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Archive for January, 2008

DecalGirl iPod Skin Review

Jan 28
Posted by: Posted by: Rei Clock 2:20 PM Filed Under: discoveries, i have a life, www

So here goes the story of my beloved iPod Nano G1. Well, no actually, I won’t bore you to death about how much I lurve my iPod.

After owning a white G1 nano for about a 2 years, I decided that I hated my case. It was a rubber case, much like the one pictured here. Not only was it heavy, but it destroyed the nano-feel of the iPod. When people are strolling down the street with their super light, thin iPod, mine was wrapped protectively around a rubber case that made the iPod twice as heavy and as big as it should be. I didn’t really like the case, and my advice is not to use a rubber case. Why? If you own a G1 nano, the back can be easily scratched, and the rubber case leaves moisture residue on it. I was flabbergasted when I took off the case to see scratch-like residue on my beloved iPod. And the fix? Easy. My dad used an alcohol swab to get rid of it. And it looked as good as new.

Here’s my review on the skin that I purchased from DecalGirl:

  • Manufacturer: DecalGirl
  • Cost: USD$8.25 (Skin: USD$5.99 + USD$2.25 for International Shipping).
  • Shipping Time 9 days to Canada (As advertised 5-9 business days)

Upon the arrival of the package, I was extremely excited. Tore open the UPS packaging, and out came the iPod Nano Zen skin kit, and the invoice.

UPS Package UPS Package Invoice and Skin Kit

Packaging is as expected, not too fancy, yet not too low-quality either. From the first glance, the quality looks pretty good, and it doesn’t leave any fingerprints on the skin. The texture feels nice, and doesn’t seem to be easily scratched.

Skin Kit Front View Skin Kit Back View

Applying the skin was the hardest part. I think almost all reviews of DecalGirl skins said the same thing, not that it’s DG’s fault :melts: Personally, since I love my iPod so much, I added a screen shield that I purchased a long time ago (You can also buy the Screen Armor: Crystal Series from DecalGirl) under the skin. After applying the screen guard (And battling with air-bubbles non-stop), I applied the Zen skin. Upon peeling it, the material used for the skin is much like a duct tape, but a little thicker. Applying the top and back parts aren’t the hardest part, but the precision of the circle on the skin where the click-wheel is, is a little off. The skin overlapped on the click-wheel by a little (~1mm or so), but it causes the click-wheel to stick, and to get it to click I needed to click it a couple of times.

iPod: Front and Back View iPod: Front View iPod: Side View iPod: Backlight Off

**I apologize for the low-quality pictures, but my (old) digital camera that was used only has 2 mega pixels zoom, and I understand the images are a little grainy. Much much apologies.

Overall, I was satisfied with my purchase, but what disappointed me was that the skin only covers the top and bottom, not the sides. That’s a little unfortunate =( The skin is re-applicable, as advertised (seeing as I’m a perfectionist, and had to re-apply it three times before getting it fit properly). The skin has to be applied 100% precise, and even if you’re 1mm off, it will leave the opposite side 1mm uncovered, and no, it didn’t look very nice on my ipod.

  1. Skin Quality: 5/5
  2. Skin Appearance: 3/5
  3. Application/Fit: 2/5
  4. Durability: 5/5

The only thing I’m disappointed about is the skin colors. On their website the skin is shown to be have gray background, and white shadows of the leaves, and the red in the backside to be more vibrant. The skin that I have has a white background (So it does look like my original iPod), and the red isn’t as vibrant as I would’ve liked it. The trees and leaves are a little discolored (Dark green instead of lighter shades of black).

Overall: 3.5/5

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