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Recently received the Phantom Skinz Full Body set and have gone through installation.
Here's the breakdown:
The Pros:
- The Screen Skin looks good and feels good. The extra drag vs. the stock glass is slight and the overall clarity is very good (doesn't have any noticeable detraction from the crisp, contrasty screen).
- The main screen skin and front overlays were fairly easy to apply and once dried have a very nice unobtrusive look
- Comes with 2 sets of skins
The Cons:
- included directions are WAY OFF from the install video on their site. Soaking times, how long to let it sit and dry, etc...
- Edge bubbling on every corner for the back overlays. Directions say to "cup the corner with palms and hold 30 seconds", but I've done it over and over again and they keep popping off after a short while
- A WHOLE LOT of wet work involved in applying these skins. Application involves soaking the skin in water first, then (as instructed) with your fingers fully wet, take the wet skin and put it wet onto the phone and then use the included credit card shaped "squeegy" to push out the extra water. Not so much a big deal for the screen skin, but getting that much water around and near the audio/mic/power and such ports while putting on the body skins is asking for trouble.
Final Thoughts
I imagine in some small (heck, maybe in large) part, the corner bubbling issue is due to me not applying the skin properly. But I'm not some clueless granny that doesn't know the difference between a mouse and a blackberry and the included instructions are vague in important places and almost completely different than the video instructions shown at their website (for example; The included instructions say to use warm water WITH SOAP)
Bottom line: Stick with just the screen skin, skip the full body.
The online video instructions say to use soap as well. IIRC, she said that at their facility, they use one drop of Johnson's baby shampoo per 32 oz of water.
I would avoid Phantom Skinz altogether. Here's the review I posted about my experience with one of them on my Moto Droid in the skins topic.
Phantom Skinz
I got a PS for my Moto Droid because I didn't want something as grippy as the Zagg. PS had great reviews and came with 2 full sets for the price of 1 zagg with 33% off on top of that ($16.50 in the end). The first installation of the screen got some dust and fuzz under it since I was OCD about getting it perfect, so I emailed them and they sent me a replacement for free no questions asked. I know it did come with two sets of protectors but I wanted to keep one as a backup still. Second installation was perfect. No dirt, dust, fuzz or finger prints. Screen was perfectly smooth (no orange peel) and the touch felt almost the same as the glass. Put the rest of the body on without a problem as well with just a few bubbles in some of the tougher spots. I was very impressed, but now a month later I am not so much. After daily use taking my phone in and out of my pocket (sometimes shared with keys) the skin is filled with knicks and wrinkles. While the film may not technically scratch, it is vulnerable to indentations and air bubbles forming which do not "self heal". Instead of scratching, it seems like the skin stretches in place, resulting in a wrinkle/groove with little marks that look like air bubbles underneath. Not only does it make the screen look dirty, but you feel them while using the touch screen. As I write this, I just dug my finger nail into the screen and tried to scratch it, leaving another permanent groove. Needless to say, I will be taking off the PS and throwing it in the trash. The rest of the body has surprisingly stayed pretty clean of wrinkles, so it may have something to do with its application on glass. I will put some pictures up when I get the chance this evening. Overall, I would not recommend PhantomSkinz. It looked and felt great for a couple weeks, but now every day I am finding more and more knicks and wrinkles and that is just unacceptable compared to others. This skin is NOT scratch proof like other comparable skins on the market! However, I will commend their customer service for being very helpful and quick to reply.
And here a pictures of what it looks like:
h ttp://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=5415251&postcount=44
(remove the space after the h, I can't post links yet)
Bottom line here as that they are smoother than other brands but scratch pretty easily. You should check back in on this topic in a month or two and see if your opinion has changed.
I applied the full body skin about a week ago. There's definitely a lot of water involved but most of the danger can be avoided with some caution. I used Q-tips to do a lot of the credit card work around the edges so that it soaked up the water it pushed out.
A good trick for the corners is to use some sealant/piping tape to hold them down. This is a lot better than using your hand for 30 seconds, and you can leave it there for as long as you want (I left the tape on mine for 2 days since I wasn't going anywhere that I needed to show off my phone, I figured why not? Now my corners are perfect).
So far I like PhantomSkinz because it wraps the corners a little better than the other skins. Bodyguardz is a little better in clarity and material. InvisibleShield has too much of the orange peel effect. Haven't had a chance to try BestSkinsEver.
As for detonation's review, it's too early for me to tell if I'll have the same problems, but I agree that the material doesn't seem on par with InvisibleShield or BodyGuardz. But since I still used the carrying case and treat my phone with much care even with the skin on, I don't think it'll be too much of a problem.
I recently got the phantom skinz full body set, after I read the instructions I thought that there was no way I was applying wet/soapy film to my N1, it just doesn't make any sense. Water/soap plus electronics? Its a recipe for disaster, besides the fact that I suck at arts and crafts type stuff just like this. I would imagine I would get water somewhere inside the device, and knowing me it would reach the many water detectors in the phone. It doesn't seem worth it, so I applied just the screen part sans water/soap, and needless to say it sucked big time, even when I got all the bubbles out.. it had a terrible gray haze on parts of the screen it was bad (maybe due to not using the water/soap method). Can any one suggest just a simple screen protector that doesn't' require to dunk your device in water?
boxmander said:
I recently got the phantom skinz full body set, after I read the instructions I thought that there was no way I was applying wet/soapy film to my N1, it just doesn't make any sense. Water/soap plus electronics? Its a recipe for disaster, besides the fact that I suck at arts and crafts type stuff just like this. I would imagine I would get water somewhere inside the device, and knowing me it would reach the many water detectors in the phone. It doesn't seem worth it, so I applied just the screen part sans water/soap, and needless to say it sucked big time, even when I got all the bubbles out.. it had a terrible gray haze on parts of the screen it was bad (maybe due to not using the water/soap method). Can any one suggest just a simple screen protector that doesn't' require to dunk your device in water?
