Well, my nano came this morning, finally, and as I've had my decalgirl.com skin for it for a few days now I of course immediately applied it. Since everyone and their brother has reviewed the nano already, I will be focusing on the skin and my initial impressions.
I unpacked the nano with a microfiber cloth so as to not get any fingerprints or scratches on it before I applied the skin. After unwrapping the iPod I carefully applied the vinyl skin and then plugged it into my computer where I got the usual iPod friendlieness.
Application and Fit
The application of the skin was fairly easy. The fit is good, but not great. This is a clear vinyl covering for the front and back of the iPod, but not the sides. Each piece of the kit covers either to front or back with no overhang at all. The front piece fit very nicely, but the back was actually just a tad smaller than I would have liked and leaves a few millimeters uncovered on either the top or the bottom of the iPods metallic back. Overall, the skin fit well, but not perfectly.
The adhesive used for the backing of the skin is advertised as reusable and and non-residue leaving. I had to apply the back piece a few times to get positioning that I liked, and so had a chance to reapply the skin. No residue was left, but I didn't let it sit on the iPod very long before I peeled it off, so I am not 100% sure the adhesive won't eventually stick to the iPod. It is however reusable and non residue leaving in the immediate term.
When reapplying I would recommend that you remove the whole skin and then replace it. Peeling up part of the skina nd then laying it back down leaves some slight "bubbling" between the vinyl and the iPod that is not present when the the whole skin is applied.
Durability
I've only had the iPod and the skin for a couple hours, so I can't report on long term sturdiness, but I did try a few things on it while the iPod is syncing. First, I cannot scratch it with my nails or keys. I haven't tried cutting into it very hard yet, but rubbing it with the sharp side of some keys had absolutely no effect. It also does not seem to hold fingerprints at all, which is nice as it keeps it clean looking. See the next section for more about this. I will ecpand on this portion in the future as I have a chance to see how it holds up to daily use.
Asthetics and Usability
If I spelled that wrong I will fix it when I get home to my Mac (why can't every browser have a built in spell checker?).
The skin is clear, and looks 'ok' at best. There is some slight texture to it, so the iPod looses that smooth as glass look. There is also some definate rainbow effect on the screen. Bubbles were pretty easy to keep out, but very small airpockets are what I think are responsible for the small rainbows and discoloration caused by slight texture imprefections on the surface. The manufacture recommends that you use a hairdryer for a few seconds to smooth out the appearance of the skin, so I expect that will help quite a bit. I'll try it as soon as I get home, and report back. (I have high hopes for this as it looks like the skin will flatten out nicely with some effort).
Overall the look isn't bad. Plus marks for being clear and showing off the nano's sexy self, and also for slight texturing being preferable to scratches and finger prints. Negative marks for the rainbowing and not perfectly glass smooth look. If blowdrying it slightly helps significantly, I'd take this catagory from being a wash to a definate positive.
The top and bottom are completely uncovered, so the dock port, headphone, and hold switch are all unobstructed. The touch wheel seems nicely sensitive, but the clicking of the center buttons and the sides of the wheel seems to be stiffer and offer less tactile feedback than the iPod mini does. I'm not sure if this is the skin or the nano's extremely thin nature, though. So, for now I won't hold it against the skin.
Overall
So far the skin seems to be a decent buy. The price was under $6 shipped, and came quickly and as described. It does lack coverage on the sides, but the main face and back are completely protected, which are obviously the most important areas. It does what it claims to do, but isn't overly spectacular.
With the wait time so long on nano's (4gbs anyways), and the case and skin selection being limited, and the price being so reasonable, I would definately recommend that people ordering a nano also spend a few extra dollars to get this product as a temporary protection solution until better cases come to market. It may turn out to be a good permanent solution as well, but only time will tell.
Rating:
3.5 out of 5
I unpacked the nano with a microfiber cloth so as to not get any fingerprints or scratches on it before I applied the skin. After unwrapping the iPod I carefully applied the vinyl skin and then plugged it into my computer where I got the usual iPod friendlieness.
Application and Fit
The application of the skin was fairly easy. The fit is good, but not great. This is a clear vinyl covering for the front and back of the iPod, but not the sides. Each piece of the kit covers either to front or back with no overhang at all. The front piece fit very nicely, but the back was actually just a tad smaller than I would have liked and leaves a few millimeters uncovered on either the top or the bottom of the iPods metallic back. Overall, the skin fit well, but not perfectly.
The adhesive used for the backing of the skin is advertised as reusable and and non-residue leaving. I had to apply the back piece a few times to get positioning that I liked, and so had a chance to reapply the skin. No residue was left, but I didn't let it sit on the iPod very long before I peeled it off, so I am not 100% sure the adhesive won't eventually stick to the iPod. It is however reusable and non residue leaving in the immediate term.
When reapplying I would recommend that you remove the whole skin and then replace it. Peeling up part of the skina nd then laying it back down leaves some slight "bubbling" between the vinyl and the iPod that is not present when the the whole skin is applied.
Durability
I've only had the iPod and the skin for a couple hours, so I can't report on long term sturdiness, but I did try a few things on it while the iPod is syncing. First, I cannot scratch it with my nails or keys. I haven't tried cutting into it very hard yet, but rubbing it with the sharp side of some keys had absolutely no effect. It also does not seem to hold fingerprints at all, which is nice as it keeps it clean looking. See the next section for more about this. I will ecpand on this portion in the future as I have a chance to see how it holds up to daily use.
Asthetics and Usability
If I spelled that wrong I will fix it when I get home to my Mac (why can't every browser have a built in spell checker?).
The skin is clear, and looks 'ok' at best. There is some slight texture to it, so the iPod looses that smooth as glass look. There is also some definate rainbow effect on the screen. Bubbles were pretty easy to keep out, but very small airpockets are what I think are responsible for the small rainbows and discoloration caused by slight texture imprefections on the surface. The manufacture recommends that you use a hairdryer for a few seconds to smooth out the appearance of the skin, so I expect that will help quite a bit. I'll try it as soon as I get home, and report back. (I have high hopes for this as it looks like the skin will flatten out nicely with some effort).
Overall the look isn't bad. Plus marks for being clear and showing off the nano's sexy self, and also for slight texturing being preferable to scratches and finger prints. Negative marks for the rainbowing and not perfectly glass smooth look. If blowdrying it slightly helps significantly, I'd take this catagory from being a wash to a definate positive.
The top and bottom are completely uncovered, so the dock port, headphone, and hold switch are all unobstructed. The touch wheel seems nicely sensitive, but the clicking of the center buttons and the sides of the wheel seems to be stiffer and offer less tactile feedback than the iPod mini does. I'm not sure if this is the skin or the nano's extremely thin nature, though. So, for now I won't hold it against the skin.
Overall
So far the skin seems to be a decent buy. The price was under $6 shipped, and came quickly and as described. It does lack coverage on the sides, but the main face and back are completely protected, which are obviously the most important areas. It does what it claims to do, but isn't overly spectacular.
With the wait time so long on nano's (4gbs anyways), and the case and skin selection being limited, and the price being so reasonable, I would definately recommend that people ordering a nano also spend a few extra dollars to get this product as a temporary protection solution until better cases come to market. It may turn out to be a good permanent solution as well, but only time will tell.
Rating:
3.5 out of 5
