Screen Protector Shootout: Photodon Anti-Glare

Truc Bui continues to pump out the good stuff on screen protection for the Tablet PC, this time focusing on the Photodon Anti-Glare.

– Truc Bui

Photodon Anti-Glare

Summary:

Pros:

· Corner to corner coverage with silicone adhesive similar to and on par with BoxWave.

· At about $10-$12 + $4.75 shipping (it was a custom cut piece, but similar sized protectors run this much), it’s extremely affordable, especially for something that’s reusable.

· Excellent writing feel with average speckling and high resistance to scratching.

Cons:

· The same difficulties hold true for installing the full adhesive protector in a dust-free environment.

· The film seems to pick up more smudges than average, in fact, it’s almost as attractive to fingerprints and palm smudges as the native screen.

· Although reusable, cleaning off the silicone adhesive is tricky for reapplication

The 5^th round of the Screen Protector Shootout will also consist of two parts. In the first half, I will be looking at the Photodon Anti-Glare screen protector. Photodon makes all sorts of screen protectors for computers, including privacy screens, screen protectors, screen hoods, and various cleaning kits.

Initial Impressions:

The Photodon AG film came double packed with the clear Anti-Reflective screen with some informational material, a couple of sample squares, and a couple of cleaning cloths. Each protector was wrapped in simple plastic sleeves. The low cost of the protectors prohibits any extravagantly packaged extras and Photodon’s protectors won’t be winning any presentation awards. All the necessary items are in the package and nothing else. The protector itself is very reminiscent of the BoxWave with a full silicone adhesive backing with a tabbed back cover. The thickness of the protector is actually surprising, especially considering its cost. It is almost as thick as the BoxWave.

Installation:

As was expected, the Photodon applied easily with the wide width 3M squeegee. I’m getting pretty good at applying these full adhesive protectors, but that could just be from practice. To ease installation, I’ve found it best to use a cleaning solution and a lint-free microfiber cleaning cloth on the native screen itself first to eliminate any static buildup. All of the screen protectors so far have come with at least a lint-free cloth, some have come with a microfiber cloth. Even prescription glass cleaning cloths would work towards this purpose. Use of a thick matte board or poster board (be sure to use the cleaning cloth to protect the screen protector in case your applicator is sharp) will greatly help the installation process happen in one pass.

Preservation of Luminosity:

Optical quality with the Photodon is great. As with all AG protectors tested thus far, some speckling does occur. The Photodon isn’t as speckly as the BoxWave, however. In terms of preservation of screen quality, the Photodon AG is on par for the course. The Photodon seems much more susceptible to picking up palm smudges and fingerprints than the other protectors tested so far. It’s almost as prone to smudging as the native screen. Perhaps there is less speckling due to the Photodon AG being slightly thinner than the BoxWave. We’ll see if this has any affect on scratch resistance.

Writing Feel:

I couldn’t believe it when I did the writing test. Did I accidentally put on another BoxWave? The writing feel is at least as good as the much more expensive BoxWave. The only difference here is the smudge factor. You’ll see in the video where I go crazy with the pen on the screen during the inking experience portion of the video. Not one scratch was left on the screen. NOT ONE! The writing feel and scratch resistance of the Photodon has just set a new standard for the Shootout when price considerations are taken into account.

Outdoor Viewability:

Outdoor viewing was great. The AG cut down enough of the ambient glare that it was very pleasant on the eyes. With the screen at 100%, everything was viewable outdoors unless you hold the screen so the sun reflects directly back into your eyes. The Photodon AG was on par here as well with the best of them. With the screen off, the smudges can really be seen outdoors, but this is of little consequence because as soon as you turn the screen on, the smudges are hardly visible and does not negatively affect the overall outdoor viewing experience.

Screen Protector Removal:

Removing the screen protector was similar to the BoxWave. But since the screen protector itself is a little bit thinner than the BoxWave, it’s even trickier to get a corner to pry up for removal. It’s probably best to use a piece of masking tape and pick up the screen protector from a corner. I still can’t find my roll of tape. I have no idea where it went.

 

Conclusion:

At approximately a quarter the cost of the BoxWave line, Photodon is a very attractive alternative. Scratch resistance and writing feel are both spectacular. It makes me wonder how much these pieces of plastic are really worth and if charging anything above $20 constitutes price gouging. With the quality of the screen protector, coupled with its amazingly low price, Photodon has proven the old adage of “you get what you pay for” wrong. Considering its price to performance ratio, Photodon has set the bar for all other screen protectors in this roundup.

Stay tuned for the second half of Round 5 when I look at the Clear Photodon screen protector!