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Dude... you BARELY have to use any water to get the screen to turn out right. Sorry you wasted your PS... but ask them for a replacement, and mail it to me! I do this **** with my eyes closed. It's really not rocket science, and you don't have to "dunk" your phone in water.
boxmander said:
I recently got the phantom skinz full body set, after I read the instructions I thought that there was no way I was applying wet/soapy film to my N1, it just doesn't make any sense. Water/soap plus electronics? Its a recipe for disaster, besides the fact that I suck at arts and crafts type stuff just like this. I would imagine I would get water somewhere inside the device, and knowing me it would reach the many water detectors in the phone. It doesn't seem worth it, so I applied just the screen part sans water/soap, and needless to say it sucked big time, even when I got all the bubbles out.. it had a terrible gray haze on parts of the screen it was bad (maybe due to not using the water/soap method). Can any one suggest just a simple screen protector that doesn't' require to dunk your device in water?
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you didnt follow the instructions and it didnt work well for you? gtfo
boxmander said:
I recently got the phantom skinz full body set, after I read the instructions I thought that there was no way I was applying wet/soapy film to my N1, it just doesn't make any sense. Water/soap plus electronics? Its a recipe for disaster, besides the fact that I suck at arts and crafts type stuff just like this. I would imagine I would get water somewhere inside the device, and knowing me it would reach the many water detectors in the phone. It doesn't seem worth it, so I applied just the screen part sans water/soap, and needless to say it sucked big time, even when I got all the bubbles out.. it had a terrible gray haze on parts of the screen it was bad (maybe due to not using the water/soap method). Can any one suggest just a simple screen protector that doesn't' require to dunk your device in water?
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Try clairivue or martin fields. Just do a google search since I can't post links yet.
typ_ex said:
you didnt follow the instructions and it didnt work well for you? gtfo
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LOL! i agree. i have had no issues at all with my phantomskinz- both on the magic and now my nexus- i'll admit i do suck at installing them but what i do is get a bowl o water, put a few drops of baby shampoo in swich it around a bit, then dunk the piece in there- hold it over bowl until excess is removed then you can put it on device- the soap/water allows you to move it into position easily and helps squeegee the bubbles....
i wouldnt blame a product because you didnt follow their instructions how to install it...
I actually prefer the bowl of soapy water to the sprays that come with other skins. Submerging it ensures the entire skin is lubed up, and the small amounts of drips on the device is harmless. Just let it dry out overnight before turning it on.
I think Martins is completely over priced. I tried BSE and Phantom and all works great. Once dried it is practically invisible with only the slightest orange peel effect. I'm pretty OCD and it is minimal enough that it doesn't bother me. What does bother is that both of the screen protectors are slightly shorter than the screen.
As for applying the phantom and drowning in water as people are saying I don't do that. I've put on enough of these to know you only need a slight amount. I use a spray and just mist the backing so that it is enough to be able to adjust when putting on but not dripping with water. I use a cloth to absorb the water on the edges as I push the bubbles/excess water out. Fairly easy process. It just takes a slow hand and patience.
pongalong said:
A good trick for the corners is to use some sealant/piping tape to hold them down. This is a lot better than using your hand for 30 seconds, and you can leave it there for as long as you want (I left the tape on mine for 2 days since I wasn't going anywhere that I needed to show off my phone, I figured why not? Now my corners are perfect).
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Ok I have to ask: what is sealant / piping tape? And where do you buy that? Home Depot? Bed, Bath and Beyond?
Paul22000 said:
Ok I have to ask: what is sealant / piping tape? And where do you buy that? Home Depot? Bed, Bath and Beyond?
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Some might know it as teflon tape, thread seal tape or plumbers tape. It's a thin white non-adhesive tape that you use on pipes/hoses to make connections water tight. Home Depot would have it or any hardware store - it's pretty common. Just cut a few good length pieces and wrap your phone up like a mummy on the difficult spots. It works well because it's stretchy, conforms to shape and naturally adheres to the phone skin.
pongalong said:
Some might know it as teflon tape, thread seal tape or plumbers tape. It's a thin white non-adhesive tape that you use on pipes/hoses to make connections water tight. Home Depot would have it or any hardware store - it's pretty common. Just cut a few good length pieces and wrap your phone up like a mummy on the difficult spots. It works well because it's stretchy, conforms to shape and naturally adheres to the phone skin.
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...and it's non-stick!
typ_ex said:
you didnt follow the instructions and it didnt work well for you? gtfo
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Like I mentioned before, my application didn't work well cause I didn't follow the instructions. And I wasn't hating on PS, get a grip. Besides after some people posted about this topic I might give it another go, PS gave me two for one so I can redo it. Why are you here? Perhaps you should try posting things that are more constructive.
pongalong said:
Some might know it as teflon tape, thread seal tape or plumbers tape. It's a thin white non-adhesive tape that you use on pipes/hoses to make connections water tight. Home Depot would have it or any hardware store - it's pretty common. Just cut a few good length pieces and wrap your phone up like a mummy on the difficult spots. It works well because it's stretchy, conforms to shape and naturally adheres to the phone skin.
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Interesting. I'll definitely get some. Thanks for the tip.
Hmm... I'm going to go to Home Depot to buy some kind of special tape I've never heard of to wrap up my phone like a mummy in order to prevent the corners from lifting on my phone's skin protector. Phone enthusiast or what?
Phantom does have the best skins by far...
The trick to installation to make it perfect:
Use the Johnson's/water mix as they advised.
Ignore all of their other directions.
Peel off the piece you want to apply. Dryly.
Dip your fingers in the water and apply it to the skin using your fingers.
