(My penmanship makes doctors look good.  Learning to write on the iPad.)

I knew when I bought my iPad 2 that I would absolutely, bar none, need a screen shield for the device. It has an enormous beautiful screen, and to not protect such a work of art seems like a crime against aesthetics. This point of view might be because my boss has an iPad 2 she uses for work all the time, and its’ screen shows it.

She doesn’t use a screen protector, and has her iPad 2 in an original iPad case as far as I can tell, and if it is an iPad 2 case, it’s simply either a low quality one, or has fallen into a state of disrepair. The case in question has a Griffin logo on it, which makes me sad, as I’ve had 50/50 luck with Griffin in the past.

Half of their products are amazing (like my Griffin Chillewich case for iPhone 4S or the iTrip I used during my 2010 vacation) and others are absolute garbage, or are just simply too awkward to use, such as the Griffin Reveal for iPhone 3GS I had the unfortunate “pleasure” of buying.

But I digress, the point is I’ve seen what happens to devices (and iDevices) without screen protectors (I’ve seen everything from iPods to PSPs or Nintendo DSes look like absolute trash because of a lack of protection) and I don’t like it. I’ve always been extremely careful with my things.

Back in the day, when I had a Rio One MP3 player I had bought second-hand, it had a single scratch on the battery cover. 3 years later when I pawned it again, it was in the same condition. Similar story with an iPod Nano I got for Christmas in 2006: sold it in 2009 and it was in the same condition I had gotten it in. Within a week Ben (my friend who bought it) had a couple of scratches on it.

I don’t always use a screen protector though, my PSP and each of my Nintendo DSes (DS Lite, DSi, DSi XL, 3DS) all run without cases or screen protectors, I’m just sure to wipe them down with a microfibre cloth after each use, and I store them in a case when not using them. Even my MacBook Pro doesn’t have a screen protector on it, though I do use a Speck SeeThru case for it.

With Smartphones though, I’ve always used one, and I never skimp out. On my BlackBerry Curve 8330 I used from 2007/8 – 2009 I had a BestSkinsEver (or BSE) skin on it, which is very similar to ZAGG’s Invisible Shield product, albeit much cheaper. The process is the same as any high-end device-protecting product:

• Clean your device using a lint-free or microfibre cloth, making sure there are no particles of dust or smudges on any surface.
• Wash your hands, and wet with either a mix of baby shampoo and water, or included application solution (which is very likely the same thing).
• Slowly peel whichever part of the protector you’re going to start with, and wet it with the same solution.
• Place, adjust, readjust, replace, and readjust the skin/protector on the device until it’s in the right place, and then squeegee out the application liquid (after optionally applying the same liquid to the outer side of the skin/protector for lubrication) being careful not to get it into any buttons or ports on the device.
• Lather, rinse, repeat, until each part of the skin is in place, and affixed. Let it dry for a day before turning the device on, any visible bubbles should disappear after 24 hrs, your mileage may vary.

My experience with installing the BSE on my BlackBerry was very poor. It took so much fidgeting to get each piece aligned, and once they were on, they kept sticking to other pieces I’d try to adhere, and finally some pieces were miscut. When I got it all on and left it to dry for 2 days, it was slightly yellowed and certain parts were prone to coming off, so I used it inside of a silicone case for the duration that I owned it.

While the installation was hectic and still scars me to this day, the skin in question is still on the BlackBerry 3-4 years later. I used the device heavily for 1.5ish years, and then by my mother for another year after that, and it stood up to the challenge.

When I purchased my iPhone 3GS, I knew I’d have to undergo a similar process, though I was dreading it. To say I was apprehensive doesn’t even come close to describing it, the BlackBerry was just a BlackBerry, this was an iPhone, and it cost me nearly $1000 all told, as I bought it off-contract. To take a brand new beautiful device, and slather it up with soapy water seemed insane, but I knew it had to be done to protect it.

Half-way through that installation I gave up. I got the front shield on properly (not easily, but more easily than I did with the BSE) but the back one, what with the various curves on the back of the device, just wasn’t having it. I decided that the front was enough, and put the device in a case.

That shield is still on my iPhone 3GS, which I used solidly for two years. It never yellowed, it never threatened to come off, and I hardly noticed it was there, except that every few months I needed to clean it, because it grew too sticky to use properly.

When I got my iPhone 4S just a month or two ago now, I was again apprehensive at the prospect of dousing this beautiful device with soapy water. It seemed insane to me to do so, so I ended up opting for a similar solution offered by another company that doesn’t require water, and goes on dry.

The product (and company)? Wrapsol. They produce products just like ZAGG’s Invisible Shield that require soapy water and patience, but they also offer a stick-on-dry solution that they refer to as their “Ultra” line of products. Surely this had to be a better option, right?

Not entirely. Wrapsol reviews all over the internet complain about miscut shields and dust that is already on them, and mine was no different. I was able to get the entire shield on my iPhone 4S (after hours of applying an reapplying it, just without soap and water) but the back shield and side shields had tonnes of flecks of what looked like cardboard under them, and one of the side bits was miscut. The front however went on like a dream, and is still on my iPhone 4S.

The only downside I’d say the Wrapsol has, other than the miscut/dust issues that they’ll replace free of charge so long as you reside within the United States (which is not me, so I’m stuck) is that the shield itself (at least the Ultra line) shows fingerprints pretty frequently, and seems to get smudges and slight discolourations that you can (have to) wipe away every few hours of use.

