Anwer to Gorilla Glass for the Evo

[Kevin OQuinn]

If you are looking for a screen protector i HIGHLY recommend phantom skinz if you like wet and SGP Ultra Clear if you like dry.

The new ultra clears aren't as good as the old ones, IMHO, and I like the feel of the Seidio better. But if you never felt the Seidio you would be perfectly happy with the SGP.

 

[Q-fugee]

All skins are the same thing: helicopter tape. You can also buy it at bike stores under the name bike tape or stoneguard tape. Auto stores sell it as stoneguard tape, surface guard tape or racing tape. If you are good with an x-acto knife you can just buy the tape. Just get a wide roll or a wide precut strip.

Seriously, 25 bucks retail gets you a SIXTY-FOOT roll of the suff, or one SIX-INCH-LONG Zagg sheild. Holy melting piles of poo, people. If you love your valuables that much, you could cover your children with the rest of the roll.

There are forums dedicated to creating nifty designs and patterns where users create and share skin designs. You can download a blank, trace it on racing tape, and cut it out.

Also, wet and dry application are just two different ways of applying the same tape. Some use water, some use soapy water, some suggest dunking, some suggest just spritzing. It's all a question of how much fiddling around you want to do after you line it up. Get it exactly right and you need zero water. Just add more water the shakier your hands are.

Although, the only thing that really needs to be dunked are the heads of Zagg customers.

--Qfg

 

[Dochas]

I sure hope you don't eat at restaurants or buy clothes from a store q-fugee. After all, that food at the restaurant is much cheaper if you buy it yourself and cook it, and clothing, you could save a ton if you buy cloth and cut and stitch it all yourself and make your own clothing.

Screen protectors aren't required, but if you choose to use one doesn't mean you have to make one yourself. People pay for convenience, having something that you know is cut to size vs having a 60 foot roll you have to cut and then store is a choice of convenience.

You pay for convenience, maybe it is your head that needs a good dunking.

 

[Jfscars48]

Hard to believe that Anyone could believe that a screen protector would protect their Evo from getting dropped.

 

[DougB541#CB]

Where did you get that impression someone said that?

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

Hard to believe that Anyone could believe that a screen protector would protect their Evo from getting dropped.

Where did you get that impression someone said that?

Yeah I'm not sure that anyone has ever said that. The point of a screen protector is to help prevent scratches. Someone did say that when they dropped their phone it shattered but the screen protector kept it in place and they are still able to use the phone.

 

[Q-fugee]

People pay for convenience, having something that you know is cut to size vs having a 60 foot roll you have to cut and then store is a choice of convenience.

Thanks Dochas. Sorry I didn't reply sooner but I was busy at my day job taking raw materials, adding value, and turning them into retail product.

Typical retail markup ranges from 6% at places like Wal-Mart to 25% at a place like Macy's. That's typically within the "worth-it" range to make it more valuable to buy than make your own. Clothing, to cite your example, actually requires more capital investment than you can recoup making your own at almost any margin.

Zagg in particular charges markup so large if I printed it this would sound like late-night talk radio. On a per ounce basis they are selling them for more than gold or platinum. That's a real good sign of a ripoff no matter what the convenience factor.

Finally, consider that after bending over and really, really taking it up the wazoo on your purchase, you still have to install it yourself. After preparing the solution, taking the battery out of your phone, dunking the tape, and then spending half an hour scooting it around and getting rid of the air bubbles with a squeegee, you have to do it again for the backside and then wait a few hours for it all to dry before you can fire the phone back up.

Now, add sixty seconds to the above process to cut out your own. Where is the convenience factor again?

There are reasons to just buy a precut piece of tape from someone else. But if you insist on bending over backwards to make up those reasons out of thin air, at least go look at a place like bestskinsever.com. They don't even pretend their stuff is anything but helicopter tape and they don't charge fifty bucks for them.

--Qfg

 

[crzycrkr]

All skins are the same thing: helicopter tape. You can also buy it at bike stores under the name bike tape or stoneguard tape. Auto stores sell it as stoneguard tape, surface guard tape or racing tape. If you are good with an x-acto knife you can just buy the tape. Just get a wide roll or a wide precut strip.

Seriously, 25 bucks retail gets you a SIXTY-FOOT roll of the suff, or one SIX-INCH-LONG Zagg sheild. Holy melting piles of poo, people. If you love your valuables that much, you could cover your children with the rest of the roll.

