Accessories The Best Screen Protector?

[Napalm]

Steinheil Ultra Crystal Clear is what I bought after seeing them.

Basically get something, just becasue.

I like the Steinheil as they have options, I choose the clear over the anti-fingerprint. Simply becasue I can live with some finger smudges, on the clear they wipe easilly.

Optics are awesome to match the DX screen. I mean let's face it, its a touch screen device, you have to touch it to operate it. Living with fingerprints is the nature of the beast.

Other brands, well I don't know who makes the protectors that come with otterbox cases, but those are nice. For the non-name brands. I have no experience with. I was willing to pay $10 more to have something more reputable. Course there weren't many options back in August so that narrowed the field for me.

 

[Outlaw71]

Well my Skinomi screen protector was delivered to my ex's house in the mail today (actually, yesterday now), so I went and picked it up. Now, I did do some research into it before I bought it, so I knew it was a 'wet application' product... but it's the first wet application I've ever attempted, and the jury is still out on whether or not I like it.

The instructions directed me to spray both sides of the film with the applicator liquid. I did so, then I put it on the screen that I'd spent about 10 minutes making sure was clean. Then I took the squeegie and took all the air bubbles out of it that I could. The next thing it said to do absolutely shocked me... you see in the beginning it said to turn the device off, fair enough. But once I got to the end, the last thing it tells you to do is not to turn on the device for 12 to 24 hours.... ha haha ha hahahahahah WHAT????

How do they expect us to go for 12 hours without turning the device on, much less 24 hours!?!?!? I for one do not have a landline phone, so this is it. If anyone wants/needs to get ahold of me, this is the only connection I have with the world. Also, I for one also do not have a subscription to any internet service. My computer gets its internet through my phone via 'Wireless Tether'. So those are two reasons that 12 hours just wasn't reasonable.

I let it setup for about 2 hours before turning it back on. I don't know what this will 'supposedly' do to the protector? But I will say this, there looked to be some sort of tiny airbubble cluster between the screen and the protector. I'm not sure if that will work its way out over the next few days or not, I guess we'll see. So for now all I can do is report it in its current shape. Which, if it stayed like this beyond its 'break-in' period, I would not be happy with.

Has anyone else ever put a Skinomi screen protector on their device? If so did you find that after a few days any imperfections disappeared? If it doesn't clear up I would say this is the last 'wet applictation' product I will ever buy. It just doesn't seem to me if you spray a liquid on both sides of the film, that the stuff that gets trapped between the film and the screen can ever fade away... however, it is designed to do just that, so I suppose we'll see what happens.

If I don't like this product and it turns me against 'wet application' products, that also means I won't be getting Steinheil screen protectors... right? I thought I'd seen somewhere that they too are a 'wet application' protector.

 

[Flyview]

Interesting read. I bought my Milestone used and it had some matte screen protector that really took away from the crispness of the screen. Big difference with it off. I'm debating getting one or just leaving it "naked". It's always in a flip-open case. There are 2 small scratches that I can see, but these were there before.

Does dust scratch the screen?

 

[Outlaw71]

Ummm... ok nevermind. Less than a day later and I can report that any and all signs of air bubbles are gone. And thats not the only thing that's gone... I would dare to say to the untrained eye, you'd be hard pressed to spot the fact that my phone even has a screen protector on it. It has quite literally disappeared into my phone. This is what I was hoping would happen, but to be honest when I first put it on device I just could not envision it turning out like this.

Let me just say this... to anyone who has ever put a Skinomi (and perhaps any wet application screen protector if they are as good as this one is) on your phone and immediately didn't think you were going to like it... leave it on for a day or two before you rip it off. It just might surprise you (like mine did me).

Seriously, I came within a half a second from ripping mine right back off again once I saw it on the screen. It looked fuzzy, it looked cheap, and as I reported before, it had air bubbles caught behind the screen that I never figured would be able to escape on their own. I suppose I should have given in a little credit before jumping on here and voicing my initial disappointment with it (what's up with me lately anyway?). This is an excellent screen protector IMO. If you want a screen protector that you barely even know is there, I would rate this one very high on that scale. I've never seen a Steinheil, but I can tell you this shows the screen off in all its brilliant, high definition glory.

I peeled my anti-fingerprint protector off a few days ago and was astounded by how much better I liked the screen without that thing covering it. I had never realized how much it took away from the resolution and clarity of the screen. So when I initially slapped this one on and didn't care for the way it looked, I seriously considered ripping it right back off again and just going with a naked screen from there on out.

I'm so glad I gave it a chance to impress me, because it certainly has done that and then some. This is as close to having a naked screen as I could possibly envision. Just like McDonalds says... I'm loving it!

 

[zane!]

I just pulled the zagg invisible shield off my phone and returned it to best buy. It looked horrible after a day... orange peel finish, air bubbles that wouldn't leave, sticky finish.

The steinheil looks good but cheaper is better:

Before you end up spending 3x as much for brand name screen protectors, try this one (actually a pack of 3) for a little over $3 shipped:

3 Clear Screen Protector Guard Motorola Droid X MB810 - eBay (item 330452195390 end time Nov-13-10 09:03:03 PST)

Crystal clear, smooth scrolling, cuts some glare, easy to install and overall feels like original screen.

Just ordered these, for $3 and change it's worth a shot. Thanks for posting the link!

 

[zane!]

Got the ebay protectors in today and installed one...

They are excellent. Completely clear, easy install, cut to fit the whole screen. Best $3 I've spend on this phone.

 

[Btros]

If I don't like this product and it turns me against 'wet application' products, that also means I won't be getting Steinheil screen protectors... right? I thought I'd seen somewhere that they too are a 'wet application' protector.

The Steinheils are actually dry application, just fyi.

 

[Outlaw71]

The Steinheils are actually dry application, just fyi.

Oh ok. I wasn't sure, I thought I'd seen another popular protector that was wet application, and thought it was Steinheil. Well I'm over my fears of the wet application process now anyhow. The difference between when I first put it on and after it had dried completely are almost uncomprehendable... it's almost like Skinomi pixie's flew into my home and did something to it whilst I slept!

The only thing I would say about the Skinomi that has me curious about the Steinheil protectors is that I don't even notice the Skinomi on my screen, until my fingernail hits it. Then is suddenly feels thick because my fingernail sort of digs into it. It doesn't leave any lasting marks, but it does leave me reminiscing about the naked screen, and how slippery smooth the glass was, yet hard as diamonds when your nail scraped across it.

So, are the Steinheils any harder, and even less noticable than the Skinomi's while on the screen? Just curious.