Ok, I received mine today and just installed it. My overall verdict: It'll do.
COMPLAINTS: I think it fits about as well as any of these films ever do, but I'm still "flummoxed" by why the fitments aren't PERFECT since they can measure the device and all the devices are the same. I understand them wanting a margin for user application error, but I think you wouldn't need such a big margin if the specs were exact.
I also still don't know if I trust the edges to not come up, but I did my best, and I'm leaving the device alone to dry (with a small lamp to help a little)
I also would have been happier if there were no cutouts for the cameras. I think it would look fine through the film and then it's one less thing to align.
I don't know 100% that the one I got is from the corrected batch, but it's all i have to go on.
Lots of people on this board talk about many other brands being better than zagg. From what I can tell from reviews, nobody stands out as far as protection, and I haven't seen any photos on fitment. So it comes down to preference. I trust zagg's warranty because I've used it, which is why I went with them. If you think your brand has better fitment please let me know! IF you have pictures to back it up.
ADVICE: My advice to anyone installing these film style ipad protectors is BE PATIENT. If you don't like the fitment, or it gets screwed up, just gently and SLOWLY take it off, keeping everything very wet. I ended up doing the back about 3 times before I was satisfied by rewetting with water/a little dish soap. They never give you enough solution but it is important to add a little soap otherwise it being wet doesn't help much as far as positioning goes.
For any edges that don't stick perfect or go over the edge slightly, i'm going to trim with a razor blade once dry.
and now for the pictures. (some have been modified to more clearly show film edges)
BACK
Edge of the shield comes up from the side of the ipad, around the buttons, and does not come back down to the edge until the mic side of the sleep/wake button.
camera hole aligns with bottom corner of camera but extends much further around it (though doesn't cover it)
headphone corner, showing how much of corner is still exposed.
around speaker grill. I'm betting this area is going to get scratched up pretty much no matter what case you use unless you use something really thick because this area is almost always exposed.
dock connector. This part wasn't too bad. i expect the edges to get scratched a bit inserting/removing the connector, but if they had it any closer, it'd probably catch on the dock connector and pull the edges of the film up.
Corner opposite the speaker. Again, just showing what is still exposed.
FRONT
bottom left corner of the iPad. I was much more disappointed with the fitment on the front. It's a flat piece of glass with large rounded corners. How hard could it be to make film that fits better?
right side of ipad. just to show that the gap goes all the way around on both sides, it wasn't bad alignment. however on both the front and back, the top/bottom was almost perfect, just the corners/sides/holes were off.
home button. the film aligns with the TOP of the home button, but leaves space around the side/bottom. and is the opposite with the front facing camera.
front facing camera. film aligns with bottom (and despite how it looks here, does not cover the camera hole) but leaves space around the top/side. opposite to the home button.
This is the spray bottle that came with the kit. a little different from their old bottles (must be easier to ship since it's flat) but STILL NOT ENOUGH SOLUTION. you need to really soak these things for the best result. just always be sure to have a paper towel next to any ports so when you squeegee solution out it doesn't drip into the device.
Feel free to ask questions if I missed something.
It's definitely not as smooth as the original glass but it's not super tacky as some have said. Also the orange peel effect isn't quite as bad as it used to be but it's still there like the best skins ever one.
Edit: another tip. Most of the guides say to squeegee from the center out. I would only do that if you have LARGE bubbles. if not, work from the area with the most buttons/cutouts (in this case the top) to the opposite side. comes out smoother and better aligned.
