If you own a nice gadget with a great screen like an iPod, Blackberry or Pocket PC, it’s likely you don’t like scratches marring the appearance of it. I know I don’t! Especially with regards to the handheld organizers like Pocket PCs, a scratched screen can mean loss of viewable area and in the case of handwriting recognition, it can cause loss of functionality. That is why some genius came up with the idea for screen protectors.
I’ve tested probably 6 different brands of these over the years and most do a good job for the screen, but what about the rest of your device? Many people take just as much pride in keeping a clean device as they do a clean screen. That’s where a product called Invisible Shield comes in.
Invisible shield is a protector of sorts that fits over your device, much like a screen protector, but it covers your entire device.
it is made of clear plastic film, that according to the company “originally created by the military to protect the leading edges of helicopter blades from wear and tear while traveling hundreds of miles per hour…” There are several videos on their site showing the different tortures it endures.
Here is my experience with it…
First, they shipped quickly. I received mine (for a 4G iPod) in about 5 business days.
The package included the shield, a small bottle of spray and an applicator wedge to help smooth it out after you applied it.
I started out by cleaning my iPod, which was dirty and scratched. I use it while doing yard work, so it tends to get dingy.
After cleaning, it was time to try applying it. Unlike any of the other protectors I have applied to screens, the Invisible Shield required spraying with whatever the contents are of the little bottle. The package didn’t really say what it was. i assumed it was safe. You spray the sticky side of the protector, shake off any excess and put the protector into place. if you misalign it, you can slide it into place – or so the instructions said.
Starting with the front piece, I couldn’t get it to slide at all. It just stuck there, I tried peeling off and putting it back..and had another misaligned try. Finally, after another couple of tries, I doused it well with the spray and it started sliding the way the instructions said it would.
The instructions said use a little spray, but it took quite a bit to get the shield applied correctly. But after figuring out the trick for the front, the back was much easier to apply. Getting the jog dial and center button covered was a challenge for the simple reason, it’s tough to line up the circles properly.
After my iPod was covered, it was squeegy time. I took the plastic squeegy and used it to push out all of the bigger bubbles that collected under the protector. The ones that weren’t gone would disappear after a few days according to the directions.
My first observation was that I didn’t need to spend as long polishing the iPod it as I did beforehand. How to put this..the Invisible Shield much like a screen protector adds a different layer as such, the scratches are less noticible, but a bit of dulling to the iPods appearace happens. It wasn’t bad. it just wasn’t quite as shiney as the originaliPod sheen.
The second thing I noticed was the invisible Shield made the device “cleang” to smooth surfaces. This was a good thing for me, because I was forever losing my car cellphone “cling pad” that held the iPod to the dash. Now I didn’t need it. My iPod sits there without moving an inch.
As far as protection. I used the iPod routinely during my yard work. I’ve tossed it around a little more than normal to see what the results were. It also tumbled around in a pocket with my Leatherman Wave. So far, I see no evidence of scratches to the iPod or the protector. So it does add a layer of protection that would keep the appearance of a device in good condition. it wouldn’t however, protect it from a high fall or any other extreme physical roughhousing.
But if you got a new device, then slap one on and it will keep up it’s new appearance for the life of the device.