Once both sides of the skin are wet, use your fingers as a squeegee to pull off any excess water.
Apply the skin to your phone. Keep the skin sitting on your phone in it's original shape.
Use your fingers, not the applicator card, to squeegee out the air bubbles. You don't need to apply very much pressure at all. The bubbles move around extremely easily.
Now, let the skin dry for about 2 minutes. Once you notice the skin starting to cling to the phone a little harder, grab the ends that you need to wrap around the phone and stretch them into place. This is the key step. Stretching it makes it stick so much better, the corners align perfectly with the phone when you do this, and all the gaps left between the skin pieces when you don't stretch it are gone. The skin has to be stretched to fit the phone, otherwise the pieces will all be a little to small and the corners will blow.
Repeat with the other pieces.
Enjoy your sexily phantom skinned N1.
anyone with pics of this case ?
I just wanted to comment about Phantom Skinz because I have had a really good experience with them and I am going to get another set from them as soon as they release it for the HD2!
I got Phantom Skinz for a Nano about a year ago and it has been awesome! I bought the PS retail (they have a location in my area) so I only got one set, but I did it myself with no problems. I had to take it off for a warranty replacement on the Nano and I put the same skin back on the new Nano and it looks just as good as it did on the first application. It's awesome that it can be taken off and put back on again using only water.
I got GA for my G1, but it is the worst product ever. I had it professionally installed at a Ghost Armor location because I wanted it to be perfect for my baby. But it didn't even last a month before it started peeling! GA can only be applied once with a special solution (thats what the GA salespeople told me) and it can't be fixed with water like Phantom Skinz. Phantom Skinz has never actually peeled like the GA did, but at least I could fix PS with water if I needed to!
I literally had the full body GA skin replaced 4 times in the course of a year because it peeled so bad and I am not just talking the corners! I did everything they told me to; keep the phone in a case so it doesnt rub in your pocket, keep any liquid of the phone (durr), don't leave the skin in prolonged sunlight, blah bla blah.
It was $35 for the original GA skin and installation and then they charged me $10 labor for the "free warranty replacement" every time I had the skin redone. Oh, and they changed the GA product for my phone 3 times out of the 4 I got it replaced and the changes never fixed any of the problems I had with the skin. GA also yellowed really bad and actually got progressively worse over the course of their " improved product revisions". The last time I had the G1 wrapped the skin was a pretty moderate yellow in about a week...
The salespeople sucked me in every time with leading me to believe the GA skin for the G1 was revised and the problems were fixed. I spent way too much money on their crappy ass product!
Ghost Armor is an awful product! Please just stay the hell away from them!
There is no need to submerge anything in any fluid. I have installed clear skins on many devices by using soapy water. I dont spray it on the phone, I spray a small mist on the protector before applying. Trust me there is not enough water to damage anything because as i push out the bubble I wipe the water.
If you are concerned about it then remove the battery and wait a day like the other people have suggested. once the process is complete the skin will need to settle for a few days before it looks good.
I used some spray that came with a skin before and I did not like it compared to the soapy water MIST.
I also do not use the skin on touch screens because my finger drags on it compared to other screen protectors that are designed to protect the screen.
I like to clean my Note but don't know if the ingredient in it will eventually damage the quality of the glass or screen.
https://www.google.com/search?q=lys...=X&ei=ZhprVMePBuSQigLHroCAAg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#
LeoNote4 said:
I like to clean my Note but don't know if the ingredient in it will eventually damage the quality of the glass or screen.
https://www.google.com/search?q=lys...=X&ei=ZhprVMePBuSQigLHroCAAg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#
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I wouldn't worry bout it, but why don't you simply use a glass cleaner or those wipes for reading glasses
Coz they don't have antibac. Mobile phones carry e.coli or fecal matter. Just using the handrails, pushing elevator doors, shaking hands, holding cream mugs at Starbucks, it's our poor phones that had to collect all that virus
I have a film type screen protector and a new UAG case on mine.
To wipe off screen I just use a microfibre cloth and some rubbing alcohol which is 70% isopropyl alcohol and 30% water.
Works great , no reside, no damage and its cheap. I use it on my glasses too.
Will kill bacteria just as well as the alcohol handwash gel you can buy which is basically the same 70% alcohol..
Hope that helps.
LeoNote4 said:
Coz they don't have antibac. Mobile phones carry e.coli or fecal matter. Just using the handrails, pushing elevator doors, shaking hands, holding cream mugs at Starbucks, it's our poor phones that had to collect all that virus
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Alcohol is the prime ingredient in screen cleaners and is also a great anti-bacterial agent.
If you are worried about stuff it can't kill... wear gloves or a Haz-Mat suit.
You should absolutely under no account EVER clean ANY display screens with normal household cleaners. Harsh chemicals like ammonia, bleach, or for that matter even alcohol can severely damage the coatings on electronics displays, causing them to become foggy, cloudy, and scratched. I'm not all that familiar with the active ingredient in Lysol (benzalkonium chloride), but I personally wouldn't let it anywhere near my phone. There are countless cleaning sprays and wipes on the market that are formulated specifically for electronics displays, and I wouldn't use anything to clean any of mine unless it stated explicitly that it is made for displays. Even most eyeglass lens cleaners contain alcohol, so be very careful to read the ingredients and intended use! This goes not just for phones, but for computer monitors, televisions, laptops, basically any and all electronic displays.
If you're really worried about bacteria and want a disinfectant, there do exist several options that ARE made for displays, such as this:
http://www.monsterproducts.com/Monster_CleanTouch_for_iPad_iPhone_and_iPod?pin=5930
A little googling will turn up many more as well.
This guy....
Bacteria and fecal matter. Lol. Must be hard being OCD/germ phobic.
I'm all for being hygienic, but I don't see this as a real issue. I've never gotten sick from touching my own phone.
