regardingjohn

This is the second replacement (third time installing) of the InvisibleShield iPhone protective cover. It comes with a lifetime warranty, and is super-tough, right? So why am I on my third one?

Answer: the edges peel up, get linty and brown, and eventually the iPhone starts to look like a mushroom. At that point, it’s time to replace it.

I have to admit I was getting sick of replacing it. The first time I had to replace it, it had stayed on about 10 months. The second one stayed on about 8 months. And after it started coming off horribly, I was determined to get a different cover/case for my iPhone. So I bought an Agent 18 EcoShield and was almost immediately disappointed. Although “dockable” — and a dock adapter was included, it didn’t fit in either the dock that came with my iPhone (apparently non-universal), or in the “Universal” dock I bough online (admittedly not from Apple). In order to fit in my dock, I had to remove the bottom half of the case, and since it sits and charged at my bedside each night, it quickly became one more thing in my life that I didn’t feel I wanted to deal with.

Additionally, the Agent 18 EcoShield was actually much more slippery than the InvisibleShield, and while ostensibly offering greater impact protection than the Invisibleshield’s mere sticker protection, it was also far more likely to slip out of my hand. It’s like wearing a helmet while riding a bike whose wheel is likely to fall off,  vs. not wearing a helmet on a safer bike. The InvisibleShield is the safer bike because it’s less likely to slip our of your hand.

The Agent 18 EcoShield (and other cases) are also super bulky compared to the InvisbleShield. I found that I didn’t want to take the iPhone out of my pocket because it was a pain to get in and out, whereas with the the Invisibleshield it’s mere microns thicker than the iPhone itself, and while providing enough texture to grip my fingerprints, it doesn’t also grab the fabric in my pocket — something the silicon cases that were popular a year ago were horrid at. (Side comment: my iPhone wasn’t syncing the other day because the sync socket (there’s a better name for it…) was dirty, so I took it to the local Apple Genius to clean for me, and he showed me his Otterbox iPhone case that had a rubber plug for that opening. OMG! The thing was huge! I could only wear cargo pants if I had one of those. *And* it’s not even waterproof! Why have a non-waterproof Otterbox case? It seems like an insult to the Otterbox brand (which makes great, but expensive, waterproof boxes).

So I broke down, went to the Invisibleshield website and filled out my second lifetime warranty claim, agreed to put up another $3.95 for shipping and handling (plus another $25 on credit hold until they get my defective InvisibleShield back, which looks like a dried used condom that’s been run over on the street, by the way). And the next thing I know I’m at the dining room table installing the damn thing again.

Installation of the InvisibleShield is a bitch. It was a bitch the first two times as well, but they made it worse by cutting costs. Instead of sending a nice little spray bottle to wet the InvisibleShield so it doesn’t immediately stick to the iPhone (and thus make precise alignment nearly impossible) they switched to a pre-wetted sponge. It doesn’t get the sticky side of the Invisibleshield (essentially a clear decal) wet enough. Luckily, I had decided that the little spray bottle they used to include was super cute, so I kept both earlier, and they were still full enough to use again.

I wet the sticker, slid it on, aligned it, held down the corners, and viola! It worked! They mostly lined up. The past two applications had always resulted in a little fold or wrinkle in one or more of the corners (and there’s a whole lot of complaints about this in various forums and posts online, so I won’t go into it, suffice to say that it was a problem for me too. But this time, I had it licked. Mostly. It all lined up except for a slight hangover on the bottom left side (less than a millimeter, but enough to probably catch and peel up if I don’t razorblade it off), and the curved-L on the top right of it has two little wrinkles as well that smooth down when I hold it, but wrinkle back up if I leave it.

And there’s a bubble on the back that isn’t coming out … so far.

But in the end, I have to say that I love the texture of the InvisibleShield. I love that it turns my nice slick iPhone into a non-slip-but-still-slick iPhone. I love that the front of the phone has a slight “orange-peel” texture that resists fingerprints and smudges, but retains its touch-sensitivity. I love that it doesn’t bulk up my pocket. If they could make it easier to install then I’d whole-heartedly endorse it. But for now, I have to only whole-heartedly endorse it for those who are ridiculously patient and careful in installing things (with good eyes for detail-oriented crafts), but not so OCD that they won’t be able to deal with a tiny wrinkle that will, no doubt, fill up with pocket lint and spread, slowly but surely, until one has to spend another $3.95 for its “free” replacement.