Anyway, enter my iPad 2: I was confident about applying dry shields, because I put the Wrapsol Ultra on my iPhone 4S just a month prior, and had also affixed cheap Logiix and Casemate screen shields to my parents’ and friend Ty’s collective 3 iPhone 4′s as well.

So confident was I that when I went out to buy a back-case (I ordered a Smart Cover with the device since it was on sale during Apple’s Black Friday event) I neglected to purchase a Wrapsol, Invisible Shield or BestSkinEver at all, and figured the one that came with my Logiix SmartGuard II would be all I needed.

I was wrong. When my iPad 2 finally arrived (seriously, my Smart Cover arrived within 6 business days, the iPad 2 took two weeks) I set about affixing the screen shield, and… ran into some issues. I got it on alright, but the bubbles were abundant, and somehow this Logiix screen shield had the same problem as the Wrapsol Ultra, where fingerprints and finger oils accumulate ever-so-quickly.

After owning my iPad for all of two days, I decided to buy the ZAGG Invisible Shield, even if it meant wet-applying it. It was worth it to have the same level of protection and invisibility it had offered me on my iPhone 3GS for the last couple years. (My first thought was to get a Wrapsol Ultra for the iPad 2, but Wrapsol doesn’t offer such a product at time of writing.)

The application couldn’t have been easier–ZAGG must have been actively developing whatever this material their Invisible Shields are made out of for the last two years, because installation has gotten much easier in that time.  I followed the steps I outlined above, except for the “apply, reapply, adjust, readjust” et al, and put the back shield on in one fell swoop. It was really easy, and my only worry was getting application solution in any of the ports, such as the speaker or 30-pin connector on the bottom. (Or headphone jack! Or volume rocker/mute switch!)

The front wasn’t quite as easy, and I think I know why: The back of the device is aluminium, and it’s thick and strong. Squeegeeing the bubbles off of that was easy, because they had nowhere to go except out from under the shield, and onto the surrounding towel. The front of the device, however, obviously has glass (apparently Corningware Gorilla Glass) and it actually flexes as you apply pressure to squeegee the bubbles out.

As such the teeny tiny bubbles won’t dissipate for a few days, sort of like my experience with the iPhone 3GS and BlackBerry back in the day. The back however was immediately bubble-free, except for over the Apple logo, which has the same micro-bubble issue as the front.

Ultimately installation took 35 minutes, and 15 of that was letting the back solidify and cure enough before I was willing to flip it over and apply the front. What made the installation so easy (for me anyway) was the included Rubber Squeegee. It beats the pants off of a “soft card” any day, as those are really just crummy cardboard cards that bend and have absolutely no chance of moving bubbles (either air or water) that are trapped under a plastic layer.

One thing I’d like to mention is that ZAGG seem to be really stingy when it comes to application solution. With the Invisible Shield I got for the 3GS two years ago, the solution was provided in a weird tray with a sponge in it, that you peeled the top off of. It was filled to the brim, and to be honest, more of it got onto the ground than your device due to the design.

I’ve seen a few applications of Invisible Shields (or competing products) since then, and for the most part they involve a small bottle of solution, usually a cylindrical shape, maybe 100ml worth. They look almost like cough spray, actually.

This one, however, included these odd thin and oblong “bottles” that had next to nothing in them. They feature a latch over the top to make sure you don’t accidentally press the button on top to spray some of the solution, but I find they’re actually really awkward to use while applying the shield, as they work kind of funkily and require too much focus.

Between them they can’t have had more than 50ml of the application solution, and unlike previous iterations where you could refill the spray bottles (or odd trays) of solution with water for a second use should you need it, these offer no way to refill them short of taking the bottle apart on the bottom, and they don’t look like they go back together afterwards.

The micro-fibre cloths that ZAGG include are of similar quality to what you’d get with a bundled-in screen protector you’d get with a case. They’re not very good, though to be fair the cloth that came with my MacBook Pro is a similar kind of cloth, the only difference being that it’s adorned with a small Apple logo, and comes folded in an awesome 4-corner sort of way… (It’s hard to describe.)

I was much more impressed with the cloth that came with my Wrapsol, as it’s bright, large, well made, and features the Wrapsol logo prominently all over it. The ZAGG ones look just like the other umpteen clothes I have scattered all over my table from using other protectors.

My one and only qualm (because the microfibre cloth bit is just petty) is that ZAGG have started including a teeny-tiny ZAGG logo on their products, which really detracts from the name “Invisible Shield.” There’s one on both the front, and the back, and while with a Black iPad it probably wouldn’t show up so much, on the White one from a far it looks like a piece of dust, and that bothers me.

In closing, I should say that I am extremely impressed with the ZAGG Invisible Shield this time around. I’m certain that the next time I need such a skin for a device (strongly considering one for my MacBook Pro since I start attending University in 5 weeks and it’ll move around more often) I’m going to look to ZAGG first.

ZAGG has definitely shown improvement over two-year-old designs, and this is the least issue I’ve had applying one of these types of products yet. I’ll have to wait a day or so to see how many bubbles or blemishes are left over, but from how few I can see now, I’m pretty optimistic.

I’d rate the ZAGG Invisible Shield Full Body Coverage for iPad 2 4/5 stars. You can pick one up for $39.99 @ ZAGG.com, but be warned, international shipping is not cheap. You might have better luck shopping locally, as pretty much every tech-related store I’ve seen carries them. They’re that good.