Hori - Protective Screen Filter for PS Vita $2.99 @ BestBuy.com

[quote name='fbTurbine']What was the problem with the zagg? I bought the screen only version for my vita and thought it worked great. Was there a performance issue with touch sensitivity or something? They are hard to put on. I've used zagg on 6 devices on trashed 2 or 3 skins trying to line them up, but once on I've been happy.[/QUOTE]
There were many issues, I'll try to break it down as quickly as I can:

- The speaker area was horrible. They created 'punch outs' for every single speaker grill hole on the front of the Vita's screen, but the inner part (that is supposed to be removed) still remains. Meaning you need to get a needle and poke out every piece of plastic.

But even worse is that it's humanly impossible to align all the speaker holes perfectly (on both sides! at the same time!). And if you don't align it perfectly, it will ruin the audio of your Vita (everything was muffled for me).

The solution is to take an exact-o knife before removing the protective film off the wax paper backing. And use said knife to slice off the speaker areas.

- The feel of the plastic was very tacky and not pleasing. There is a difference between using ZAGG on a smartphone/tablet and on the Vita.

With a phone/tablet it's almost always just one finger tip (sometimes two) touching the screen every few seconds. ZAGG's material is fine for that.

But when you're touching the plastic for lengthy periods of time on the Vita (half of your palms making contact full-time against the front of the machine), the plastic feels tacky and sticky and very displeasing (for me).

- I was referring to the Max Coverage Vita set, and they cut out roughly 20 individual pieces to cover every single side of your Vita, you don't have to use it of course. But if you attempt to, it's really just humanly impossible to align multiple 1/16th thick plastic rings around the back of your Vita.

- The microfiber cloth provided was terrible, large particles rubbed off onto the Vita, and I started to notice particles of it under the screen when I tried to apply it.

It boggles my mind how they thought this could be sold.
 
I tried to get a couple of these and the only store in the city that listed them as available was across the street from work. So I stopped in yesterday and when I couldn't find them myself, I looked for employees to assist me but they were all preoccupied with one thing or another. Couldn't even find someone at the front of the store. For $3, it wasn't worth spending any more time there in person so I ordered them online for pickup today. Got the cancellation notice about 9:30. That store is so weak.
 
[quote name='Chocoburger']There were many issues, I'll try to break it down as quickly as I can:

- The speaker area was horrible. They created 'punch outs' for every single speaker grill hole on the front of the Vita's screen, but the inner part (that is supposed to be removed) still remains. Meaning you need to get a needle and poke out every piece of plastic.

But even worse is that it's humanly impossible to align all the speaker holes perfectly (on both sides! at the same time!). And if you don't align it perfectly, it will ruin the audio of your Vita (everything was muffled for me).

The solution is to take an exact-o knife before removing the protective film off the wax paper backing. And use said knife to slice off the speaker areas.

- The feel of the plastic was very tacky and not pleasing. There is a difference between using ZAGG on a smartphone/tablet and on the Vita.

With a phone/tablet it's almost always just one finger tip (sometimes two) touching the screen every few seconds. ZAGG's material is fine for that.

But when you're touching the plastic for lengthy periods of time on the Vita (half of your palms making contact full-time against the front of the machine), the plastic feels tacky and sticky and very displeasing (for me).

- I was referring to the Max Coverage Vita set, and they cut out roughly 20 individual pieces to cover every single side of your Vita, you don't have to use it of course. But if you attempt to, it's really just humanly impossible to align multiple 1/16th thick plastic rings around the back of your Vita.

- The microfiber cloth provided was terrible, large particles rubbed off onto the Vita, and I started to notice particles of it under the screen when I tried to apply it.

It boggles my mind how they thought this could be sold.[/QUOTE]

When it comes to the "self-healing" wet apply skins, Zagg is overpriced crap. Their skins (not counting HD ones which are just over priced improvements) have an annoying tacky feel to them, that IMO are crap on touch screen devices. The only reason they are popular is due to their marketing and retail presence. If you want something similar to Zagg, but better (smoother, no orange peel effect) and cheaper, I would recommend Best Skins Ever or Ghost Armor (more expensive, but they have kiosks in some malls).

