Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Clear Coat for iPad mini

Hello guys, up for review today is a Clear Coat wrap for the iPad mini.  Clear Coat has hit the market with urethane films for a wide variety of devices.  These films are marketed as crystal clear and scratch proof for those users who prefer to use their device "naked" or case-less.  Who would want to strap a bulky case on the already slim iPad mini? 

I've been using the full wrap on my iPad mini for a few weeks now and I can vouch for the scratch proof claim of the Clear Coat.  My major gripe comes down to the screen shield.  The smooth silky touch of the bare glass screen is totally lost with the Clear Coat installed.  It feels tacky (not sticky like zagg) yet hard to explain; it's sort of like dragging your finger on dry skin.  This screen shield is not something I would buy again.  In contrast to this, the film that covers the back feels surprisingly smoother and I didn't seem to experience the same issue. 




Moving on to the accuracy of the film cuts, I found that the back film is cut perfectly around
the cutouts and buttons around the perimeter of the iPad mini.  The screen shield is a bit odd as they've chosen to cut it pretty "short" of the perimeter of the screen perhaps to keep the edges from peeling and to provide room for cases that wrap around the screen.  Another thing that i'm not a fan of is the way that the screen has a pocket cut out from the home button that extends to the bottom of the device rather than using a circular cutout. 



Installation was tricky but not difficult if you take your time and have patience.  Installing the screen shield was not bad using the provided installation liquid and squeegee.  Installing the back film was pretty challenging.  Locating the film was a breeze as long as you use enough installation liquid.  Getting the edges to stick was a daunting task which involved a lot of hair dryer and elbow grease (i.e. holding each flap down for a long time).  I would say it took me over 30 minutes to install the back film alone.  Installing the front film took ~10 minutes. 

Lastly, I'd like to speak about the clarity of the Clear Coat.  The screen shield is not optically crystal clear like they are claiming.  It has a grainy look when the screen is on and has an orange peel look to it when the screen is off.  The same orange peel look applies to the back film but isn't as noticeable when installed. 


You can pick up a full body Clear Coat for $34.99 and a screen only option for $24.99.  Overall, I would rate this product as "It's Ok".

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Spigen Linear EX Slim for iPhone 5

Today i'll be reviewing the Linear EX slim series case from none other than Spigen SGP.  The folks over at Spigen have recently released a bunch of products in their "slim" line.  I am a big fan of the linear EX case...will this one make the cut?  Read on for the full review below.



I had the linear EX case for my iPhone 4S and liked it a lot; a lot more than the OEM apple bumper.  The iPhone 4S version did have a little bit of bulk to it, not more than any other bumper, but it was surely noticeable.  When I saw that they were releasing a "slim" version of this case, I was really anxious to get my hands on one for review.  You definitely have to get one of these if you like a nice slim case that doesn't make your thin iPhone 5 a thick gaudy gadget.  

The linear series of cases from Spigen are a 2 piece design with 2 "L" shaped pieces that lock together to complete the frame.  Another thing I really like about them is that the volume buttons and sleep/awake button are totally covered but still provide perfect "click" when the buttons are depressed.  The cutout for the silent switch is a little on the smaller side but they don't have much room to enlarge this due to the thin form factor of the case.  Along the bottom side there are slits to ensure perfect speaker and microphone usage as well as a pretty small lightning port cutout and a moderately narrow headphone jack cutout.  




There is a small amount of lay on the table "lip" to the case but when using it with a Spigen GLAS.tR, like I am, the lip is non existent (it almost seems like the screen shield extends beyond the case lip).  I would have liked to see a little bit more especially since Spigen is the one that owns the design to the GLAS.tR and touts all of their cases to "work" with it.  


Along with the case itself, you will get a high quality Spigen crystal screen shield, clear back protector and a set of jelly home button stickers for the low price of $21.99.  I think this is one of the best deals that they're offering right now considering the Neo Hybrid EX case is selling for $31.99 and is essentially the "same" type of case.  

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Spigen Slim Armor Case for the iPhone 5

Today i'm going to be telling you guys about a new offering from the folks over at Spigen SGP.  The case that I have for review is their Slim Armor case; read on to see what it's all about.


The Slim Armor case is a 2 piece style case with an inner TPU soft layer that wraps around the entire phone.  On top of this, there is a polycarbonate piece that fits onto the back within a set of grooves to complete a 2-tone back like the iPhone 5 has.  The fitment of the 2 layers is spot-on and it's almost like this is a product apple would ship with their phone.  The attention to detail is outstanding i.e. the edges around the case even have a chamfered edge to mimic the iPhone 5 design.  


Along the top of the case, the TPU covers the sleep/wake button, along the left side, TPU covers the volume buttons with a smaller cutout for the vibrate switch; you have to dig your finger in to access this though.  Around the bottom there are nice slots for the speaker and mic along with separate cutouts for the headphone jack and lightning port.  




One thing worth mentioning is that i'm using this case with a Spigen SGP GLAS.tR screen shield which protrudes beyond the case.  What this means is that if I flip my phone over, it's resting on the screen shield and not the edges of the case.  For being an armor case, I would think it should have some lay on the table lip to it while using this screen shield.

The Slim Armor case does not come with anything other than the case itself and 3 jelly home button stickers.  For the price of $17.99 (Satin Silver, Metal Slate & Gunmetal), I surely wouldn't expect a set of front and back shields.  Overall, I am really liking this case and would like it even more if it had more of a lip around the screen.