Invisible Shield


D4damage

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Dec 3, 2008
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I put an Invisible Shield screen protector on my Pandora last night. The touch screen seems to have lost a lot of sensitivity because of it. I tested pencil and had marks not registering :-(
 
Hm, now I'm in two minds about putting mine on. Has anyone else done so successfully?
 
Likely it's just a matter of some scotch tape, that's how most other screens suggest removing them.

Only if your Scotch tape is more sticky than the glue on the Invisible Shield. :p


ZAGG reckon "it is much like peeling off a sticker."


I got one of these two years ago in a fit of misguided hopefulness that I'd have my Pandora by Christmas (2008). Don't even know where it is now, to be honest...
 
I still have mine, ordered a year or two back. How will I protect my upcoming Pandora screen, if not with this :mellow:
 
I have an invisible shield for my FreeRunner phone. It's good but yes, the screen shield is a bit thick and not very slippery so sometimes I have a hard time dragging and clicking stuff with the stylus but all things said it's exactly what they say. Very hard to scratch and lasts long. The "glue" is not glue as such, more like a non-sticky water-based solution that acts by natural cohesion so it is easily removable without damaging anything.


EDIT: cohesion is like a magnetic attraction between molecules. If there is a chemical reaction while it sets completely, it's almost negligible.
 
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got one on mine, I don't use the stylus much so its not a problem for me but it does add some friction. As above, dragging is a pain sometimes but I've had absolutely no problem pointing and clicking. If you are going to buy a Zagg, don't do it without at least a 40% off code. They hand them out rather freely.
 
Yeah, I have an invisible shield on my unit, and it does dull the sensitivity a tad. It also isnn't as slick as other screen protectors, so if you try dragging your stylus across the screen, it won't move as smoothly and kinda of sticks.


I have Zaggs product on every one of my handheld devices(DS, PSP, ipod Touch, DSXL, G1, ect.), and I will say it is a very good product that provides a great deal of protection from scratches, and bumps and small drops. I will also say that I never use the screen portions of their kit, as it makes a touch screen harder to use, and has draw backs in that area. I only put it on my Pandora because I never used the touch screen much(I'm a nub man), so it was never a issue for me personally. Once my nub died, it did give me problems as well.


I only have the body protectors installed on all my other devices. If anyone wants a screen protector that doesn't effect the touch screen as much, get those peel and place ones like Hori offers. They are very thin, and also slick, and mimic the materials used on the actual screen. I use those kinds on my other devices, as I use those screens all the time, and need the stylus to slide and function as intended. Now when you use those kinds, you have to place it perfect the first time or your screwed. The invisible shield allows you to play with it during install, and since it uses liquid, you can slide it and get it perfect. Plus it helps in regards to getting the bubbles out.


So both kinds of screen protectors work well, but they both have their own pluses and minuses. You just need to weigh your own needs, and choose the best one for you personally. I like both, but for differant reasons.


Chris
 
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I had bought a couple in preparation for my Pandora months ago as well as a couple for my cellphone but when I discovered you had to use the spray I refused to put it on my phone because I'd just gotten it back after the touch screen stopped working (presumably because moisture had gotten under the touch screen) and the last thing I was going to do was risk it again by actively spraying distilled water on it, because seriously runs like crazy if you get two drops together. I also decided there was no way in hell I was risking it on the Pandora either.


As for removing them the spray isnt much of a glue in anyway so putting a piece of scotch tape on the edge of the screen should be enough (though I agree that there are some brands that just arnt all that strong.)
 
I've been doing some research about screen protectors about two years ago, since I knew the Pandora would have a resistive screen and a stylus with a tip not made of special plastic. This resulted in a review of some brands of screen protectors which I wrote on the German forums (German language link) (automatically translated to English via google translate (scroll down); Does anyone in here know of a way to use anchors with google translate?). While it does contain pictures of the protectors applied to various screens, these pictures don't really transport the quality very precisely; The text is equally important.


Although they are quite popular, I intentionally did NOT include "Zagg Invisible Shield" brand screen protectors in that test for exactly the reasons mentioned here. When collecting information about the most used as well as some specific less well known brands of screen protectors beforehand, I found evidence that, amongst other things, while applied they decrease responsiveness at least of resistive touchscreens as well as display quality. I also did not include some other brands because it became clear that they would not satisfy.


The screen protectors I tested are:

  • "3M Vikuiti ARMR200"
  • "3M Vikuiti DQC160"
  • "Martin Fields Overlay Plus"



All three of them...

  • ...are compatible to resistive touchscreens (and to my non-representative experience decrease responsiveness by just a bit) (I have no idea if they are compatible to capacitive touchscreens).
  • ...are removable without leaving back traces.
  • ...can be reapplied.
  • ...can be washed with clear water.



