I’ll admit when I first received the offer to review antibacterial screen covers I could scarcely control my snark reflex. Have we as a culture really gotten to a point where we have to sanitize our cell phones? It seemed laughable at best and idle fear mongering at worst.
Of course this all slipped away after someone reminded me of the unfortunate fate of Golgafrincham. Silliness aside, studies have shown that smart phones are a veritable cesspool of disease, and, considering the fact that so many of us spend a large chunk of our day with those same touch screens pressed firmly against our faces, this seemed like a product that could warrant investigation.
The Fuse Antibacterial Screen Guard gains its germ-killing abilities from nano-silver particles within the sheeting itself. Fuse claims that this technology prevents 99% of germs from growing on the protected surface, and further touts that the screen cover never loses this effectiveness.
Still, for all its preventive powers, the Fuse Screen Guard looks and acts just like any other high-quality screen cover. Application to both my iPhone 4 and iPad followed the familiar pattern of clean, peel, position and squeegee, and, even setting the antibacterial properties aside, it’s quite a nice cover. There’s the slightest bit of a matte finish that helps reduce glare (but not so much as to obscure the on-screen image), and the cover likewise seems to offer solid protection against everything from scratch damage to fingerprints.
The only drawback, of course, is the price. Expect to pay about $30 for a pair of covers for your iPhone (or for a single sheet for the iPad). Also, while iOS device Screen Guards come custom-cut, you’ll have to make do with “universal” phone and tablet protectors for other models.
As I sit here typing this out in the throes of a massive cold, I can’t exactly attest to the germ-killing power of the Fuse guards –- though with two small children in the house, trying to pin my malady on a dirty cell phone is a bit like blaming the Greek debt crisis on that one time a local restaurant forgot to charge me for a take-out gyro. Still, if you’re a germ-weary consumer or that poor sap who always ends up passing his iPad around the boardroom to all your sweaty-palmed coworkers, they might be worth a look.
Review materials provided by Fuse.
