• On TV.com: NARUTO SHIPPUDEN latest episode
August 21, 2008 3:49 PM PDT

Protect your iPhone without changing its look

by Dong Ngo
  • Font size
  • Print
  • 9 comments
Share

The Air Jacket adds protection without changing the way your iPhone looks.

(Credit: Power Support)

I finally got my iPhone 3G. Love it, hate it, this is all getting old. However, one of the things I do really notice is that although the phone seems very sturdy and scratch-resistant, it attracts fingerprints and shows sweat stains easily. I have the black model and it looks dirty all the time.

For this reason, the Power Support Air Jacket for iPhone3G caught my attention Thursday. It's one of hundreds of jackets you can buy for the new iPhone, but with one unique attribute: it's very thin (merely 1mm thick), and see-through. This means your iPhone won't get any bulkier and will still show its original color. You can also choose to have the Air Jacket in black if you have the white version of the phone and aren't happy with the color.

This is probably the most uncompromising protection jacket you can get for the iPhone. An Air Jacket kit includes the Air Jacket itself, one thin crystal film, and one piece of anti-glare film to protect the LCD.

The catch? It's not cheap. As a matter fact, at $35, it's easily one of the most expensive jackets you can get for your iPhone.

Dong Ngo is a CNET editor who covers networking and network storage, and writes about anything else he finds interesting. You can also listen to his podcast at insidecnetlabs.cnet.com. E-mail Dong.
Recent posts from Crave
The most beautiful cars in Los Angeles
FCC questions Verizon over ETF hike
Friday Poll: What's the next big thing in bionics?
An MP3 player for the vintage hi-fi set
Not all cats are bad photographers
iPhone orchestra: Roll over, Beethoven
Sharp's budget LCD puts features before picture quality
The 30 most anticipated games of 2010
Add a Comment (Log in or register) (9 Comments)
  • prev
  • 1
  • next
by Shaymojack August 21, 2008 4:53 PM PDT
What's it made of? And is there an iPod touch version? And finally, how does it go on? I'm asking because I bought the Incase Slider case for my iPod touch, hoping it would hide my current scratches and prevent future scratches. It's scratched my iPod worse than anything else has, and for the same price as this.
Reply to this comment
by tech_junky48 August 21, 2008 5:24 PM PDT
Zagg's Invisible Shield does this, and prevents scratches, for around the same price. I don't see the advantage of this one, but if it is scratch proof, it would be useful. I do think this type of case is better than the large, bulky cases that you can buy anywhere.
Reply to this comment
by Constantine769 August 21, 2008 10:17 PM PDT
In my opinion, ZAGG is better and cheaper I believe. So yeah, I don't think this has any advantage over ZAGG's Invisible shield. ZAGG is also scratch proof and NOT noticeable at all unless you look really hard.
Reply to this comment
by Rlove1221 August 23, 2008 5:53 AM PDT
I can't tell from this pic but I believe this one will conform better to the phone and you can remove it and clean it, I've used ZAGG on my iphone 1 and after awhile the corners will come up and it would get dirty around the edges and made the phone look horrible so I purchased bestskinsever which is the same material but a lot less money and would just change the skin frequently . If this one is just as thin with the ability to clean it I think this one would be the way to go.
Reply to this comment
by madiny August 25, 2008 9:46 AM PDT
Return your Zagg to them and they will replace for shipping costs. It has a lifetime guarantee. I have been using one for a year now and replaced it once so far.
by NCTARHEELS August 25, 2008 5:10 AM PDT
I use ZAGG"s invisibleSHIELD on my iPhone 3G. It's fantastic in that it prevents scratches and is barely visible, however it's hell to install (CORNERS!!)
Reply to this comment
by Durfen August 25, 2008 8:59 AM PDT
it's called the invisible shield or best skin ever. BSE is about 10 bucks shipped and the IS is about 25.

Cnet has become more of an ad agency then a electronic review site.
Reply to this comment
by funkpod August 25, 2008 9:15 AM PDT
also, BodyGuardz is a company that iLounge . com really liked, and they completely review all of these sorts of covers for ipod stuff. My only problem with these screen covers is that depending on what you want it for, it's NOT better. For scratches, yes, better. But if you drop your device, no screen cover will protect it the way a case will.
Reply to this comment
by bbuckley August 25, 2008 11:38 AM PDT
BodyGaurdz includes two cases for the same price as one Invisishield.

BodyGaurdz is the best case on the market. Application requires patience.
Reply to this comment
(9 Comments)
  • prev
  • 1
  • next
advertisement

About Crave

The name says it all. Crave is our blog about gorgeous gadgets and other crushworthy stuff. If you would like to contact Crave with a tip or comment, please write to: crave@cnet.com

Add this feed to your online news reader

Crave topics

The yogurt makers of tech: Gadgets to avoid

Don't buy these one-trick ponies--unless you like gizmos that gather dust.

Google wants to unclog Net's DNS plumbing

The Net giant, ever eager for a faster Internet, debuts its Google Public DNS service. With it, Google could become even more central to the Net.