redOrbit reviews: Patchworks Impossible Tempered Glass
As redOrbit initially wades into the crowded waters of product reviews, it seems only fair and proper that the first item randomly given to us at the CES in Las Vegas, should have the honor of the initial review.
Now as you may know, there’s an entire industry devoted to accessories for your smart phones and tablets. And Korean-based Patchworks Inc.’s has a whole host of items, one of which is their ITG – “Impossible Tempered Glass” – the name for their tempered glass screen protector line-up.
What caught our eye at CES was a video of their product helping an iPhone to resist bending. And not to rehash the whole “bendgate” story, but obviously anything made thinner is easy to bend. Take a bar of 1/4-inch aluminum stock or a sheet of aluminum foil, and see which one is easier to fold over.
It was not possible to check to see if their glass is helpful in preventing a device from bending. We don’t happen to have a durometer handy, but check out the video here. You’ll have to decide for yourself if this feature is important.
That said, the screen protectors themselves seem to have an excellent fit and finish. They come attractively packaged with a cleaning cloths and profuse instructions. There’s even a special sticky pad to help move dust and debris, to make sure you’re screen is clean as possible.
One thing that was extremely attractive is the alignment tool.
I mean, how many readers out there have attempted to put on a screen protector and have it be misaligned? You peel it up, try again; peel it up again, and after about the fourth try you throw it out.
The ITG products have a hardness rating of 9H on the Mohs scale, which means keys or loose change should not scratch it. There is also an oleophobic coating which means things like fingerprints or oil wipe off with ease. What is most attractive on a beveled-edge device like an iPhone 6, is that the same curve is incorporated into the design of the protector.
The ITG glass does not appear to affect the operation of the iPhone’s touchscreen, and there is an opening for the “home button” if your phone is equipped with something like “Touch ID.”
The ITG products are not cheap; comparing them to others – which in many cases don’t have the same features – the ITG products have a premium price of about 20% to 30% more. As with anything, readers must decide if the features make the price worth it.
SUMMARY
How we acquired: Item was given for review, as part of a press kit. Tested on an iPhone 5 and 6.
Rating system: At redOrbit, we’ve decided to use 1′s and 0′s (you know–the binary system?) instead of the words “pros” and “cons.” 1 equals pros, 0 equals cons. We basically way overthink everything.
1: Perceived quality, scratch resistance, guide pin, dust removal sticker.
0: Price.
Transparency: 93.7%