Despite having a folio casing, I still feel insecure about the protection for the iPad 2’s screen, and hence started to look for reviews for a good screen protector to insure one of my more expensive investment. Before searching for one, a first decision will have to be made: anti-glare or crystal?
Anti-glare provides more resistance against smudges, fingerprints and reflection, while at the expense of the “prism” effect and slight loss of fidelity in colors. On the other hand, crystal or clear protector allows for more vibrant colors, with the downside of being a fingerprint magnet. Ultimately, it depends on one’s usage. If the iPad is often used outdoors or fingerprint haters, the choice will be an anti-glare film. For me, since I’ve decided to use it more for editing photos and colors matter more to me than anything else, the choice will be a clear film. After all, fingerprints are usually invisible when the screen is on (unless you have really oily fingers).
Screen protectors for iPad in Singapore generally ranges from 10+ dollars to 50+ dollars, and after doing some research online, it seems that the more recommended ones are those from SGP, Power Support and Moshi. SGP and Power Support offers both anti-glare and crystal protectors, while Moshi only has the anti-glare iVisor. Having bought the Power Support AFP Crystal Film set, I decided to write a short review on it, since I don’t see any reviews on it so far.
USA Website: http://www.powersupportusa.com/accessories/ipad-2/crystal-film.html
Japan website: http://www.pawasapo.co.jp/products/ipad/pip01.php?category=ipad
The set consists of the protector and a piece of cleaning cloth, similar to most other protectors. With my own cloth and a blower (for my camera equipment), I tried to make the screen of the iPad as dust free as possible. I then lay the film on the screen to check the alignment, so that spaces on all edges will be equal. Carefully peeling off a quarter of the film backing, I aligned the edge properly before slowly removing the remaining backing. With a cloth wiping down as I pasted the protector, only minor bubbles appeared towards the edges, which can be easily squeezed out. All in all, application was easy (the blower was necessary) and fuss-free for me.
With the film in place, I did a few quick “tests” by sliding my fingers across and trying to simulate some typing on the screen. To my surprise, the texture of the film feels slightly smoother than without, and resistance against fingerprints were quite good as well, way better than the naked screen. With the screen turned on, colors is good and vibrant, as expected from a crystal film, so no complains about this. In fact, I am currently typing this blog on my iPad, and switching off the screen halfway shows very little fingerprint smudges, which is definitely a bonus for me.
Apologies for the long story and short review, but this screen protector is definitely recommended by me, despite the high price of 50+ bucks. After all, most of us only requires one screen protector in the lifespan of an iPad, so why not invest in a good one?
Geek@Home - Sky's blog 