Long story short: I found the "Martin Fields Overlay Plus" brand screen protector to be the first one that I actually like. This test is not empirical, keep that in mind. Also, I have not yet tested any of the reviewed screen protectors on an actual Pandora because I don't have one yet. For additional information you might want to try reading an automatic translation of the review, I think that most of it is understandable, at least when using google translate.


In another thread, Arkaium recently talked about the screen protector brand called "clarivue", which seems to be very promising. I would have included that brand in the review had I ever heard of it back then, so I might test it one day and either update the review or create a new, better one in English. Would anyone here be interested in that?


------------------------------------------------------------------------


The most important generic tips for applying screen protectors:

  • In order to help in correctly aligning the protector, you can stick short stripes of adhesive tape onto the non adhesive side of the protector, using them as handles.
  • If possible, the process of applying the screen protector should be done in the bathroom. This makes it very unlikely that dust will get in between the protector and screen.
  • Tiny bubbles will often disappear after one or two days.
  • Clean the screen thoroughly before applying the protector.
  • Don't ever touch the sticky side of the protector. In case you ever do so: if possible, clean it with clear water before applying the protector, even if there don't seem to be any smudges.
 
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I also bought it at a substantial discount (I think it was only a few dollars), and I'm glad it was so cheap because I decided not to use it.


I was about to put it on when I thought I'd lay it on the table and try the stylus on it. Urk. It felt like rubbing the stylus against thick jello. It was difficult to drag across the surface at all. The loss of utility is not worth it to me, so I will find something without a touch-screen to use the admittedly excellent shield on... might cut it down for my Dingoo...
 
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With the Martin Fields protectors, how glossy is that protector (can I view it well in bright daylight), and what's the wear&tear like (if you don't have one on Pandora, how is it on other devices)?


Would prefer something non-glossy but I've heard the same issues brought up in regards to no-gloss protectors (blurry/muddy/incorrect color display).


Has anything changed since this original post? Are there other options out there? Thanks.
From my non-representative experience, a display protected by a Martin Fields brand screen protector is not typically unreadable in sunlight, but under certain circumstances can be difficult or impossible to read when the sun is shining directly onto the screen. The same is true for all matte screen protectors I have seen so far, except that matte screen protectors do not cancel out less directly reflected sunlight either, but rather diffuse it, resulting in the washed-out colors and potentially less readable screen through reduced contrast that you mentioned. I have yet to see any matte screen protector that is truly good, but again, bear in mind that my test is nowhere comprehensive and also neither representative nor objective or empirical, which means that the screen protector from Martin Fields may not be the one that is most perfect, or might not even be suited for your particular case at all. However, I am not sponsored by and/or affiliated with Martin Fields and/or 3M, and I wouldn't honour Martin Fields brand screen protectors if I wasn't sure that they are a very good choice for nearly all cases except for some obscure ones where the user will know that she virtually has no choice but to use a matte protector (and except for special cases that I cannot predict, of course).


I had tried to deliberately scratch a Martin Fields brand screen protector dedicated for testing back when I originally created my test, and it appeared that it doesn't get scratched very easily even though I did manage to inadvertently scratch one of them right after I had applied it. A Martin Fields brand screen protector that is applied to my phone for about 2.5 years now is hardly scratched, however this long-term experience is definitely extremely unrepresentative because I typically handle things very aware-ly and hardly scratch any of them, only using screen protectors "just in case" on select devices. Thou shalt proceed with extreme caution when extrapolating from the oral lore of said non-empirical long-term experience that I had.


I was not able to recognize any decrease in display quality with the Martin Fields brand screen protector applied to the worst and the best screens that I possess. In fact, I noticed a subjective slight increase in readability compared to no screen protector on all screens that I had tested it on, more so on some screens than on others. I asked some people to verify this effect, but most of them were not able to, though I have no indication as to whether there was no effect for them or they just were not able to spot it as easily. At this point it is relevant to note that I was aware of, and tried to avoid, the peculiarities of the subjective nature of perception as well as the Weber–Fechner law. I do have a Pandora by now, but have not bought a screen protector for it yet and thus at this point can not make any claims about how well which screen protector works on that screen in particular.


Maybe you have already found out that my test and the post that follows it contain a total amount of 6 pictures that may help you decide. If you absolutely cannot tolerate sharp reflections then Martin Fields is probably not the right choice for you. To answer whether or not you want sharp reflections, you should learn more about how the diffuse reflection of matte screens influences readability, which is an effect that is much more subtle than the negative one of obvious sharp reflections on glossy surfaces.


Maybe looking for polarized screen protectors might be a good idea. I do not know whether new protectors have been released since I wrote the test. In case you do research on this, I would be glad if you shared your findings. Also, it would be great if people who are using a Martin Fields brand screen protector on their Pandora attempted to falsify or verify my statements.
 
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It's probably just the non-native speaker thing going on here, but for someone who claims not to be affiliated with the brand in question, your post doesn't half sound like an ad....


Just saying.
 
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