I have a BSE skin on my Vita and I love it. I usually put these wet apply skins on my portable tech. Best of all BSE full body skin for the Vita is only $15 +s/h (some times there are discount codes).
 
I have Ghost Armor for my Nexus 7 screen, it's not self-healing, and I caused a bit of a scratch on it, but overall it's pretty good. But sliding my finger on the glass screen felt way better than the Ghost Armor film.
 
[quote name='Chocoburger']I have Ghost Armor for my Nexus 7 screen, it's not self-healing, and I caused a bit of a scratch on it, but overall it's pretty good. But sliding my finger on the glass screen felt way better than the Ghost Armor film.[/QUOTE]

"self healing" is the marketing term that some of the companies use. Glass is always going to feel better than these skins, but some companies add a clear coat to their skin to make it as smooth as possible, Zagg is not one of them. The real benefit from these skins are body scratch protection, but some are pretty decent for screen protection as well.
 
[quote name='Atlas_1914']Can anyone here comment on how the screen protector stacks up against the Sony OEM screen protector?[/QUOTE]

The Hori covers the entire front, whereas the Sony OEM one only covers the screen itself. Other than that they should be pretty similar in regards to feel.
 
Sigh. Best Buy back ordered mine. They wont get them until Mid April they say.

This is why I don't give Best Buy money. They aren't even competent enough to properly track inventory.
 
[quote name='Chocoburger']GOOD GOD! DON'T PUT PAPER TOWELS ONTO ANY SCREEN SURFACE! :hot:

Use a high-quality microfiber cloth! And not the crappy cheap-o one that comes with this screen protector. I highly suggest buying one (or a pack of multiple) good quality microfiber cloths.

There is no comparison between the cheapie and the goodie types. That is, if you actually want your screen to be in truly pristine condition. If not, go ahead and use whatever. :cold:[/QUOTE]

Do I still use windex though?
 
[quote name='etcrane']Steel wool ... works every time, you just have to put a little force behind it ..[/QUOTE]

Steel wool was great on the PSP screen. It made all the scratches disappear.
 
[quote name='Chocoburger']There were many issues, I'll try to break it down as quickly as I can:

- The speaker area was horrible. They created 'punch outs' for every single speaker grill hole on the front of the Vita's screen, but the inner part (that is supposed to be removed) still remains. Meaning you need to get a needle and poke out every piece of plastic.

But even worse is that it's humanly impossible to align all the speaker holes perfectly (on both sides! at the same time!). And if you don't align it perfectly, it will ruin the audio of your Vita (everything was muffled for me).
[/QUOTE]

I've applied a few of these wet-install skins, and I can't even imagine trying to line up pinhead-sized holes for the speaker grilles. Just thinking about it is increasing my blood pressure.

I'd also be wary of doing a wet installation on a device without a user-removable battery.

Edit: Just so there's no confusion, what I quoted is a review of the Zagg skin, not of the Hori screen protector.
 
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So I've never had any success with putting on screen protectors on phones, tablets or any other devices and I was actually able to get this one on really well. There a tiny air bubble near my dpad that I cant get out, but thats it, otherwise its pretty prefect.
 
Finally got around to putting the Hori screen protector on my vita.. I bought 2 in case I screwed one up lol.

Turns out they're VERY easy to put on if you watch one of the videos, and I had NO dust or bubbles left over when I was done on my first attempt, looks perfect.

I'm usually horrible at putting these things on.
 
[quote name='bruceg']Anyone who uses the Hori filter also have a separate screen protector for the back touchscreen?[/QUOTE]
Yes. I know it isn't necessary gameplay-wise as there's no screen to look at and it doesn't break functionality if it gets superficial scratches, but apparently the back touchpad is really easily scratched and I'm picky about my stuff staying nice! I used a super cheap back protector from superufo.com (came with a front screen protector, but I obviously use the Hori for the front) and I don't even notice it's there. Bonus: you don't have to worry too much about getting it perfectly aligned.

There's a cheap 3-pack of front/back screen protectors on Amazon that is apparently very good too, but they were out of stock at the time, so I ordered the one I have at the same time I ordered my memory card :p
 
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