One of the first decisions a new Nexus 7 owner usually makes after his tablet purchase is whether to purchase some form of screen protector for their new baby. Now there seems to be an endless number of different manufacturers of soft film screen protectors from the ubiquitous
'Zagg Invisible Shield' to
'Skinomi' to
'ArmorSuit' and many, many more in a variety of price ranges. But what we haven't seen...until now is a hard 'tempered glass' screen protector...and that's where XGear's 'Phantasm' differentiates its product.
The 'Phantasm' Nexus 7 screen protector has some unique qualities that the company is claiming make it superior to a soft film protector. With a larger sized screen of a tablet like the Nexus 7, the soft film protectors are notoriously difficult to apply without getting air bubbles underneath. Since the 'Phantasm' is glass...that's not an issue. It simply lies right on top of your display. The .4mm thickness and 8H hardness become a layer of hard protection against all the usual scratching culprits such as keys and falling coffee mugs. Unlike a soft film...in the case of a hard impact the 'Phantasm' will 'crack' instead of shatter...much like the glass on a motor vehicle and hopefully protecting your Nexus 7's screen in the process by absorbing much of the impact.
Now the tempered glass of the 'Phantasm' is treated to reduce fingerprints and overall it does seem like an interesting alternative. The biggest question we had about it was if the hard glass would affect the sensitivity of the Nexus 7's screen. In our research with one user we were told that while it does minimally affect touch sensitivity it is something you quickly adjust to and overall it doesn't affect the usability of your tablet. Now we have to say while we're all for novel and innovative new solutions for protecting our Nexus 7 the one big question we have is regarding the price. At $69.99, we feel the 'Phantasm' is a pretty expensive investment for a device that costs only 3x or 4x that price. But we know there are some of you out there that like to try new things and will bend over backwards to try a unique product so there you have it. You can find out more as well as pre-order the 'Phantasm' screen protector at the link below. Let us know your thoughts in the comments. What do you think...would you spend $70 for this unique screen protection solution or is that simply unrealistic?
Thanks Ian!
