AAUG Reviews

by Karl Augestad ,AAUG Member

When you invest in a 3G iPhone and open the box the iPhone looks shinny and new. My AT&T rep pointed out the cleaning cloth and said I would use it often. And I did. Within the first few hours I found myself wiping it clean. I have the black model and I noticed fingerprints show on all sides of the phone. So I heard about the InvisibleSHIELD by Zagg.

I already knew of Zagg’s reputation but wanted to see how they would handle the new shape of the 3G iPhone. The ZAGG InvisibleSHIELD(tm) is a thin polyurethane film originally created for the military to protect the leading edge of helicopter blades. This tough clear membrane is attached to your device on all sides to protect it from scratches and gives the slippery iPhone better grip. What makes this product different is that it is durable and protected by a lifetime replacement warranty.

When opening the box you receive a beautiful package displaying the Shield Spray, installation squeegee and InvisibleSHIELD material in neat fitting pockets. The shield spray is a larger, 5″ size container, than the one I received for my iPod touch which was only 3″ tall. I like this extra spray as it is useful if you need repeated attempts to get the alignment just right. The detailed instructions in the middle panel were clear to understand and I like the little drawings too. The installation process is well documented by users of others on You Tube(tm) and Zaggs webpage under http://www.zagg.com/community/videos.php. I watched several and was ready to “stick it on”.

It is important you have a good work area with plenty of elbow room. Clean the surfaces of the iPhone, clean your hands, then spray your finger tips, then spray the sticky side of the shield as it rests in your palm. Aligning the shield is the most challenging but with two attempts I got it. Spray it one more time and squeegee out the bubbles and moisture and pat the edges with a paper towel.

The edges of the invisible Shield on the curved 3G iPhone especially around the volume controls were the most difficult. The thin strips were hard to align but once I got it and applied pressure they stayed in place. The Zagg videos show a great “Palm technique” that helps get it into place.

One improvement I would suggest is some removable adhesive tabs attached to theses this strips of the one piece back allowing you to slightly stretch them into place to help wrap the curved edges. These tabs would be pealed off once in place and dry. A little R & D would be needed to see if it is practical.

I keep my iPhone in my belt clip and I was concerned that the repeated in-and-out would catch an edge of the shield. But no problems so far. All the edges have held firm. I really like the feel when holding the phone. The extra grip really is nice and fingerprints and smudges don’t show. I would highly recommend this to anyone with a new iPhone or iPod.