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Case-Mate Clear Armor for Macbook Pro Review

8

8767092

Cancelled
Original poster
Oct 28, 2007
1,288
58
I am usually not one to worry about a scratch or two on a device. In my mind a scratched device is a well used device, but I always try to protect my device one way or another to prevent major damage.

Browsing Digg one day I found the iPhone recession case (a cardboard iPhone case made as a joke of sorts) by Case-Mate and went to their site to order one. While I was there I saw the Clear Armor and thought about ordering it, but it seemed a bit too expensive just to protect against scratches.

I eventually ordered the Clear Armor from Case-Mate after watching many of the videos on http://www.youtube.com/ about Case-Mate's Clear Armor and Zagg's invisibleSHIELD.

To my knowledge, both of these products are made of the exact same material. The cuts may be different (and included accessories are), but the material itself looks the same and is described the same way.

Case-Mate.com website said:
This material was originally made for the army - it's that serious. It protected Apache Helicopter blades from damage in Desert Storm, so you bet your ass it'll protect your MacBook.
Click to expand...

Zagg.com website said:
The invisibleSHIELD has its origins in the military, where it was used to protect high-speed helicopter blades from dust, dirt and debris.
Click to expand...

Case-Mate's Clear Armor is $44.95 with free shipping and Zagg's invisibleSHIELD is $54.95 with free shipping. The extras included with Zagg's package weren't worth the extra $10 to me so I ordered from Case-Mate.

Case-Mate shipped my Clear Armor via USPS and it arrived about 3 days later.

Packaging:

The Clear Armor comes in a plastic tube capped on both ends. It contains the armor sheets, small plastic "squilgee", bottle of solution, and a small lint free cloth.

It is adequate packaging except for one small problem: The armor sheets are rolled up and might be very hard to apply straight out of the package. I solved this by flattening the sheets out and stacking old magazines on them for a few days.

Installation:

The first thing people ask me is: "Is it hard to apply?" The answer is no. The Clear Armor is very easy to apply.

The procedure goes as follows:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-OPeEWAwQ4

Note: The video is for the invisibleSHIELD, but my experience installing the Clear Armor is exactly the same.

Final thoughts:

The installation is easy. The cost is low. It improves the durability of the computer and makes it easier to hold onto.

I love my Clear Armor and will be getting more of it when I upgrade to new computers in the future.
 
I am always worried that stuff like that are going to start peeling in the corners or something, I have a tendency to play with things that are hanging off and eventually I would just peel it off! With that said, does it seem pretty "stuck" in place?
 
BlackiBook said:
I am always worried that stuff like that are going to start peeling in the corners or something, I have a tendency to play with things that are hanging off and eventually I would just peel it off! With that said, does it seem pretty "stuck" in place?
Click to expand...

Let me try to explain it.

The armor pieces are easy to manipulate when they are wet, but as they start to dry they stick and I mean really stick. If you do the installation properly you should not have any peeling edges at all.

Fortunately it takes several minutes for it to even begin to dry so you have plenty of time to do it again and again if you need to. You just peel it off, spray it with the solution again, and reapply it to the computer.
 
On my 1st uMBP I decided to go with the InvisibleShield to protect it from scratches. However, when I wanted to take the clear shield off the bottom of my uMBP, the small printed FCC and electronics label was removed as well!
Now I can be pretty OCD when it comes to small defects like this. Although I couldn't see the print that was partly removed, just knowing it was there was enough for me to purchase a new uMBP.
Anyways, just thought I would share with you my experience and give you this word of warning. Be careful removing the bottom piece. :)
 
I might have to look into picking one of these up! I like the look of my naked MBP every once and awhile. Would you think a case would fit over the shield?
 
I have an invisibleShield and it works GREAT! you should get them on eBay as they are cheaper than the website. I'm pretty sure a case can fit over it once it is fully dry. I have an invisibleSHIELD on my iPhone 3G and i have a clear case over that too so it should work with the macbook, no guarantees though. I love the peace of mind the invisibleshield gives me :) well worth the money! I love the fact that its like having no case at all :)


edit: also, i believe invisibleshield is better than case-mate but thats my opinion. its more popular and they give you a real squeegee not a card like case - mate
 
ttran88 said:
edit: also, i believe invisibleshield is better than case-mate but thats my opinion. its more popular and they give you a real squeegee not a card like case - mate
Click to expand...

I couldn't see paying $10 extra for the "extras" Zagg included.

The application solution is just baby shampoo and water. The "squilgee"/card works just fine though you could buy a proper squilgee for much less than $10.

Zagg has marketed their product a bit better, but the products are made of the exact same material.
 
8767092 said:
I couldn't see paying $10 extra for the "extras" Zagg included.

The application solution is just baby shampoo and water. The "squilgee"/card works just fine though you could buy a proper squilgee for much less than $10.

Zagg has marketed their product a bit better, but the products are made of the exact same material.
Click to expand...

I paid 40 dollars for mine plus free shipping thats cheaper than yours. i said they should buy it on ebay if they wanted it since its cheaper.
 
ttran88 said:
i believe invisibleshield is better than case-mate but thats my opinion. its more popular and they give you a real squeegee not a card like case - mate
Click to expand...

So what if it's more popular? PC's are more popular.. ;)

By the way, Zagg has gone cheap and does NOT include a real squeegee, they also use the "credit card" and the spray is not even a spray anymore, it's just a wet sponge.
 
MMM.PWR said:
So what if it's more popular? PC's are more popular.. ;)

By the way, Zagg has gone cheap and does NOT include a real squeegee, they also use the "credit card" and the spray is not even a spray anymore, it's just a wet sponge.
Click to expand...

hm thats funny, i got mine a month ago and it still has a spray and the squeegee. Oh wells tough luck
 
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