Since the creation of the mobile device came subsequent innovations to protect that device from user neglect. Well I don’t know about you, but that’s how it is for me. Not that I neglect my device, but I’d like to know it’s safe if anything were to happen. Well here to save the day is BodyGuardz with their brand new product for the BlackBerry PlayBook – Carbon Fiber Armor! Carbon Fiber is all the rage now-a-days and BodyGuardz has now joined the party with superior protection for your PlayBook! I’ve been using this product for a little bit over a week now and I can comfortably say my PlayBook is sleek, stylish, and completely harm free. Hit the break to read my review!
Last week I received my BodyGuardz Carbon Fiber Armor review sample and I was truly ecstatic. What’s included:
- Carbon Fiber Armor (I got the white one, but there’s black and red as well)
- Matte Screen Protector
- Microfiber Cloth
- Piece of mind
Application
So let’s start with the application. Pretty straight forward. Start with a quick wipe down of the black rubber backing of your PlayBook. Make sure it’s lint, dust, and oil free as the adhesive needs to bond to the device and not dust, etc,.
Next, you’re gonna wanna take the carbon fiber armor sheet and find a spot you can peel back the armor from the packaging.
Once you got it peeled back, go ahead and apply it. Now you do get a couple of tries here as, if you’re careful enough, you will be able to peel back your mistake and try again. Just be careful not to crease the armor prematurely.
Make sure you round the edges when you apply the armor as you want smooth lines with no bumps, bubbles, or misaligned creases. Once that’s done, you’re pretty much set unless you want to put on the screen protector. I will mention here that the screen protector adhesive backing is really tough, but not very sticky which is good for reapplication purposes. Don’t get me wrong, once it’s on, it won’t come off, so that’s a huge plus. I had a lot of dust and pet hair flying around in my room, so I had trouble getting a bubble free application, but it is really easy to fix. Once you’ve finished with the screen protector, it’s time to take this puppy on a test drive.
Use, Abuse, and My Thoughts
I’m sure you’re all wondering why they call it carbon fiber armor. Well take a look below and you’ll see the texture of the backing. Now I chose the white armor so it’s a bit tough to see, but this is a picture at 10x magnification so you can get a general idea.
Notice the tight, interlaced texture that creates a nice solid backing for your device. This is the secret in the way the armor protects. It’s not some cheap sticker you place on your device, you can really feel the protection. You can also see that each fiber is interlaced as you can literally pull them apart. I thought that this aspect was actually really amazing and innovative.
You can pretty much toss your PlayBook on any surface and the armor will remain in tact. It provides enough texture and thickness to defend against minor abrasions, yet is thin enough to fit into your neoprene case, convertible case, as well as any other form-fitting case you may have purchased. So, if you’re like me and you’d rather have your naked PlayBook in bed with you (no pun intended), you can remove it from its case and not have to worry about setting it down without your case – it’s protected! On that note, make sure you let the adhesive set for a day or two before attempting to place it in or take out of your convertible case. I didn’t wait and almost lost a corner. Luckily there was enough adhesive left for me to smooth it out and retain the corner. It actually seems like the armor gets harder after a couple days of applying it as the adhesive seems to stick more.
Also, if you are wondering if it protects the BlackBerry branding on the back, it does. The Carbon Fiber Armor provides just enough thickness to just ever so slightly protrude above the branding to protect the nice glossy finish.
In addition to the Carbon Fiber Armor, the screen protector is great. It is nearly fingerprint resistant, provides a good level of glare protection as the matte finish does a great job at dissipating direct light. One thing I have noticed is that the screen does lose a small bit of sensitivity. There is a trade off though, it feels as if I’ve become faster at typing on the PlayBook after applying the screen protector; however, the letter “A” still eludes me at times.
There’s really only one vulnerability that the Carbon Fiber Armor by BodyGuardz has, and that is the fact that the corners left slightly bare. Now I know that covering corners with a skin is almost impossible to do seamlessly. This design, while doing a very good job at providing full coverage, leaves the corners of your device uncovered. Now by uncovered, I mean that the thickness of the PlayBook isn’t completely covered. While this was a huge downer for me initially, I thought about it for a while and I have yet to run into a situation where I’ve had to worry about bumping my PlayBook into anything on the edges. Unless you drop it vertically, or on a corner in which case, you’re in trouble regardless. And seeing how this is a $499+ device, you’re going to have to be conscious of how you place it down.
Conclusion
Sleep comfortably at night knowing that your PlayBook, or any device that BodyGuardz covers for that matter, is safe, secure, and looking great. This solid armor provides by far the most protection I have seen for a skin -especially a skin this thin! It truly is an amazing product that I encourage all you PlayBook junkies to own. I love taking my PlayBook out of my convertible case just to show off the cool looking backside of my device. While it does take away the nice rubberized texture of the naked PlayBook back, it adds a laced, durable backing that you can feel comfortable setting down on that lab bench, kitchen table, or stone counter top. Although the edges/corners are left somewhat exposed, I find there won’t really be a situation where this would concern me – side note – most skins do not do a great job at covering the edges either. Another really cool feature is the black/white contrast I now get with the White Carbon Fiber Armor – and not the black on black.
I haven’t noticed any obvious wear on the Carbon Fiber Armor, but I have noticed really small dust particles lodged in between the fibers, but it’s nothing I couldn’t pick out carefully. The fact that I double my protection by using my convertible case in parallel with the Carbon Fiber Armor is a HUGE plus since I can use both!
Excellent protection, easy application, great look – you can’t go wrong with this. Not only that, but BodyGuardz offers a free lifetime replacement and 30-day money back guarantee on any of their products. So rest assured, you’re covered and in more than one way!
If you haven’t been convinced by now, BodyGuardz gave me a special coupon code to save our readers some money on any purchase made from today until Friday July 15th at midnight.