Back on topic, the screens do have a coating. So harsh chemicals could remove that making it less oleophobic.
And in rare circumstances you CAN cloud some screens, but that is mainly on plastic not glass.
LeoNote4 said:
I like to clean my Note but don't know if the ingredient in it will eventually damage the quality of the glass or screen.
https://www.google.com/search?q=lys...=X&ei=ZhprVMePBuSQigLHroCAAg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#
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Unfortunately, cant say for sure but I routinely use cavi-wipes and chlorox wipes on my phones (I am not just OCD, but work in a hospital...)
I do usually have a screen protector on my phone (cheapo tempered glass on the note right now)
I use these same wipes and have done it for years with no issue on the original gorilla glass that I had on the Sprint Galaxy Epic. I don't use them frequently but more as needed. Had the same phone for three years and the only screen damage I had was from dropping the phone without a case; the glass had some minor scratches.
OT; all the criticism of OLED screens burning out, failed pixels or burn-in never happened that I could tell. Aside from sunlight visibility and the scratches that only seemed visible when oil or debris got in them, the screen was pristine the day I traded it for the Note 4. I expect more from this screen in the next two years.
I've read that screen protectors defeat some of the advantages of OLED with increased density of view. Some of OLED's advantages are wrought by bringing images nearer to the surface than LCD screens, if I understood that well enough. Hence, for me, the case with raised bezel lip should provide adequate drop protection unless throwing phone to prove its ruggedness with case and screen protector or dropping it from a moving vehicle. I don't recommend trying either. Thankfully, I've only needed drop protection for trying to carry too many loose items at once or being butter fingers and try to catch a dropped phone only to increase its velocity or drag it on pavement trying to scoop it on a bounce. It happens occasionally; I've been fortunate but will keep it in a case.
For a Lysol wipe's disinfectant properties to work the surface has to be kept wet with the wipe's moisture for I think 60 seconds (may be longer). The instructions will be on the packaging. If you just wipe the phone there are no disinfectant properties using the Lysol wipe.
You have to be extremely careful with some of these cleaning wipes. I use to work on medical equipment and some of the devices that came back to the repair center had there housings weakened by various disinfecting agents.
For example many of these cleaning products have dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride which in small doses is fine but in larger concentrations it's not good.
I would find something labeled for electronic devices that is safe for plastics and metal. Don't assume that these products are safe for everything. Worst case call the company and ask.
http://www.saniscreenwipes.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Wipes-Cell-Phone-Peppermint/dp/B003CJWIG0
http://www.amazon.com/Advantus-Right-PhoneKleen-Cleaning-REARR1303/dp/B000FNCYW4 (Noticed how this one has dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride)
LeoNote4 said:
Coz they don't have antibac. Mobile phones carry e.coli or fecal matter. Just using the handrails, pushing elevator doors, shaking hands, holding cream mugs at Starbucks, it's our poor phones that had to collect all that virus
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Your immune system will take care of all that. And it's just as well, because it needs the exercise to stay fit! You won't get sick from touching your phone, if that were possible, we'd all be dead by now.
iR¡[email protected]!* from Galaxy Note 4 via Tapatalk
Something under the lens, near the top: http://imgur.com/a/SMXPU
I'm not sure what this is but looks like a speck of dust? But I'm not sure. What do you think? Is there a way to remove it without taking off the back cover completely (e.g. tapping the phone downwards, tapping the covert itself, etc.)
Not sure how it affects (or if it even does) image quality.. haven't noticed anything too unusual
Yep, looks like dust to me and I have mixed thoughts. One hand I say don't worry if it doesn't impact images, but also think if dust got in how dust/water proofed is the device?
cliffr39 said:
Yep, looks like dust to me and I have mixed thoughts. One hand I say don't worry if it doesn't impact images, but also think if dust got in how dust/water proofed is the device?
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I'm thinking more like dust went inside during the assembled of the device
Sent from my E6653 using Tapatalk
I have the same thing and quite a bit... Doesn't affect most outdoor images, but if you I a desk light at a certain angle, the dust spots are more apparent (they look like floaters in your eye). I had the lens cover replaced when I had the left blur problem. JerryRigEverything said the lens cover is plastic and scratches and loosens up very easily if you use a knife to poke it...
It looks like water vapors to me. Did you sink it in water? That's how my HTC camera looked after taking water. Could be that your device is not hermetic anymore. There is a test for that, using your service menu / pressure sensor and gently pushing on the screen. Google it up.
If it's not water but dust, you'd better test it though, as you don't want to put it in water if it's not water/dust proof anymore.
Xperia Z5 E6653
Seems like all the "Reviews" are nothing more then install video's of people saying oh its so amazing. But if you dig deeper you will find issues that a proper review would of find easy. So lets review it.
Little about my self. I am and Engineer in the fiber optics industry. I wonk on the absolute faster detectors available. We use UV optical adhesives every day. So needless to say i know a thing or two on this topic.
The concept is great and when done right the best way to attach a screen protector. But this comes at a cost. Cheap out on anything and it will show. So lets look at this.
-Full cover. errrr not really Notch cut for the camera and sensors. Odd because optical adhesive you can go full over and have zero impact on those.
-9H Hardness. "Shakes head" No..Its not. They need to stop claiming this every company. Its not 9H.
-Beveled edges. This is a must. Ask anyone who has one that is not beveled how easy they chip.
-UV curing light is a good design and has plenty of LED's to cure the adhesive. "5w max" Honestly im not seeing those being close to 1w LED's. If people want i'll take apart the light but no heat sinking as far as i can tell. So im guessing 3v 60ma .5w each total max output 3w. And honestly 3w is fine. Its very thin and easy to cure.
Fixture is great and works very well. No complaints on that. Just watch a few videos and read the instructions and you will do fine. The Fixture is well thought out so hats off to engineers who did that.
