Firstly, do not be an idiot like me, because I have purchased 5 screen protector sets that costs up to $179.80, and to make the best of its value, they only lasted up to less than a week, and I got better in sticking these annoying films on a 9.7 inch screen.
Now because of my mistake, I would love to write, and to share, on the available films in the market.
Although Apple claims that their latest iPhone 4 is a glass made out of a material that is stronger than plastic, and 30 times stronger than sapphire crystal.
Let's get down to the point:
It's still glass. Give it to a kid, and no matter what, you'll be crying towards a 9.7 inch broken glass screen a few minutes later.
There are 2 main categories of film to protect the pretty glassy screen. They are:
1) Crystal clear
2) Anti-Glare
Let's run through the differences:
Crystal clear films will allow you to maintain the colours that you see on your device as it is out of the box. And like any glass surfaces, the film will retain the joy of you spending time by clearing the fingerprints off the screen frequently.
Pros:- Colours will be as it is. Looks like it doesn't have a protective layer on top.
- Feels "connected" with the device
Cons:
- If you don't turn up the brightness (and kill your battery at the same time), it will be unlikely for you to see anything as the reflection, like a glass, will shine directly towards your eyes.
- Finger prints are its best friend. You'd better be someone who wears specs, as you'd use the cloth to wipe every fingerprints off the screen.
- Like glass, your fingers won't be able to slide. It'll jitter along the surface like a boat against the sea waves.
Anti-Glare films were the type of films I thought I wanted. The ones that does not have a matte finish. When I compared it to my brother's iPad, and my own iPod Touch, I saw the difference. Instantly, my 1024 x 768 resolution and colours were ruined by this film.
Pros:- Smoother feel. Your fingers actually slide from one side to the other; unlike the Crystal clear films.
- Distorts, and blurs out all reflections facing it - including light sources, and your own image, so you can't use it as a mirror during the times you feel like being vain.
- Fingerprints may compile, but will not be visible after an amount of finger oil being on top. (Come to think of it..ewww..)
Cons:
- Distorts your reflection, and lights too. Did I mention that it pixelates your colours and interface too?
- Harder to free it from fingerprints.
- It just looks horrid. It's matte finish. That's why I changed mine after I found out the differences.
I don't entirely hate the anti-glare film. It's brilliant because I was able to slide on my iPad with ease. It was comfortable, but most of my time, I end up twitching trying to focus on my iPad whenever I play my games, or when I go online.
Plus, the idea for the iPad is to have its brilliant colours to blind you, not to diminish it, so that's why I prefer the crystal clear film compared to the anti-glare.
So, I hope some random Google-r will research on the differences, stumble upon this page, and thank me before s/he makes the same stupid mistake I did. By wasting a shitload of $$ in films. LOL.
And if you're wondering what film brand I'm using, honestly speaking, I don't really care. But the easiest to apply is
Power Adaptor. It costs the same as the Elano range, and it is, by far, the EASIEST to apply! I was surprised that it took me nearly 20 minutes to apply an Elano film, and this only took me less than 5 minutes.. or 2 minutes actually, in an enclosed, dust-free environment.
All you need to do is to get away from any fabrics. Carpets, would be your worst nightmare. What I did, is I went down to my dining room area, which is a wooden furnished floor, a wooden table with a wooden plank on top. No frabics were around except for a bed, and the closest dirtiest spot would be.. well, let's not get there now, shall we?
What you need next is a clear-scotch tape, a credit card (or anything similiar) and if you're a photographer, get your lens cleaning kit out.
If you were to get ideas on applying a film, that's great. But we have YouTube to show how
Power Adaptor would advise you to apply their film, which is the best tutorial ever. Don't worry about applying and getting all of the air bubbles out of place, or whatever it is.
But if you were to hold the non-adhesive side with your thumbs, and (preferably your fingers) to remove the other side of the film to expose the adhesive side. Start with your iPad upside down, with the Home button facing away from you, and just do whatever the video teaches you to. If you wrestle with your film hard enough, you might even notice that you won't be able to get any air bubbles caught in between.
If you encounter dirt, or dust, you won't be able to let the air bubbles subside by itself. Mainly because the dust.. is trapped thanks to your genius and expertise. Don't worry, I had breadcrumbs caught in between. This is where your scotch tape comes into play. Prepare 2 pieces of tape. One to stick to any of the edges closest to the dust, and you'll be able to lift it up easily if you try to detach the tape from the film. Use the other tape to stick onto the dust that annoys you, and get it over and done with.
And yes, if you have an air bubble, use a plastic card, and push it out.
Here's a hint. If it's closer to the Home button, push it towards it as the Home button is not covered by the film.
Oh. And if you have the time, and the money. Go for the InvisibleSHIELD. That is one film that I was frustrated to put on, but gave bloody good results. Problem is, it'll probably take you more than an hour to fit each side (so that's 2 for both sides), and it not scratch-resistant.
After all, it's a light sheet of plastic.
And yes, after a few weeks of using the iPad, and finally replacing the film, it looks so bloody damn new thanks to the Power Adaptor film. I feel like I'm in love all over again.
Now, the next thing I'm going to annoy you all is with..the countdown to the iPhone 4 release in Australia!
