Screen protectors: screen vs. matte vs. mirror?

[cmotion]

Hey guys and gals,

So I got a deal from one of the many "deal a day" websites I belong to, and this one has a "Buy $14 worth of cell phone accessories for $7 from cellpig.com" Anyway, never heard of the website, tried finding some reviews online but didn't really come up with anything. They have three choices of screen protectors for the TB.

3 Anti-glare Matte-finish screen protectors for $12.99
3 Clear screen protectors for $9.99
3 "Mirror" screen protectors for $12.99

Now I'm mostly interested in the first two, the matte vs. clear, although I would be curious to know if anyone has tried the mirror ones before. Thoughts? Opinions? Suggestions? I realize either way I'd be paying $7 for 3 screen protectors (they also have free shipping) so it's not a huge risk. I just don't think I've ever used a matte-finish screen protector before, and I'm wondering if others have, and what you've thought of them. Thanks!

 

[WA_Bob]

I'm honestly not sure what a "matt" one is, but I have seen the mirror ones. Mirror ones are for privacy, but they can be a real pain in sunlight and if you look at them from any angle other than directly on. I've used a Zagg one for for my last two phones and they've done very good with protection. You may want to check them out.

 

[WormDoes]

I would just go with the clear ones. The matte will be kind of glossy and the mirror will be tough to see when you're outside

 

[iAstonish]

I work at ghost armor, so I deal with these sort of questions every day.

Basically it's like this,

Clear- The most transparent of the bunch. Designed to look the most like your original screen in terms of color, vibrancy, resolution, etc.

Matte- Just like matte backs, this material has a texture to it. Most people would describe it as a "frosted" look. Works sort of like privacy screen in terms of taking way from viewing angles, but also takes away from direct resolution and all the other things listed above.

Mirror screen- Pretty self explanatory. I never got the point of these, do you really need your screen to double as a mirror? Like Worm said, these usually more hassle then anything. The mirror causes glare, horrible viewing angles, and it looks cheap.

 

[cmotion]

Thanks guys! Great descriptions iAstonish... "frosted", I totally can picture that now, and don't really want it. Not quite sure why it's a few dollars more. I'll get the clear ones, plus they have cheap little USB car-adapter chargers that I could pick up, which would work on my TBolt as well as my girlfriend's *cough* i-phone *cough* I'm never too far from a charger, but it'll be good to have just in case of long road trips. Oh, and if anyone's interested in the deal, I got it from www.kgbdeals.com, I think there's still a few days you can get in on it. Again, I have no idea of the quality of the screen protectors, or any of the products there. Anyway, thanks for the help guys!

 

[UBRocked]

I work at ghost armor, so I deal with these sort of questions every day.

Basically it's like this,

Clear- The most transparent of the bunch. Designed to look the most like your original screen in terms of color, vibrancy, resolution, etc.

Matte- Just like matte backs, this material has a texture to it. Most people would describe it as a "frosted" look. Works sort of like privacy screen in terms of taking way from viewing angles, but also takes away from direct resolution and all the other things listed above.

Mirror screen- Pretty self explanatory. I never got the point of these, do you really need your screen to double as a mirror? Like Worm said, these usually more hassle then anything. The mirror causes glare, horrible viewing angles, and it looks cheap.

Great synopsis! I'd like to add one more simple qualifier to this info.

If you are annoyed with screen glare, then you may want to look at the matte screen protectors. Because it has that "frosted" finish to it, you wont get the bright glare from overhead lights. The glare you will see is more subdued and blurred.

If having a glossy screen doesn't annoy you, go with the clear screen protector as it will look more like you don't have a screen protector (as previously mentioned).

Neither one is "better"...but one may be a better solution for each individual.

Mirror screen protectors are junk and if you don't believe me...buy one, try it out, and then you'll be looking for a clear or matte screen protector very soon. I needed to see this for myself on a previous device and I'll never buy one again. I'm sure there are a few people that prefer the mirrored ones and that's fine...but as a general recommendation, I'd say to stay clear of em.

 

[TxGoat]

I bought a few screen protectors for the TB and I never was able to get them cleanly on. I'd always get one small speck of dust and after a few days, got tired of always seeing that speck of dust so I have 3 left of the 6-pack that I bought. I think I'd rather just take extra care of my phone at this point.

As far as the mirror finished screen protectors, they're definitely harder to see in bright lights, but one thing I did like about them is you could use them as a makeshift mirror when you had something in your eye or wanted to make sure you don't have any "bats in the cave" aka any boogies peeping out of your nose before any important meetings.