[Galaxy S III Accessories] Gadgetz:
Happy Independence Day!!!

Being the one that turned most of you on to XtremeGuard screen and full body protectors with that crazy deal they had going for 75% off and free shipping here in the States, I think I need to do my own review of the product so here goes.

Battery cover

First and foremost, yes the cut of this cover allows for removal of the battery cover. Upon initial inspection of the cover I noticed some black specs along the edges as most others have mentioned. As for the cut of the cover, it's not perfect but it's close enough to where I didn't need to modify or cut it in any way to allow it to fit. I don't know how they go about cutting these things but one area they can improve on would be the cuts, I'd like to see more clean, smooth and precise cuts free of "hiccups" or jagged edges. One are in particular that stands out is the area around the charging port, will post pics once the cover is done curing. Another is the corners...I don't know what, if anything, can be done to decrease the gap around the corners but I'd like to see that exposed area there made smaller as well. Lastly, the area that surrounds the camera, speaker and flash is cut with some pecuilar angles I'd guess to ensure maximum coverage. I would prefer something that follows the contours and general shape of the items in that area more closely....those items in that area have more of a rounded square shape so I think if that cutout followed the same outline it would be much more uniform and cosmetically appealing.

Installation:

The install is very straight forward, relatively easy, but requires patience.

Prep

Gather up a small bowl, something just large enough for you to dip you fingers in freely, a microfiber towel (a cleaning cloth that came with a screen protector will suffice), some soap (I prefer Johnson & Johnson Baby shampoo), the squeegee that came with your protector and of course, the protector itself.

This was my first time installing the full body protector and I wanted to minimize dust contamination so I followed the advice of one of our more experienced members and did the install in my bathroom with it all steamed up from the hot shower I had running. I forget his name, sorry, but if you read this let me know and I'll credit you;) The idea behind doing this is that the steam and humidity in the room will hold the dust down. So after steaming up the room (I just let the shower run the whole time honestly, about 10-15 minutes) I washed my hands and cleaned off the protector under warm tap water to try and get rid of as many of those black specs as possible, removed the cutout for the camera, speaker and flash. Dried off my hands one I was happy with the results and cleaned the battery cover, which of course had been removed from the phone, making sure not to get any fingerprints on it. Set that aside and fill up your bowl with warm water (1 cup is plenty) and add a drop or two of baby shampoo, gently stirring it in the water to avoid bubbles. Dip all your fingers in the water and then peel the backing off the protector, then dip the protector in the bowl to coat it with the mixture and lay it down on the battery cover. No need to be precise with this initial placement, but precise enough to ensure the cover doesn't touch anything else like the counter. I'd suggest laying it down from top to bottom, this will ensure minimal air bubbles get trapped under there. Once it's on there you'll be able to move it around to get it where it needs to be and once you do so you can begin working it to get out as much of the water and bubbles as possible. Because of the way I laid it down I had very little air bubbles or water trapped under there so I decided I'd just use my fingers, didn't use the squeegee at all but you can if you choose. Instead of rubbing or dragging my fingers across the protector, which can cause it to move ever so slightly, I "rolled" my fingers in the trouble areas where I seen an air bubble or gathering of moisture. Once I spotted the area I would take my thumb and set it down on it's side, just off to the side of the area, and roll it over the area as if taking a fingerprint. Don't be shy, press as hard as need be. I prefer this technique as it virtually eliminates any marring of the protector and ensures it stays in place at the same time. You will spend much of this time trying to get the corners and the top/bottom edges to lay down, take your time. You may even need to hold said areas down for a few minutes each but they will eventually start to hold. After you think you've got it, recheck your work and make sure you have no lifted edges and that everything is lined up nicely and set it aside. I put mine out in the direct sunlight for a couple hours to help speed up the process.

Screen protector

Preinspection turned up some black particles again, grrrr.....This is a QC issue and i'm going to bring it up to them and hope they make the changes needed to ensure it gets rectified. Not a big deal though, just washed it off as best as i could before installing. The cuts again aren't the ultimate in precision but it does cover the whole screen....just for clarity, there are cutouts for the earpiece, one of the sensors up top and the home button, these cutouts are in the shape of a U so there are exposed areas where those cutouts are. But top to bottom, side to side, the whole screen, beveled edge and all, are covered except for those areas. The only thing I did differently is applied a piece of scotch tape over the camera lens...this was to prevent possible damage to it as I had the phone sitting on the counter at the beginning of the install. Install is the same as listed above, however this time I did use the squeegee because I had to lift the protector once after the initial lay down which caused much more air bubbles and water pockets. So once I got the protector in place by sliding it around I grabbed the cleaning cloth and pressed down firmly on the area by the earpiece and home button to absorb as much water from those areas as possible and using the squeegee I worked it side to side to minimize the water concentration around those two areas, making sure to absorb any significant water being expelled during the process. MAKE SURE TO DRY YOUR HANDS AFTER GETTING THE INITIAL LAY DOWN DONE! You will be handling the phone and don't want wet fingers touching your SIM card or microSD card slots, let alone the battery connectors. After getting 99% of the water/bubbles out and being happy with the coverage of the protector I used the cloth to absorb any water build up along the edges and to ensure the protector was pressed down nicely all along the outside edge of the screen. This was a much quicker install, maybe 5 minutes. It is not resting outside next to the battery cover in direct sunlight to expedite the curing process.

Pics will be posted once the curing process is done, most likely not until late this evening or even tomorrow.