Review of Macbook Pro 2008 Skin from BestSkinsEver
After much anticipation I received my new Macbook Pro aluminum body a few weeks ago and it was missing something very crucial, a protective covering. Of course no one wants to disturb the precious looks of their new elegant Macbook Pro, the only way to preserve the original look of the laptop is by a skin. There are currently two highly praised companies that provide skins for many electronics from cell phones ipods and to laptops. Bestskinsever www.bestskinsever.com $27.99 and Invisible Shield www.zagg.com $54.99. I currently have the BSE version installed on my Macbook Pro and find it great. Let me start off with explaining what comes in the kit.
What is Included in the kit:
I should use the term Kit useless because it comes in a large envelope with 3 sheets each having different parts of the total body skin attached. There is one single piece for the top part of the laptop, a cover for the battery compartment, a small piece for the latch for the battery cover, another piece for the remaining underbody, two separate pieces for the wrist guard near the trackpad and one for the trackpad as well (I did not use the track pad and will explain later). In addition there are 2 pieces that run along the front two sides of the laptop before it hits the express card slot on one side and security lock latch on the other side. There is one strip covering the portion of the back side of the laptop which is attached to the main lid and two small strips covering on the rear edges of the laptop. Basically this kit has you covered on every level for protecting your new $2000 investment. The great thing about the kit is that it does not cover up any screws which is noted on the bottom side of the laptop. also there is a space for the button for battery life so that is not covered up.
Installing:
First thing first, with the BSE skin, you need to mix your own solution, it is not that hard at all just get 1/3 teaspoon for every 10 ounces water. You don't really need to measure this stuff but a keen eye will be suffice with measuring. If its really helpful to use a spray bottle to put the solution in so that you can spray the skin evenly and place it on the appropriate spot.
Installing of this skin did take some time, approx. 45 minutes if you want to be precise and take your time with every detail. You will need the help of another person when lifting off the large skins such as the top lid so one person can spray the solution onto the skin and the other person can lift it off. It is crucial you do not let the skin adhere to itself. Be easy with the solution, it is there to make placing the skin on easy so you can move it around. Once it dries is when the skin actually sticks.
Bottom:
Install the bottom first, this was not so bad, a few simple attempts and it was easily alligned correctly. The battery compartment was also an easy install but make sure you do not overlap the two skins because the they will sit flush and need to be on their own piece especially when the battery top is taken off. the small covering for the battery latch was a simple 30 second job. I let this dry and then flipped it over to start on the top layer.
Top Layer:
The top layer was the most difficult and you would think it would be easy because it is just one big piece. I put the skin on and attempt after attempt I would fail because one corner would not be aligned exactly and would have to try again. A side note: When I finished the install of the entire laptop, the next morning was a huge air bubble on the top part of the notebook and had to be fixed. Fixing it was pretty hard because it was already dry and set so lifting the skin off was a task. I was lucky that the bubble was near a corner, if it were in the middle it would probably be nightmare. Therefore take your time and make sure there are no air bubbles at all when you are finished.
Wrist pad:
The wrist pad skin is probably the most useful part and the easiest installation. It took one minute to install both sides perfectly with no air bubbles. I did not install the trackpad mainly because the feel of the skin on a trackpad was too abrasive. Being a new Aluminum body Macbook Pro owner, we are lucky to have the glass trackpad with smooth motions. Therefore, I see no point in destroying that feature with a skin.
The sides:
Installing the sides was pretty straight forward. There was nothing more to it than just figuring out where the items go which at first took a few minutes. It would have been nice for BSE to include a small diagram perhaps but again it is not rocket science and just simple common sense will tell you where it all goes.
At the end of the install, the edges were kind of coming up so I had to palm them with my hand but after that it stayed on fine.
A few days later the skin looked perfect and added a nice shine to the laptop. There is one thing to be said. I put my laptop in a Targus Neoprene case and sometimes on the bottom where I did not install the skin as perfectly as I hoped, there are some cloth fibers sticking to the edges but very minimal.
As far as the quality of BSE skin, it is great and probably the best for the money and quality alike. Honestly for $28 vs the $55 at Zagg, it is a no brainer. Yes the Zagg comes in a pretty box and comes with a squeegee and solution but honestly, I do not need to pay that extra 27 dollars for that stuff. BSE is quick and to the point with their kit. Anybody is able to mix water and soap and use a credit card as the squeegee so again no point and dishing out the extra cash for the Zagg.
All in all a great product and a must for people who want to protect their new laptop and not destroy the look.
