Hired protection

Invisible Shield

www.shieldzone.com

These guys are the ones who really created this market. It started with a guy out of Utah that was talking with a buddy of his about how the military protects its helicopter blades. He came up with the plan to use this protective film to cover electronic devices. They have become the company to look for in the field of screen protection. Compared to the other guys, they have the largest selection of custom designed screen and body protection.


The price is $30 for the iPhone, which includes screen protection and the body protection. The body protection doesn’t extend all the way around to protect the chrome ring in front, in addition they don’t protect the home button with the film, and the screen protection leaves a gap at the bottom, next to the button. That said, the $30 buys you the protective film, a squeegee to help install it, and two spray bottles of a special solution to help install the film. The squeegee is a nice custom piece with a tapered edge. In reality you only need a soapy solution, but having this already mixed for you is very convenient.

What you get

They also offer a lifetime warranty which means they will replace the protective film at any time; all you have to do is pay for shipping.

Corner protection

Naked chrome

Installation of the Invisible shield is extremely easy thanks to the cutouts that allow the film to bend around the corners with ease.

I tested out the strength of the film, and the videos on their website aren’t doctored. This stuff is really tough. It failed my test with a Philips screwdriver though. The film failed at about 1cm of stretch and I was able to scratch through the film with the screwdriver tip. My Infiniti key was also no match for the film. This test puts more stress on the film than in the videos, since the videos allow the film to stretch over a much larger area. So it is tough, but not indestructible.

iQase

www.iqase.com

Our next contender comes from a new company out of Virginia. The owner, Suhail Mishlawi, of the company answers all emails and they have a small but growing selection of iPhone specific products. They have great YouTube videos showing how their products perform. Today we are looking at both their screen protection and leather cases, but first their screen protector, the iQase FiLM.

This product is unique in that it is a dry application. It doesn’t require you to spray any fluid on the iPhone or the film. There is a layer of silicone that keeps the screen protector stuck to the glass on the iPhone. You can see an amazing video of the screen protector being applied here:

http://www.iqase.com/youtube/FiLM3.html

Application is very easy, but the fit is not absolutely perfect. The cutout for the speaker is a little larger than the actual opening, and if you center the actual opening within the cutout, then the ends stick out a bit at the bottom. In addition, there is a small area inferior to the button that is unprotected. The problem with having sections that are unprotected is that dirt can build up at these transition points, so when you remove the screen it may show what was protected, and unfortunately what was not protected. The FiLM has a protective layer on both sides of the film, which allows you to place the film on the iPhone without touching the adherent layer of the film. This prevents any fingerprints or dust from getting between the film and the screen. I did have some trouble with a few small spots where the silicone wouldn’t stick down. The instructions recommend using a hair blow dryer to get the bubbles out, but I don’t own a blow dryer.

Scanned image of FiLM and the iPhone

FiLM with Best Skins Ever button protection

Of all the screen protection products, the surface of the FiLM feels the best. It is it the smoothest, and feels like a freshly waxed and detailed clear coat. There are no optical distortions nor loss of brightness or contrast. The aesthetics of this screen protector do make up for it’s slightly less than perfect fit. There is no loss of screen sensitivity with the FiLM, I thought it improved screen responsiveness as I found that the base glass face on the iPhone didn’t work well when there was a heavy grease film on the surface, like if you had just put sunscreen on, or you were sweating and put the iPhone up to your face to talk.

In terms of scratch resistance and strength of the film, it is surprisingly resistant to puncture and scratching. It was very difficult to scratch through the surface using a screw driver. With puncture, it doesn’t stretch and give like the other products, but it did require a decent amount of force prior to puncture. What is does show more of are light scratches. Lightly scratching the film will leave a mark, at the same pressure where you won’t leave a mark using the urethane films. The screen is still protected underneath, but then you may need to swap protection to keep your iPhone looking shiny and happy.






It costs $20 for two with a microfiber cloth.

Best Skins Ever

www.bestskinsever.com

These guys are a no frills operation. They basically just sell you the screen protection, no extra solutions, no cleaning cloths, no squeegees. That’s a good thing, since all that extra stuff costs money. Their price, $8 for full body iPhone protection.

WYSIWYG

I spoke with them and they say that they use a film that is similar to the 3M product, but “better.” They couldn’t elaborate.

Their protection is the only one that protects the home button for the iPhone. The chrome ring is also protected, but they use a few pieces to put it all together. Personally, I’m not a big fan of so many small pieces because it makes installation a little more difficult, and dirt likes to get between all the edges of the film. The small extra pieces to protect the chrome ring at the top and the bottom actually go on very easily. The cutouts are perfect, so if you line up the camera and the volume control cutouts right, the rest falls into place.


You don’t get fancy packaging with best skins ever, but you really get a very similar product for a lot less.

This is definitely the best bang for the buck.

Bodyguardz

www.bodyguardz.com

Also out of the great state of Utah, NLU products has brought to the brawl their BodyGuardz line of screen and body protection.

On immediate inspection of their products, the color of the paper attached to their film is different than that of the Invisible Shield or Best Skins Ever. The release paper is whiter than the other products. In addition, the film shows a little less orange peel effect than the Invisible Shield. They are very clear on their web site that this material is used for car paint protection.

Is that a pen in your pocket? Or some bodyguardz spray?

Comparing the bodyguardz with the other products, they use a single film to protect the back of the case and the chrome ring. It costs $25 for 2 sets. They also include a solution spray, a squeegee, and a cleaning cloth. Their squeegee is more like a credit card. The solution is water and baby shampoo. They also offer a great video of how to install the protection on the iPhone, but then they recommend that you don’t use the iPhone for 48 hrs to allow the film protection to completely dry and adhere to the iPhone.


The strength of the Bodyguardz film, which visually looks a little different than the others, is comparable. It also fails against a screwdriver at about 1cm of penetration. This test is much more rigorous than what you see on the net, since the screwdriver does come to a point, whereas most keys have a rounded profile at the tip. That said, you almost have to try and scratch the iPhone before the film will fail.

The future

I contacted a company, Clearmask (www.clearmask.com), who have been making paint protection products for some time now. They are using a 3M-based film, but one used for 3M’s aerospace industry. This film is supposed to be clearer, stronger, and easier to apply. It differs from the other products in that it has two release layers, one on the adhesive side, and one on the outer surface, and it can be applied dry. Right now they don’t have a product for the iPhone, but I did test one of their iPod nano skins.



Optically this does have less orange peel than the others and the dry application will make people who get queasy about getting their iPhone wet feel a little better. Personally, I don’t mind the wet application, since it does make application a little easier. You can do a wet application with the Clearmask if you like. When we tested this film, it is stronger than the others and does appear more resistant to deep scratches. We do think that having the additional top release layer may help with having a smoother surface, but it also makes the film a little stiffer during installation, this might make it harder to get to contour to the tight curves on an iPhone…

If they come out with an iPhone specific skin, we will be sure to let you know.