I’ve got kids…two little angels (3 and 1 years old). I have to keep reminding myself that they are in fact, angels every time they touch my gadgets. Don’t get me wrong, since I’m a techie, I want my kids to learn the ways of the geek pretty early, so I let them (my 3 year old in particular) play with my iPad 2. Now of course, I try to monitor what she’s doing with my pricey toy in her hands, but there are sometimes that I look away for a while, only to be alerted by Mrs. Tech when my daughter is doing “something other than what she’s supposed to be doing” with my tablet.
Normally, I don’t like stuff on my gadgets – No cases, no covers, or screen protectors – I like my gadgets like I like my women Mrs. Tech – Naked. But the more and more my kids want to emulate Daddy and touch all over my stuff, the more I realize that it’s about time that I grow up and get some protection. So, the nice folks over at Wrapsol sent me a Clean screen protector film to try out and see if in fact I’ve been unnecessarily gambling with the future of my iPad 2’s screen by not protecting it from my kids the “elements”
A little background information on Wrapsol. They make tough & rigid, anti-glare & anti-fingerprint protective film for your gadgets, that are still touch-responsive…and don’t look like you have a mountain of plastic filled with bubbles stuck to your screen. That’s my summary of their products, so when I got my review sample, my main concerns were how complicated it would be to apply the film and “the bubble factor” that has kept me from applying products like these on any of my gadgets in the past.
From looking at the packaging, tools, and instructions, I got the impression that applying the film would be a breeze. So, instead of cleaning off and sanitizing my dining room table, thoroughly washing my hands, and performing surgery to get this thing on my iPad 2, I cracked open the box and applied it on an filled to capacity airplane on my way back home from Los Angeles earlier this week.
Application
In the package was the protective film, a cleaning cloth, an applicator bar, and some instructions with mostly pictures. These was even a QR Code that you could scan to view application videos and get additional support (and you know I LOVE QR Codes). Sounds simple, right? In fact, it was pretty simple indeed. With peanuts, a small cup of sprite with not enough ice also occupying my make-shift workstation 30,000 feet in the air, It took only a couple of minutes to clear any debris from my device, peel back the film’s layers, carefully apply the film, and work out the bubbles with the application bar. I was prepared to accept the fact that I wasn’t going to be able to massage out ALL the bubbles, but I sure tried…which was what took up most of my time.
Bubble Factor
As you can see, after using some elbow grease to get most of the bubbles out, I was still left with enough bubbles to cause concern. Yet, the instructions warn that there will be some bubbles left, and you just have to hold your horses (my words) and wait for the film to “cure”. So I packed up my iPad, and left it alone for a day or two. Low and behold, the prophecy was fulfilled, and after another pass with the supplied cloth, the screen is looking pretty good. There is one little bubble left on the screen, but I expect that one too will eventually disappear.
Appearance & Toughness
As far as aesthetics, It looks good. Of course, I can tell the film is on due to the cut-outs for the home button and the front camera. Other than that, the edges are clean and show no signs of peeling, and the clarity and touch responsiveness of the screen is the same. I can’t speak on the anti-glare, because I’m not dying to use my iPad out in the sun; but, there is less finger smudge left on my screen after molesting it for a while. On the flip-side, the finger cooties that are left on the screen take more effort to clean off than if the screen was bare. But, that’s a fair trade-off to keep my screen free from the monsters little angels that are my kids and their early fascination with my beloved gadgets.
Let me tell you, it took mental will power to REALLY test the film out and run my nails and my keys across the screen, but after taking the plunge, it held up like a champ. The marks that were left on the screen were very minimal, so I can actually still use it if something accidentally scrapes up against it, or my kids get a hold of it. Of course, for some strange reason, my daughter played relatively nice with my iPad after I applied the film. So, her field test report was filed as “inconclusive”. I will have to update this post when she REALLY feels like “putting in work”.
Overall, I’m pleased. I’m still going to take care of my device, but it’s nice to know that my iPad’s screen is protected from the “elements”. The Wrapsol Clean Screen for iPad 2 runs approx. $30 bucks for the screen only. You can also get Wrapsol film to cover your entire device, and Wrapsol offers film for a wide variety of devices…and they are adding more daily.
So check them out. If you order something, tell them “BrothaTech sent you”. Now, nothing special will happen, and you might even get kicked out of the system if you try to enter “BrothaTech” in the promo code field…So just leave a message in comments section if you buy something, lol!