BodyGuardz Skin for iPod Classic

A while back I got a sample of these strange iPod skins from BodyGuardz and was a little apprehensive. My simple slip-on skin I'd gotten from a dollar store had been treating me just fine and while this film skin would allow my iPod to go au natural and still be protected, the whole idea of it scared me.

BodyGuardz are "made from the same material that is used to protect the front of automobiles," which sounds impressive until you realize that car manufacturers don't hand you a template, a set of instructions, and a spray bottle to protect the front of your car. The BodyGuardz box comes with two sets of skins for front and back (one's a spare), a spray fluid bottle, a little plastic squeegee, and lots of demanding instructions to make you wonder if you really want to use this on a $250 piece of machinery:

"DO NOT SPRAY YOUR DEVICE"
"Once the adhesive is contaminated with dirt it cannot be cleaned!"
"Do not push too hard. You do not want to stretch or scratch the film's surface."
"Make sure to squeegee out all the moisture and soap!"
"Do not remove the film after it has set for a period of greater than 10 minutes."
"Go slow until you are more experienced."

More experienced? Am I applying for a job here? Yes, it is feels like the first day at a new job applying this film and it's not something to be done while inebriated or multitasking. Or outdoors: "Wind and dirt are your enemies." But hey, at least they filmed a YouTube video you can watch to see how it's done.

It's the end result that matters though and despite my anxiety---and instructions that made me feel like a demanding boss was watching---I got it done and it's beautiful. My iPod is back to being white instead of blue and this guard doesn't collect dust and dirt the way my cheap skin did. The screen looks better for video too since the film goes directly onto the screen. It's hard to even tell the thing is there, which is kinda the point. No extra stuff.

I worried that I would be stuck with this thing for life should I change my mind, but the company says you can remove it with no residue left behind.

Besides the BodyGuardz for iPod, they also come in pre-cut models for the other iPod models, the Palm Treo, portable game players from Sony or Nintendo, and more. At a list price of $25, these things may have the fattest margins of anything I've ever reviewed here, but that's space-age tech for you I guess. If you want to protect your gadget with something that's barely there, this is the ticket.

Get the iPod Bodyguardz at J and R

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