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(More customer reviews)I have the iPhone 3G, and I purchased a package of clear protectors with the phone. The salesperson claimed to be an expert at applying these little protectors. She first washed her hands with antibacterial goo (probably to avoid the errant fingerprint), then rubbed my phone down with the enclosed microfiber square, and finally carefully applied the protector. The final result? A cover that was slightly off center and still managed to have a speck or two of something under it (they say dust is primarily made of sloughed-off skin cells--gross, no?) which created bubbles that you'll be spending 2-3 months (if you're lucky) ignoring until it's time to replace the film. How do you know when it's time to replace? Well, dirt or whatever manages to get under an edge. You keep smoothing that edge down, but slowly it works its way farther and farther into the main viewing area of the screen til the day comes that you must brave replacing the cover yourself. That day was today.
I determined to go about this like a laboratory scientist. I washed my hands to reduce oily prints. I then carefully removed the hard case, cleaning off crumbs and such as I went. I buffed my iPhone, inspecting it carefully to ensure not a speck of anything remained (and here, I must stop and say the first protector did an excellent job--no scratches, no sign that it had been there, unlike some protectors that actually wind up SCRATCHING your screen). Finally I laid out a blank of white paper after giving it a nice whoosh of breath to ensure there were no particles of sloughed-off human on it. Then the moment of truth--I followed the instructions carefully, pulling off the tab, being careful not to touch the sticky side. I started to apply the film. But what was this? My eye spotted a piece of lint approximately 5-6 mm long, something that, if left ignored, would soon become the iPhone equivalent of a pubic hair surrounded by a bubble. Determined to salvage this cover, I retrieved the needle-point tweezers and attempted to pluck said lint from cover. The result was further mashing the lint into the cover, getting very determined, and finally ending up with appearance of a serious pubic-hair-from-very-hirsute-human-with-scratch-encased-in-bubble. I gave up, thinking all was lost, and that I must return to the AT&T store for more protectors.
But alas! The case contained not 2 but 3 covers! The idea, I believe, is that the customer is going to destroy at least 2 in the process. Only on number 3 will he/she get it right (and who are we kidding--by then "right" is anything short of a giant fingerprint or eyelash on the screen) and not feel like their money has been completely wasted.
So on my second try, I once again went through the steps, being more careful to hold the protector sticky side DOWN; that way any floating pieces of lint (or sloughed-off human flesh) would hopefully be less likely to land on the surface. The result? An off center screen with a top portion that nearly half-covered the hearing piece. This would not do! I carefully peeled off the cover, replaced it, and by this time was happy that there were only 1 or 2 small specks of whatnot surrounded by bubbles. I'm hoping this lasts at least 3 months before I have to go through this again.
My advice: Good product. Buy it, but expect to get 1/3 not 3/3. And watch the movie Gattaca first. Mimic Ethan Hawke's shower scrub-down before attempting application of the screen protector. And then don't breathe through the process. The protector will be tolerable, but don't expect perfection. Even Ethan lost an eyebrow or something that blew his cover. It happens.
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Case-Mate Screen Protector Film 3 Pack for iPhone 3G, 3GS
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