The ugly. This is where things get bad. This is where you can see the corners that were cut and boy did they cut them.
-Dust removal sticker. Don't use them. Cheap sticker and will leave residue on the screen. Save your self some time and just put them in the trash.
-Cleaning cloth. Not optical quality. Again put it in the trash it will just put stuff on the display. Cheap fabric not a quality optical cleaning cloth.
-Alcohol wipe...Well the directions say that but the wipes included are Ethanol...Please tell me these are not medical grade. If so then they have some additives. Well again trash it and use some 95% or higher Isopropyl alcohol. Make sure no color or sent has been added. You want as pure as you can get.
-Absorption pads. Now i would love to say trash them. But you need them. Make sure you give them a good rub down to remove all the lose fibers on them. And give the long fibers that hang off after a little trim. You do not want one to get under the screen or at the edge.
-Dimples on the underside of the protector. You don't need these. They do nothing but put 4 contact points to your phones display. The adhesive will flow an even coat.
-The worlds cheapest UV adhesive...Guys its bad...Real bad. Give you an idea. In bulk the quality optical adhesive is expensive. Well you get what you pay for or in Whitestone's case you don't get what you do not pay for. I searched and i found the supplier for there adhesive. How cheap is it? Well its $1 per 30ml. Stuff we use is $30 per oz. or 29.9ml. Yup that explains everything. This is why they can give you so much and still keep that price point. But for this you want less but higher quality. Combine that with tubes that are not 100% air tight and you are begging for problems. Also keep in mine UV Adhesive's have a shelf life and exposure to oxygen age them faster.
Lots of people complain about the delamination. This is from bad UV adhesive. Keep in mind you have a bare glass surface you are attaching to a glass surface with an oleophobic coating. This coating does after the adhesion of the adhesive. So you really need the proper quality adhesive. The adhesive they use never fully cures. If you check out my video in the Deamination topic you can see even after curing then putting 200w of UV on it for an addition 20sec with a proper industrial UV curing station it never fully cures. Multiple kits i have tested they all do this. But its $1 per 30ml so what do you expect.
You will see pictures of the optical property's of the adhesive. It is my opinion that it is not optical grade. Also you will see a picture of the delamination.
Overall this is a 4-10. Held back by the extremely low quality UV adhesive. The most important part is the cheapest. This is why they cut the notch in the protector. Because it would affect the caners where a proper optical adhesive would have zero affect. I'm disappointed. This was hyped so much but no one really looked at it. It's a great concept held back by cut corners. The proper adhesive this would be a 8-10. This method with the proper optical grade adhesive could do a true full cover screen protector then it would be a 10/10. But i do not recommend this. Price is to high for the corners that were cut. The adhesive issue really needs to be addressed because i would take a few other protectors over this.
Message to Whitestone.
I tested Adhesives from 3 kits. Results were all the same. All the kits were ordered at different times as 2 were from Amazon and one was direct from you. I have identified this adhesive not long ago and this is typical for it. However if you want to play we only use the highest quality materials card then you can go ahead and send me a tube of it. It can be in the manufacturers tube or the tubes that come in the kits. I do not want another kit im only interested in testing this adhesive and i will give you one chance to test some prior and send it to me. I will then report my finding's on here and make a note of it here. If you would like to work together on finding a cost effective quality optical adhesive i have contacts with not only the distributes for these but also with the companies that make the highest quality optical grade UV adhesives in the industry. I do not want nothing in return i will work with you for free to fix this product so that future phones can benefit from it and i have the option to easily order a quality kit. I want a 100% coverage protector and working together this can be done. There is potential here and it is with the system developed for the install and that is what makes the product stand out. My work has a building in SoCal. I go out there a few times a year and i am more then willing to come visit your office why i am out there and we can talk.
Now i know i will get the "Mines perfect best ever" post. But those post mean nothing. You have not tested the adhesive. I have. You just have not had any issues with it yet and you may never have them. But i went ahead and i tested this. Same results every time and i know what adhesive they use now.
So, would you say this thing is a pass?
Thanks for the detailed review and focusing on everything, not JUST the adhesive.
I still got mine applied to my phone, and well.. it is there. The time it starts wearing off the edges, maybe I will apply the second spare one just because I already bought it. But yeah, a full, really full screen coverage one with perfect optical properties would be awesome to have!
felloffthetruck said:
So, would you say this thing is a pass?
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I won't advise anyone to buy or not to buy this. Thats for you to decide. I'll answer any questions you have thought. I will say that I will not use this for reasons I posted. I won't buy another one until changes are made at the minimum in there selection of adheasive.
Could you point me in the direction of a good adhesive that you would recommend? (That I can buy online)
irieblue said:
Could you point me in the direction of a good adhesive that you would recommend? (That I can buy online)
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Will post that when I finish testing the samples I have.
bignazpwns said:
-Full cover. errrr not really Notch cut for the camera and sensors. Odd because optical adhesive you can go full over and have zero impact on those.
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Me a bit nitpicking here, but...
Weird, the part of optical physics that I learned back ... long ago.. taught quite clearly that if there are any surfaces with different optical properties on each side, it will have an impact. And I'm pretty sure the adhesives do not match (optically) exactly with either glass it touches (let alone both). Whether those effects will be significant enough to be visible in the photos depends on the whole optical path (and sensor's properties), though.
Since none of the surfaces have proper coatings aimed for optical performance (more for anti fingerprint etc.), and especially the protector glass (the internal material, not the coatings) not designed for optics, I'd expect ever so slightly more lens flaring and similar effects. (If there would be a flash LED for the front camera, it could get really messy, but Note 9 seems to use the whole display for front side "flashing", which reduces the spot brightness near the camera lens compared to a LED flash.)
