Apple Thoughts: XO Skins For All of Your Coverage Needs

Removal was very easy, but this was after only about hour of drying time. I then tried to put it back on and had no problems, but they do caution against it as the skins can stretch and not fit correctly. I don't think I would do this after much longer than an hour, but since I needed to test it, I took one for the team and took a chance. Yes, I sacrificed my back skin for this review, but after all, aren't you, dear reader, worth it? But I digress. After removal I tried a little test of my own and only after exerting quite a bit of downward force and the sharp end of some scissors was i able to puncture the skin. You can also watch the video below to see some other examples on how well your screen is protected.

And now for the front skin. One problem I've always had in the past with skins for the face of my iPhone has been that they never fit quite right, which eventually will cause the edges to peel up. At this point all you can do is either cut them back or take the skin off altogether since the adhesiveness is gone along the edges. Someone must have told XO Skins about this because, at least for the iPhone 3GS skin I was given, it fit perfectly. The size was just a bit smaller than the actual screen, as you can see from the photo below, so the edges didn't touch or go over the silver trim on the sides. What this does is keep it from pulling up since it sits flat against the screen. This also helps in the installation of the skin as you have more freedom of movement to get it set in just the right spot.

Figure 5: Just close enough

After the front and back skins were on, I had to make sure that my iPhone covers still fit. I use a thin cover from CoZip most of the time, but I also use the Mophie Juicepack Air so I needed to make sure it fit in both. And it did. The only real concern for the Mophie was thickness of the back skin since the front of the iPhone is exposed and wouldn't hinder the case attachment. However it was no problem and fit perfectly even with the skin. This has been a problem in the past for me with some of the other protective covers I have used so I was pleasantly surprised that the XO Skin was thin enough to allow me to continue to use my current covers.

I have just a few warnings when installing these types of products. Number one, make sure your hands are clean and you use plenty of the applicator fluid on your finger tips so you don't leave fingerprints on the underside of the cover. Also, it is best to apply this when you can leave your device sitting for a few hours before turning it on, and when I say few I mean at least two to give it plenty of time to dry.

So what are my thoughts on this skin from XO Skins? I was pleasantly surprised at how it fit and how easy it was to apply. Especially the front skin for the face of the iPhone, they nailed the dimensions so you don't get the overlap problem that I have had in the past with skins from other companies. And you don't have to buy a full skin if all you want is screen protection as XO Skins splits it up. For the iPhone 3GS the complete skin is $24.95 USD, or just $14.95 USD for screen only protection. XO Skins makes these skins for a wide variety of phones and computers, so you can pretty much cover any electronic device you have.

Jeff Campbell is a fan of all things Apple, an X-boxer (the 360 kind) and geek. He works as a floor supervisor in a 911 center in the Portland, OR area, and lives in a small town just north of Mt. Hood with his wife, two kids, two dogs, a snake and a tarantula. Oh, and a three legged cat named "Tres."