of silicon cases, and it was getting difficult to take out of my pocket.
The general consensus online was the numerous skins available were cumbersome to put on but worth it in the end. I decided to go with BodyGuardz because the the Zagg InvisibleShield skin apparently had an orange peel type texture to it.
What it comes with:
- 2 front and 2 back skins.
- A water/baby shampoo based spray.
- A plastic squeegee.
Installation
The first rule of applying any brand skin to any device is to have a clean work environment. Absolutely clean. Some people even went as far as steaming up their bathroom to get rid of dust. Which actually isn’t a bad idea seeing that after installing the skin I realized that a small piece of dust got stuck underneath it. The second rule is to make sure your hands are washed so that you don’t leave any finger prints. The third rule, turn off the iPhone, and the fourth and final rule, clean off the iPhone preferably with a micro fiber cloth.
The liquid that is provided is sprayed on the sticky side of the skin so that it doesn’t stick to your fingers and to make sure the skin does not stick on first contact with the iPhone. This allows you to align and realign the skin until you get it perfect. The squeegee is used to press out any air bubbles when the applying the skin.
Let’s start with the front piece that protects the screen. This is the easiest to apply and will give you some practice for whats to come. You need to first spray the liquid in your hands so that the skin doesn’t stick to your fingers when you peel it off. Once you peel off the front piece spray the sticky side generously with the liquid. The more you spray the easier it will be to move the piece around to perfect its positioning. When your ready to place it start by lining up the ear piece at the top. Once that is lined up use the squeegee to press out any air bubbles as you place the skin further down the screen. Don’t worry, it might take a couple of tries before it lines up to your satisfaction, but that’s what the liquid is for. Also, don’t worry if you can’t get all the air bubbles out, they will disappear in a couple of days.
Now we come to the tedious part. This requires some patience. Again, wet your hands and peel off the back piece. Also a word of caution, peel off the back piece very carefully. There is a piece at the top and bottom that are attached to the main piece by a small amount. Be careful not to stretch them as you peel. Also, to make sure they don’t stick to the other parts of the skin spray the sticky part of the skin as you peel it off.
I would recommend starting from the top. Line up the camera hole then line up the silence toggle and volume controls on the side. Again, you might line it up perfectly on the first try or it might take a few. Make sure everything is lined and pressed down first before attempting the corners. The corners require some time to stick. They will keep coming up so I recommend holding down the corners for a few minutes each. Once everything has settled down the skin will take a few days to completely dry (you can still use the phone) which will allow the air bubbles to disappear. After 2 days the air bubbles were completely gone, though it might take shorter or longer depending upon how many air bubbles you have and how much solution you used.
Pesky Corners
The corners are a pain and they more then likely will come up. There are a bunch of tips and pictures at the MacRumors Forum that you can use and a lot of videos on YouTube on how to apply the skin. There’s also a great tip on YouTube about how to deal with those pesky corners with a nail cutter.
Review
Though the installation can be a bit time consuming (took me about 40 minutes) and cumbersome the NLU BodyGuardz skin is definitely worth it. It’s a bit pricey at $24.95 but it offers scratch protection and you don’t have to carry it around in a case. The downside is there is no protection if you drop it, but if your not prone to doing that then I recommend buying the BodyGuardz skin. After it is completely dry the skin is crystal clear and doesn’t affect the touch screen at all. I don’t want to test out the scratch protection for good reason but this BodyGuardz video, this Fox News video, and from what I read online has convinced me that it is scratch resistant. If you want the sleek look and feel of the iPhone back then toss out your current case and buy the NLU BodyGuardz skin.
Use the coupon code phoneshow at their website to get 10% off.