# Bodyguardz Protective Skins

So I bought a Treo 755p to replace my 2 year old Treo 650. The phone is fine, it's basically my 650 with EVDO, no antenna and miniSD instead of SD.

I never had any sort of protection on my 650, and it held up great. However, it got pretty badly scratched up. I decided I'd see what sort of protector I could get for my 755. After looking at cases and researching for a few days I bought a set of plastic skins from BodyGuardz.

I put the skin on this morning. It hasn't cured for the full 24 hours yet, so this is a review of the installation process only, plus first impressions.

On a technical, "Can I do this" level, the installation was a breeze. Just spray on the solution and apply the piece in the right spot. Lift or slide until it's in position. I found that the skin didn't slide across the rubberized paint of the 755p very well, but peeling and resticking was fine.

However, on a "How hard was the install" level, it's meticulous. You have to clean the treo, then spray your hands, peel the next piece, spray it, then start applying and sticking it. I found I was spending 5-10 minutes per piece to get it on. The squeegee was useless for the body protector, again because of the rubberized paint. Pressing hard with fingers worked perfectly to stick the cover and work out bubbles.

The fit is not perfect, but it's close enough. There are a couple places where it stuck over the edge slightly, but a razor blade was able to cut those bits off (it was right where the battery cover meets the phone, so I had to trim it.)

The screenguard works as expected, although even with the solution getting bubbles out wasn't easy. This is a place where the squeegee helped. If anyone from Bodyguardz is reading this, please keep those in here, they are very useful for this step. :) My screenguard is slightly smaller than the screen, but once placed you don't notice it unless you look for it.

So first impressions? Seems great. By now the solution has dried and I can see how it'll look. I think it'll do a great job, provided it actually stays on the phone.

All is not rosy, however. The most scratched up part of my 650 is the part of the case that frames the screen. The Bodyguardz don't protect most of this area. Also, there are some corners that look like perfect candidates for catching and becoming a removal point, possibly when I don't want it to be removed. I'll keep an eye on those.

So should you buy your own? Well, I like it so far, and would tenatively say yes. At $25 it's cheaper than most cases, and it keeps my treo sleek enough to stay in my pocket.

I'll post another review in a few weeks, when I've had a chance to really put it through the paces.

Company	BodyGuardz
Product	BodyGuardz for PalmOne Treo 750 / 755
Price	$24.95
Other Info	They have skins for almost any phone, plus sheets you can cut to shape yourself.

posted at: 2007 Aug 16 21:36 UTC | category: tech | (story link)