After much anticipation I received my new Macbook Pro aluminum body a few weeks ago and it was missing something very crucial, a protective covering. Of course no one wants to disturb the precious looks of their new elegant Macbook Pro, the only way to preserve the original look of the laptop is by a skin. There are currently two highly praised companies that provide skins for many electronics from cell phones ipods and to laptops. Bestskinsever www.bestskinsever.com $27.99 and Invisible Shield www.zagg.com $54.99. I currently have the BSE version installed on my Macbook Pro and find it great. Let me start off with explaining what comes in the kit.
What is Included in the kit:
I should use the term Kit useless because it comes in a large envelope with 3 sheets each having different parts of the total body skin attached. There is one single piece for the top part of the laptop, a cover for the battery compartment, a small piece for the latch for the battery cover, another piece for the remaining underbody, two separate pieces for the wrist guard near the trackpad and one for the trackpad as well (I did not use the track pad and will explain later). In addition there are 2 pieces that run along the front two sides of the laptop before it hits the express card slot on one side and security lock latch on the other side. There is one strip covering the portion of the back side of the laptop which is attached to the main lid and two small strips covering on the rear edges of the laptop. Basically this kit has you covered on every level for protecting your new $2000 investment. The great thing about the kit is that it does not cover up any screws which is noted on the bottom side of the laptop. also there is a space for the button for battery life so that is not covered up.
Installing:
First thing first, with the BSE skin, you need to mix your own solution, it is not that hard at all just get 1/3 teaspoon for every 10 ounces water. You don't really need to measure this stuff but a keen eye will be suffice with measuring. If its really helpful to use a spray bottle to put the solution in so that you can spray the skin evenly and place it on the appropriate spot.
Installing of this skin did take some time, approx. 45 minutes if you want to be precise and take your time with every detail. You will need the help of another person when lifting off the large skins such as the top lid so one person can spray the solution onto the skin and the other person can lift it off. It is crucial you do not let the skin adhere to itself. Be easy with the solution, it is there to make placing the skin on easy so you can move it around. Once it dries is when the skin actually sticks.
Bottom:
Install the bottom first, this was not so bad, a few simple attempts and it was easily alligned correctly. The battery compartment was also an easy install but make sure you do not overlap the two skins because the they will sit flush and need to be on their own piece especially when the battery top is taken off. the small covering for the battery latch was a simple 30 second job. I let this dry and then flipped it over to start on the top layer.
Top Layer:
The top layer was the most difficult and you would think it would be easy because it is just one big piece. I put the skin on and attempt after attempt I would fail because one corner would not be aligned exactly and would have to try again. A side note: When I finished the install of the entire laptop, the next morning was a huge air bubble on the top part of the notebook and had to be fixed. Fixing it was pretty hard because it was already dry and set so lifting the skin off was a task. I was lucky that the bubble was near a corner, if it were in the middle it would probably be nightmare. Therefore take your time and make sure there are no air bubbles at all when you are finished.
Wrist pad:
The wrist pad skin is probably the most useful part and the easiest installation. It took one minute to install both sides perfectly with no air bubbles. I did not install the trackpad mainly because the feel of the skin on a trackpad was too abrasive. Being a new Aluminum body Macbook Pro owner, we are lucky to have the glass trackpad with smooth motions. Therefore, I see no point in destroying that feature with a skin.
The sides:
Installing the sides was pretty straight forward. There was nothing more to it than just figuring out where the items go which at first took a few minutes. It would have been nice for BSE to include a small diagram perhaps but again it is not rocket science and just simple common sense will tell you where it all goes.
At the end of the install, the edges were kind of coming up so I had to palm them with my hand but after that it stayed on fine.
A few days later the skin looked perfect and added a nice shine to the laptop. There is one thing to be said. I put my laptop in a Targus Neoprene case and sometimes on the bottom where I did not install the skin as perfectly as I hoped, there are some cloth fibers sticking to the edges but very minimal.
As far as the quality of BSE skin, it is great and probably the best for the money and quality alike. Honestly for $28 vs the $55 at Zagg, it is a no brainer. Yes the Zagg comes in a pretty box and comes with a squeegee and solution but honestly, I do not need to pay that extra 27 dollars for that stuff. BSE is quick and to the point with their kit. Anybody is able to mix water and soap and use a credit card as the squeegee so again no point and dishing out the extra cash for the Zagg.
All in all a great product and a must for people who want to protect their new laptop and not destroy the look.