There are forums dedicated to creating nifty designs and patterns where users create and share skin designs. You can download a blank, trace it on racing tape, and cut it out.

Also, wet and dry application are just two different ways of applying the same tape. Some use water, some use soapy water, some suggest dunking, some suggest just spritzing. It's all a question of how much fiddling around you want to do after you line it up. Get it exactly right and you need zero water. Just add more water the shakier your hands are.

Although, the only thing that really needs to be dunked are the heads of Zagg customers.

--Qfg

I agree with you that Zagg is completely ripping people off. But, you do pay for convenience. A lot of people don't even put their own shields on, they have the store do them. I don't really want to get into that though. What I want to know is how you can say that the wet and dry application shields are the same material. How do you know that, and could you please explain? I have used about 10 different brands of screen protectors, and my Boxwave, and every other dry protector I have used, does not have any properties similar to wet application shield. More details with links please.

 

[Chewieez]

what are you talking about? Retail upcharge is all over the place. 25% Is NOT the norm.

Tons of retail stores mark up their merchandise 100-120%. Gift shops, frame shops, clothing stores. Sure some stores like Bike Shops are lucky to mark up their bikes 30% but their cycling accessories are marked up much more.

It's business. A retail outlet doesn't generally make anything. They buy and sell.

I personally bought a Zagg screen protector for 40% off of $14.99. $14.99 is their retail price. I would of paid that but they are sooo good at offering discounts I took advantage. Sure I could probably make one but I don't want to sit there and cut out around a front camera, light sensor, speaker, etc.

I could learn to fix my car too but I'd rather pay someone to fix it in a couple hours than the time it would take me to do it.

 

[woodiah]

Just to add to the debate, if you frequent your Best Buy enough, are kind and not judgmental, you can get a discounted Zagg and have it installed for free...I did. But, don't think that would have worked if I told them how they were ripping folks off.

Considering I carry my phone in my pocket and don't want to have a $40 heavy guard on it, but want some type of protection...I choose a protective shield and it is worth something to have someone else cut it and install. Paying for what I want and placing a value on my time is why I have a day job and what other people think of that philosophy doesn't affect my choices a bit.

Just saying.

sent from EVO using Taptalk Pro

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

We've had this argument already. This and high capacity battery talks seem to get people going for some reason.

It's kinda funny because the chance that you're going to actually change somebody's mind on what to spend money on is so low that it's not worth it.

 

[woodiah]

It's kinda funny because the chance that you're going to actually change somebody's mind on what to spend money on is so low that it's not worth it.

I agree with that.



sent from EVO using Taptalk Pro

 

[Q-fugee]

If Zagg has lowered their prices in response to competition, and you can get it installed for free, that alters the equation.

--Qfg

 

[FireFighterChen]

I talked with some Sprint employees and they said the EVO does not have GG, but some other dense glass. The Epic does not have GG or any kind of dense glass. My fiance Epic has a screen protector.

My EVO...had a screen protector, but after it started to lift on the edges I took it off. The screen is SO amazing without a protector on it I decided to leave it off. I internshiped at an ambulance department on the west coast, and sand is a big factor in my work. When I had time to think about it, sand in my pockets made me nervous. When the emergency came, I did not have time to think about my phone safety. When I got back from 3-4 calls on the dunes, I checked my phone. To my surprise I had no scratches. I may have a lot of luck, but these screens can take some abuse. I don't think anyone should test it with sand...but so far my EVO and my two co-workers Moto Droids have withstood the sand dunes. They have been out there for 2+ years.

I agree with others, a $500 dollar phone, $10 protector is worth it. I personally wont use a protector because my phone is only needed to last 1-2 years, the EVO is build like a rock, and the screen is (IMO) 100000000x better without a protector on it.

 

[aznmode]

When I first got my first Evo I was very impressed with the screen till I got a small scratch on it. Not sure how I got it. I eventually returned it since my 30 days was up on that new account. I decided to upgrade my existing account to the Evo and I ended up putting a screen protector on it. A few months later I tried the Epic I was wowed by the screen. So I decided to take out the screen protector on my Evo and I had not realized how better the screen was without the protector. Images are sharp and generally readable under sunlight. I decided to not put the protector back on. I don't think it matters but my first Evo was a Novatek and this one is the Epson. It's been only about a week but so far haven't had any scratches. Gorilla or not, it's still not a bad screen IMO.