The adhesive filling the space between the phone's glass and protector's glass does make the effect much lesser than with a protector that sits a tiny bit above with a tiny air gap. So in that sense, with these liquid adhesive type protectors, I'd expect the effects to be indeed mostly ignorable. But not zero, per se.
For the other sensors than camera, the effect can be considered zero, since they are measuring mostly (more or less) spatial averages to begin with. A bit of fuzziness doesn't change their results. Hmm. though I don't know how the iris-camera works.
All that said, I'd still say to choose a protector that covers the lens area(s). A single scratch on the phone's glass over the lens can make a worse effect than a protector does.
Also, (me partially countering the point of having an effect): I have currently a really bad example of a protector myself; a normal cheap protector with a typical dot grid on bottom surface, a normal (non-smooth) adhesive even on the area of the front camera lens, not a perfect fit by shape, etc. That is, I can see the non-smooth stuff between the glass layers (when display is black, and on the sensor spots). Yet, the photos come out ok, so things can obviously be pretty darn crappy and still be ok for the front camera needs. Though, I haven't zoomed in or done comparative tests in more challenging lighting situations. (I will do better tests once other protectors arrive; I need to keep this one on for now, for its main task of protecting.)
Nice review, but the whitestone still beats having nothing on the phone. I did the ghetto "whitestone" on my Note 8 using a generic glass protector and LOCA glue bought on Amazon. Served its purpose and protected my phone when I dropped it on a gravel surface. Phone looked brand new when I replaced the glass with a whitestone version because the ghetto glue method was too time consuming to ensure no bubbles. I have installed 4 more whitestone glass screens on mine and others phone with no issues and would not hesitate to recommend it. The issues you bring up have merit, but do not deter the protective elements of the tempered glass screen. I would like a better glue solution as well. But until then, my whitestone paired with a quality case will have to do. So far it does just fine.
Bullitt3309 said:
Nice review, but the whitestone still beats having nothing on the phone. I did the ghetto "whitestone" on my Note 8 using a generic glass protector and LOCA glue bought on Amazon. Served its purpose and protected my phone when I dropped it on a gravel surface. Phone looked brand new when I replaced the glass with a whitestone version because the ghetto glue method was too time consuming to ensure no bubbles. I have installed 4 more whitestone glass screens on mine and others phone with no issues and would not hesitate to recommend it. The issues you bring up have merit, but do not deter the protective elements of the tempered glass screen. I would like a better glue solution as well. But until then, my whitestone paired with a quality case will have to do. So far it does just fine.
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I can't get the same protection from a $12 protector. So how does it beat those in terms of protection? It offers no more protection then any other on the market. Infact the Zag elite offers more protection for the same price. The thicker gel adheasive offers significantly more impact protection. Much harder to put on and remove air bubbles but in terms of protection this is vastly superior. Where zag went wrong is not telling people how soft the adhesive is so they push down on it as hard as they can to get a bubble out and it cracks. And then they had to gimp it with some unnecessary bezzles that cover a bit of the display
Bottom line is the Dome is $20 over priced. The adhesive is trash and the olophobic coating is the worst I have ever seen. No excuses for this on something that sells it's self as premium. It's not. It's the same quality as the $12 Alibaba's and personally I would get one of those. Warranty is nothing since you could still get one on Alibaba shippped for the price you will pay for the warranty replacement. And it uses the same trash adheasive.
When you buy "Loca" it's trash from bad batches that they sell on places like Amazon or Alibaba or to places like Whitestone at a heavy discount because it's defective. So you are already useing a defective product from the start. These are facts. I tested these and posted those info. It's trash they pay $1 per 30ml of those stuff. And they call it Loca because it's not an optical adheasive. It makes it sound fancy because they can't call it a UV optical adheasive. Because it's not optical. But it's "optical cured" so Loca.
Facts are facts. I proven this adheasive is trash and defective from multiple kits. I'll test any of it. Got any left I'll test that Whitestone can send me some I'll test that because I know it's trash and it's from batches that were not mixed right. Multiple people have committed on this issues that's why I started testing this and looking into it because what they had in the prictures we seen before. Hell I can tell you exactly what is wrong with it. However working with a supplier when we had that issue I signed a NDA as part of them telling us every detail about it. Because we needed to know why it did that, when it started, how to test for it, how it will be fixed etc.
Like I said. If you use it and like it that's great. No problems with it that's even better. Get a case drop it face down. On a hard surface so it only hits the case then protector is unsupported and you will have delamination. I did this as part of the big testing video I'm doing for this. 2 drops it started.
Also I'm willing to work with them. All my test data as well as some samples I'll send to them or take to then when I'm in California. I love there install method and it will be a home run when the corners that we're cut are fixed. They pay $1 per 30ml of adheasive I can get them a bulk order that ends up being $1.75 per 30ml if they buy bulk lots. That's optical grade I'll send them the contract info and the sales rep I know for there. Use that and it's fixed. I tested that adheasive on this also and it works just like it should. I really want them to improve it.
As of right now now on my desk I have 35 different uv optical adheasives and more on the way. One manufacturer is even making a custom adheasive to test for this application. This all started as a simple test it and see what's wrong with it but due to all the people asking it's gotten much bigger. I hope Whitestone reaches out to me and I can get them the test information I have so they can improve the product.
Hi, I have been following your findings and it is an interesting matter for me at least.
Anyway, I wanted to write an update about my using the Gear VR with the default Whitedome / adhesive installation.
Previously I mentioned I got the "bubbles / webbing" permanently at the very bottom part of the protector, on a central area right above the USB connector (about 10mm wide, 1mm tal), after having the Whitedome applied and using the GearVR on the next day. Now it has been a couple of weeks maybe, and the bubbles part is still there (size unchanged apparently).
