Fantom Screen Protector [Review]

So a while back I was really looking to accessorize my Nexus.  I saw that AndEtch item, and I feel really bad about it as I even blogged about how cool it was… but it turned out to be a bust.  Well, eventually I got my refund so that money in my PayPal account was burning a hole in my pocket.  That’s when I saw XGear’s Fantom Screen Protector.

Pretty much same price… so I figured why not.  I’m not a fan of the traditional plastics we put on, so this should be ideal.

Well… it took a long time to order in, as they had to … well, I’ll let you read:

Thank you for your pre-order with XGear. As some of you may know, we have recently ran into a few changes for the Fantom and Spectre.

The Fantom will no longer be completely clear, it will have a black border for the following reason-

With a clear glass protector, an electrostatic process is used to adhere onto the screen. This causes bubbles to easily form.

With a black border glass protector, we use silica gel to adhere the glass. This process leaves no bubbles and can be reused.

You can view the Fantom’s new design here.

We’re not sure why this was not disclosed to us beforehand, but at this point we need to do what will work. The black border will really be no different than a completely clear protector, if anything it will be beneficial in an instance that you accidentally touch the face-down side the smudge will be hidden underneath, as well as any previous scratches. if you do not and want to cancel your order for a full refund please don’t be hesitant to do so. 

The Spectre will also not be completely clear, instead it will be available in a blue or white color to match your phone’s existing color. This provides a clean finish and blends in with your phone. We will have pictures of both models available on our website late today.

You can view the Spectre’s new design here.

Both these changes have caused a slight delay, we expect all orders to be shipped out in late-July.

It still took a few weeks … even after it said it shipped, but hey, I won’t blame them for Canada Post, and I applaud their customer service for telling me of the delay and giving detail as to why.  But my spidey senses were up.

Well, now I have it and let’s go over it.

The Box is huge… so you’re expecting something awesome.  It’s a level 8 hardness (out of 10)… but there’s nothing in the box.  It’s a big and hard cardboard box but with the tiniest of screen protectors.  A little over kill.

There’s nothing else.  The instructions are on the back of the box, which simply say “clean, line up, slap on”.

(I simplified it a little)

So I do a bang up job wiping down the phone and ensuring it’s clean.  And then I go about putting the glass on the glass.

It’s not easy.  With the plastics I can wet the crap out of the adhesive and put on and adjust later.  With this, it’s a dry application (there’s only adhesive on the black edge), so it’s got to be on perfect.  With a curved screen it’s a little tricky.

So it goes on and it isn’t straight, luckily it’s not been super pressed down, so I can get a nail in and wedge it back off and try again.

And again.

And again… okay, either it’s really tricky, or I’m OCD.  Maybe both.

But in doing that, a few flecks of dust or something got on the screen.  URGH.

While the glass was off the phone, you can definitely see an array of dots on it, but it’s not as noticeable on the display.

What is noticeable is there’s a reduction in brightness.  Maybe because of the sensor… but you can definitely feel like it’s ‘behind glass’.

You also notice how the phone isn’t quite as responsive to the touch any more.  Kind of like when you start to use a tablet… you can’t lightly swipe with a pen, you have to ‘press’.  It’s the same now with the screen.  Where I was able to delicately swipe, now I have to be forceful with a press.

The middle of the screen isn’t too bad, and is pretty responsive.

The edges BARELY respond, I have to often resort to using my thumb… and even then.  Which sucks, as the back arrow is nearly unusable now.

Same with trying to swipe down the notification shade, or swipe it back up.  Just hard.

Also, it claims to have a special coating that resists oily residue… It seems to do the opposite.  It looks much ‘greasier’ than when I had the plastic.  Maybe it’s just me.

Here’s my video…

Yeah, I was a little ‘heated’ with the video, and sorry for the shakyness – I did it with the Atrix HD LTE as a test of its video capabilities.

I probably was a little harsh, and I peeled off the screen and redid it again… it’s a little better now… maybe I didn’t line it up perfectly, but it’s still pretty bad, and nowhere worth the $30 I paid for it.