I’m not the kind of klutz who trips over her own stilettos. I do not spill drinks, nor do I dribble food down my belly. I can wear a white shirt and drink a wobbly cup of coffee in 60 mph traffic, no prob.

Here’s the thing, though: I drop stuff. Namely, electronic gadgets. Constantly. I busted a hole straight through the carbonite-like casing I bought for my Blackberry. Heck, I killed that thing so badly it wouldn’t snap shut anymore. And, when I drop something, I don’t drop it on the back or side – nah, I get the corners every time.

So far, only my phone has suffered any lasting damage from slippery fingers, but that’s only made me extra vigilant with my other gadgets. Even so, thank goodness for padded floors at my gym, or else I would be crying tears of sorrow over my Kindle and Zune. Thus, when I came across GelaSkins’ line of sticky vinyl covers for electronics made to eliminate scratches, I was over the moon! Dare I believe this was the answer to my klutziness?!

I tested the Kindle 2 “My Bookshelf” GelaSkin ($19.95) and the iPhone “Almond Branches in Bloom” ($14.95) GelaSkin, and here’s what I think:

GelaSkins come in a ton of varieties in the most beautiful, bold colors you've ever seen. There are romantic ones, post-apocalyptic ones, ones that reflect abstract art, legendary art and incredibly creative illustrations – all in color ranges from simple black and white to photorealistic and even surreal. And, in real life, the visual appeal of the ‘Skins do not disappoint. They are rich and shiny and gorgeous. My Kindle and Jacqui’s iPhone have never looked better – I mean, just look at the pictures.

This, however, is where my love affair comes to a somewhat gentle end.

GelaSkins are, at their essence, stickers – thick, vinyl stickers that aren’t prone to tearing and are robust enough to stop surface scratches, for sure. But, in the end, you have to peel them off a big sheet of 3M paper, place them on the device and hope you’ve got it lined up properly the first time.

Bubbles in placement are not a real concern, provided you went to kindergarten and know how to work stickers. But, use caution, wash your hands and be freaking careful because, as I discovered, you only get one shot.

Wait, I messed up – can I have another one? Yeah, about that … no. It is clearly labeled and advertised that you can remove and re-stick a GelaSkin if you accidentally make a bubble or are off in your placement by a few millimeters (which makes a *huge* different when you’re dealing with teeny little gadget controls) but I recommend that you do not. The front Kindle ‘Skin was fairly intricate and picky when it came to placement, and when I inevitably messed up, I picked and peeled back a corner to replace it – a corner that now sticks up in an annoying little point despite my best efforts to reseal it down.

Bottom line: How much do I like them? Protection-wise, GelaSkins are pretty much a non-entity. I mean, they’ll save surface scratches to the wide planes of the back of your device, but nothing to the screen as there is no screen cover. And the corners? Forget it. There is nothing about a GelaSkin that will protect the corners if you, like I’m prone to do, drop things perfectly. Also, placement is a little wonky along curved sides.

As I said eluded above, my impetus for this review was to find a really pretty alternative to the mall-kiosk cases for protecting my phone and Kindle from, well, myself and my slippery fingers. What I found was an exceptionally beautiful covering that changes the attitude and style of my devices while also offering a tiny semblance of protection from the most inconsequential of scratches.

Would I spend $25 (including shipping) for a GelaSkin? Yes, as a special treat for me – it’s worth it for the colors and style alone. Is that money better spent on a mall-kiosk carbonite-like cover? If you’re a gadget-klutz like me, probably.

If you’re interested in getting one of your own, browse for your device at http://www.gelaskins.com/. You’ll be surprised at the selection and range of devices, which includes video-game controllers and mp3 players in addition to phone, laptops, netbooks, etc.

As for me and my GelaSkin-covered Kindle ... I'm happy to say that, as long as she stays in her rubberized, padded little carrying case when I'm walking and exercizing and other things that involve movement, Kindle can keep her new duds. They totally suit her :) And, truth be told, I'll take all the help I can get.

Labels: GelaSkins; Review; Kindle; iPhone

This entry was posted by Amber, on Friday, April 9, 2010. You can leave your response .