What I want to add is, something a bit unexpected (for me) happened: I used the Gear VR again yesterday (several days after the Whitedome installation) for around one hour, and and after taking the phone off, there were MORE bubbles / webbing in a different area, almost horizontally oval in shape, around 1.5cm wide by 0.8cm high. It was positioned about 2cm ABOVE the early thin stripe of bubbles, completely separate from it (not a continuation). I was pissed off because THIS was on top of the screen and obstructiong the image, really annoying. As it was late I decided to just go to sleep and deal with it when I had some free time. But to my surprise it was COMPLETELY GONE this morning. The previous thin mark at the bottom remains. But I can see no trace whatsoever of the "new" affected region..
gamekill said:
Hi, I have been following your findings and it is an interesting matter for me at least.
Anyway, I wanted to write an update about my using the Gear VR with the default Whitedome / adhesive installation.
Previously I mentioned I got the "bubbles / webbing" permanently at the very bottom part of the protector, on a central area right above the USB connector (about 10mm wide, 1mm tal), after having the Whitedome applied and using the GearVR on the next day. Now it has been a couple of weeks maybe, and the bubbles part is still there (size unchanged apparently).
What I want to add is, something a bit unexpected (for me) happened: I used the Gear VR again yesterday (several days after the Whitedome installation) for around one hour, and and after taking the phone off, there were MORE bubbles / webbing in a different area, almost horizontally oval in shape, around 1.5cm wide by 0.8cm high. It was positioned about 2cm ABOVE the early thin stripe of bubbles, completely separate from it (not a continuation). I was pissed off because THIS was on top of the screen and obstructiong the image, really annoying. As it was late I decided to just go to sleep and deal with it when I had some free time. But to my surprise it was COMPLETELY GONE this morning. The previous thin mark at the bottom remains. But I can see no trace
whatsoever of the "new" affected region..
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That's delamination from defective uv adheasive. As in my video you can see it cures about 50% and then still leaves some wet uncureable adheasive behind and is in some cases acting as an indexing gel. The delamination is still there you will need a microscope to see but masked by that adheasive that's wet acting as an indexing gel.
I got a gear VR on the way. It's on loan from a user to test it with another adheasive. I'll test this and see how it holds up. Run the phone hot and do multiple install and removals then do a few battery drains why it's in the vr. Glad this is a work phone and not my personal phone.
I actually find the oleophobic coating of the whitestone to be very good.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
harlenm said:
I actually find the oleophobic coating of the whitestone to be very good.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
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Yeah same here.
sefrcoko said:
Yeah same here.
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Then it's more product inconsistency. Friend said his is holding up ok. I know mine had scraches in it after a few hours. And one of them out of the box had a burn in the coating as well as a deep scrach deeper then the olophobic.
Any product recommendation or where we can get the good loca glue?
I personally would be interested in a tube of high quality adhesive if anyone is able to source some. Perhaps the OP would be able to point us to a supplier?
bignazpwns said:
Then it's more product inconsistency. Friend said his is holding up ok. I know mine had scraches in it after a few hours. And one of them out of the box had a burn in the coating as well as a deep scrach deeper then the olophobic.
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Ouch that looks rough. Never had those issues on multiple protectors but inconsistency does happen of course with all products. If they don't provide adequate service or replacement though, well then that's a different issue
sefrcoko said:
Ouch that looks rough. Never had those issues on multiple protectors but inconsistency does happen of course with all products. If they don't provide adequate service or replacement though, well then that's a different issue
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I posted this before. I will say Whitestone sent out a replacement kit for it for free and we're very easy to deal with and gave me very fast responses. So the service is great even though people say it's bad my experience was great. I reached out to them on Facebook and not via website so maybe Facebook is the way to go. And I noted all that when I made that post.
I would do the same for the adhesive but I know they can send out 1,000 kits they will all have this issue because the Adheasive used is from defective batches that had issues with the mixing process. I mean it works...but you will never get a full cure and will have issues under the right conditions and those are relatively common. But some people may never experience this.
But all of them so far have had pretty bad olophobic coating's. One is like it had none at all. One had the coating burned "pic in the previous post" and 2 just meh. Nothing great. But that's fine because I use the leftover ceramic coating I used for my car on my screens since it's better and thicker so I usually get over a year and 1/2 before I see any decrease in preformance. But this Stull is around $400 for a small bottle for a car and after not much is left. But Walmart sells a few kits. One is a great kit and only $12. If people wanna know what kit I'll let you know. Around here only one a almao had this kit in stock. "gerogia" the rest had other brands.
I'm one of the 'lucky' ones who has had no problems whatsoever. Going on three months and still getting compliments on how nice my screen looks. It's like I don't have a screen protector on at all.
I'm completely dissapointed from Whitestone.
I have been using it for weeks and yesterday, (all of a sudden) the tempered glass started to have a small line in the left edge of the phone and it seems like it is kinda lifted.
Unfortunately, the company wont help me, because I didnt bought it from their authorised stores
https://ibb.co/9s7jcV7
The easy solution should be the back cover in plastic. But chinese makers are not making this. No idea why not. So we have to find solution our selves. Do you have a 3d printer? Or are you expert at doing craft projects? Can you make plastic back covers for those of us who want one?
Edit:
(anybody who wants to know - I made a cover with a plastic $1 folder. The plastic is soft but its tough stuff. Not easily punctured. Phone feels great on the hand and it feels slimmer. I still have to add some modifications to make it sturdier and make sure that it can withstand a fall without damaging the battery. No idea how to do that. I'll figure it out. The plastic works fine as a shock absorber but if something were to hit the battery area directly then that might transfer some force on the battery. So I'll have to find some way to make that area of the cover slightly more rigid. or place a shock absorbent material directly on top of the battery. Gotta find the right material that doesn't insulate the heat in.)
