[Touch Pro, Fuze General] lbc13:
I was looking around for a full body skin for my Fuze and decided to take a chance on GadgetShieldz (http://www.gadgetshieldz.com/htc-fu...reen-protectors-accessories-covers-cases.html). I was so impressed by it that I thought I'd share my experience w/ it in case some of you all are looking for a similar product and can't decided.

First off, I did my online research on four different full body skin products: Zagg's InvisibleShield, BodyGuardz, BestSkinEver, and GadgetShieldz. InvisibleShield and BodyGuardz are the more expensive options ~$25 per box (a little cheaper on eBay). They include application solution (essentially soap and water) and squeegee as part of the package. It is worth noting that the BodyGuardz box includes two full sets, so about $12.50 each. The BestSkinEver and GadgetShieldz product comes in a envelope w/ the just the skins. The solution you make yourself and you use a credit card for a squeegee. Currently the BestSkinEver product is $8 (+$2 shipping) and the GadgetShieldz is $7.50 (w/ free shipping, plus there's a %15 off coupon on the net).

In reading other's reviews, the BodyGuardz seems to be a superior product to the InvisibleShield. However, b/c the price of the BodyGuardz is 3x more than that the GadgetShieldz I decided to buy a GadgetShieldz and give it a shot, figuring if it sucked I'd could get a BodyGuardz and not have wasted much.

So first off, I was surprised the shipping (from India) came in 5 business days and was delivered by a courier. I signed for the envelope and was ready to get started. The instructions in the envelope directs you to their website w/ step by step instructions and pictures. So I made a solution from dish detergent and water. I decided to make a little extra, so I mixed 1 teaspoon of detergent w/ 12oz of water (this strays a little from their formula). My solution turned out to be a perfect mix.

The skin comes in about 15 different pieces. Its almost the exact layout and design as the BodyGuardz kit. The difference being the side pieces in the GadgetShieldz kit was split up instead of really long pieces in the BodyGuardz kit. I liked this better b/c there are grooves in the sides of the Fuze and if you don't have separate pieces you'd be essentially covering over the grooves with the skin leaving a small pocket of air for dust to collect.

So the installation took about an hour and half to complete. They say only 30 minutes but for a newbie at applying skins and including the time it takes for the solution to dry I think 1 1/2 hours is a more realistic amount of time. The installation went without a hitch and w/ my special formula of solution, there was hardily a single air bubble to be seen, even before squeegeeing!

One trick I'd share is that rather than using a credit card by itself as a squeegee, wrap a lint free eyeglass cleaning cloth around the CC. This makes for a perfect squeegee in my opinion. The only difficult piece on the phone to wrap is back battery cover. This is due to the indented triangle w/ camera lens and LED, and also the many angular ridges on the back cover. I found the trick to wrapping the piece is to start at the bottom and work toward the camera lens triangle area. Also wait a little bit for the solution to become drier before folding the side flaps. The top flap should be the last part to be folded. The triangle indent I had to wait 24 hours before I could fully get all the air out of that area.

Anyways, this is running kind of long so if you want to see the finished result I've attached pics. The skin is great and hardly noticeable. Most of my friends couldn't even tell it was on there. The phone will become less slippery after applying the skin (which I think is a good thing) but all the functionality of the touch screen and buttons are unaffected. In summary, I think this skin works amazingly well and given the price relative to the competition, knowing what I know now, its a no-brainer to choose this over the competing products. To me its the best value.