I'd buy a 3d printed plastic back cover if anyone made it available.
blueberry.sky said:
I'd buy a 3d printed plastic back cover if anyone made it available.
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replacement glass backs are like 10$, its probably going to cost more to get something designed and printed if you dont have the skills yourself.
Dadud said:
replacement glass backs are like 10$, its probably going to cost more to get something designed and printed if you dont have the skills yourself.
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They are $10. But we don't want the glass back. :S I can put a vinyl wrap on it and manage the slippery surface. But I also know how ridiculously fragile it is. It also shatters and you get glass particles everywhere. So its not usable. I have thought about reinforcing the glass back with some sort of specialized tape like gorilla tape or glass filament tape or tent repair tape. You could use it that way. The glass would still be fragile. It'll crack under the circumstances it would have cracked otherwise. Basically the glass is very low quality. Motorola is likely lying if they say its some sort gorilla glass or something.
e4noob said:
They are $10. But we don't want the glass back. :S I can put a vinyl wrap on it and manage the slippery surface. But I also know how ridiculously fragile it is. It also shatters and you get glass particles everywhere. So its not usable. I have thought about reinforcing the glass back with some sort of specialized tape like gorilla tape or glass filament tape or tent repair tape. You could use it that way. The glass would still be fragile. It'll crack under the circumstances it would have cracked otherwise. Basically the glass is very low quality. Motorola is likely lying if they say its some sort gorilla glass or something.
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I don't know what you mean by "we" don't want the glass back. I like the glass back. I think it looks good and provides a good surface with which to grip the phone.
Dadud said:
replacement glass backs are like 10$, its probably going to cost more to get something designed and printed if you dont have the skills yourself.
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Yeah, I would expect custom 3d print to cost more than the mass produced Chinese replacements.
It's worth it. Glass backs are insane imo. It pushes design over function much too far. I don't need to show off with a my phone. Rather have a phone that isn't so fragile.
case? seems to keep mine in one piece lol
TheDevl said:
I don't know what you mean by "we" don't want the glass back. I like the glass back. I think it looks good and provides a good surface with which to grip the phone.
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You know there are owners of this phone who don't like the glass back.
Also, there is a heat factor with the glass back. I removed the glass and using a poorly made plastic cover right now and heat dropped by like 10 degrees. lol. It charges with normal charger at below 30c. With turbo charger it goes up to around 35c. Phone running for hours streaming hulu or something at max may be 37c. What's the temp like with the glass back on? 45c+?
buschris said:
case? seems to keep mine in one piece lol
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True. But don't use a case a lot of the times.
e4noob said:
You know there are owners of this phone who don't like the glass back.
Also, there is a heat factor with the glass back. I removed the glass and using a poorly made plastic cover right now and heat dropped by like 10 degrees. lol. It charges with normal charger at below 30c. With turbo charger it goes up to around 35c. Phone running for hours streaming hulu or something at max may be 37c. What's the temp like with the glass back on? 45c+?
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But one man does not an entire consumer base make.
As for the temperatures, right now I'm at 28c with glass back and a case. Temperatures have never quite been a worry for me.
TheDevl said:
But one man does not an entire consumer base make.
As for the temperatures, right now I'm at 28c with glass back and a case. Temperatures have never quite been a worry for me.
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I guess you are saying not enough people demand it so its not a category of product yet.
Temp would be around 5-10c less than glass back the way I have it set up. One of the beneficial aspect I have seen is phone cools down much quicker. It'll have an effect on longevity of the phone but its really not that big of an issue anyway with the higher temps on a glass back. I think the most important factor is the satisfaction of not having that dumb fragile glass back.
e4noob said:
I guess you are saying not enough people demand it so its not a category of product yet.
Temp would be around 5-10c less than glass back the way I have it set up. One of the beneficial aspect I have seen is phone cools down much quicker. It'll have an effect on longevity of the phone but its really not that big of an issue anyway with the higher temps on a glass back. I think the most important factor is the satisfaction of not having that dumb fragile glass back.
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To each their own, apparently.
If you're treating your phone respectfully, then the glass back should not be an issue. It is, after all, gorilla-glass, not just ordinary window-glass. If you're treating your phone roughly, then get a case or buy a different non-glass phone.
Right now glass and ceramic is en vogue in phone design. (see the top-end S10+ with its custom ceramic backplate) Particularly because it enables wireless charging without a buildup of static electricity. In a year or two they'll probably be on to a new trend, maybe leather as foldable phones start to mature. I actually miss those leather-backed phones that were around about 5 odd years ago.
eoraptor said:
If you're treating your phone respectfully, then the glass back should not be an issue. It is, after all, gorilla-glass, not just ordinary window-glass. If you're treating your phone roughly, then get a case or buy a different non-glass phone.
Right now glass and ceramic is en vogue in phone design. (see the top-end S10+ with its custom ceramic backplate) Particularly because it enables wireless charging without a buildup of static electricity. In a year or two they'll probably be on to a new trend, maybe leather as foldable phones start to mature. I actually miss those leather-backed phones that were around about 5 odd years ago.
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You are right. But I'm not looking for top end glass back on my g6. :S TBH even on s10 I would probably want to switch out the glass back. It seems absurd to me that I'm carrying around something so fragile. I would predict if there is a new trend, it'll be some sort of durable material like plastic. When people hear plastic, they think its cheap and reduces the vibe of the device. But there are different types of plastic. Phone companies could do fancy and functional phone body and back covers easily. I have no idea why they don't. They could use tough rubbery material for the body too where you largely won't need a case. But they don't. Some aspects of design isn't evolving at all with phones.
Mine shattered after fall from stairs, but I won't expect any phone to survive this with no damage taken.
oposiasty said:
Mine shattered after fall from stairs, but I won't expect any phone to survive this with no damage taken.
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That's true. But a back cover made of any other material wouldn't shatter.