Occasionally I get some weird stuff to review. Possibly the strangest item we’ve looked at is the Sumo Bean Bag, however this comes a close second.
Dirt and grime, it gets into your phone, so most people get a phone cover. Some, like me, don’t use a phone cover – especially if you’re in an office environment and don’t have the need. Buying a cover for the odd occasion when you’re out in a wet, dirty or dusty environment may seem like an expensive option. Likewise, if you’re intending on going to the beach, riding a bike or going to the pool a standard cover may not do the job.
“Skins” will protect your mobile phone against water, snow, dirt, paint, mud, sweat, blood and much more. Their recent poster and web campaign is both direct and attention grabbing as you can see….
The product itself is equally as attention-grabbing. It is, if we’re being honest, a condom – just without any lubricant or…. ermm.. ribbing etc. On the back of the package are the familiar-looking instructions….
See, I told you they were like condoms didn’t I? Well, if you open the packet
you’ll find three envelopers inside which contain.. err.. a condom! :) Strictly
speaking it’s almost like a cross between a condom and a balloon.
The makers state that "the extremely transparent and protectional mobile cover protects your phone under nearly all circumstances. Skins are always tight around your phone thanks to the 75 micron thickness and a maximum stretch of 7 times its own length!"
It sure is stretchy and I tested it on a couple of different handsets with
different dimensions. First, an Orange SPV C600…
You roll it all the way down to the end and then tie a knot like
a balloon. Any excess can be wrapped back up the phone like this..
Right, so we’ve successfully stuck a condom …. err… sorry.. "phone skin"
on our handset. What about a different phone? I picked the Orange SPV M600 and
tried the same thing, this time with a new "skin" – a lovely red colour. Ahhh…isn’t
it pretty? :)
The thickness of the rubber is just about right – any thicker and you wouldn’t be able to see the screen, any thinner and it would probably split (nothing is worse than a split condom).
On the handsets I tested the keys, joystick and other controls (apart from the rollers found on the M3100 etc) worked well and I could still make / receive phone calls and get good audio quality too.
OK, so far, so good. However, I was intrigued by this little
statement on their website…
"It’s all in the name… Skins protects your mobile phone
against water, dirt, mud, paint, sweat, blood, snow and much more! Now you can
carry your phone wherever you go and you can make and receive calls anywhere, at
the beach, in the shower, even in pouring rain! Skins also protects your phone
against dust, sand and cement. Skins helps you avoid even minor damage to your
mobile, simply and easily."
Hmm… "Even in the pouring rain"… I like the sound of that. Hmmm.. but wait,
I don’t have any rain… Hmmm.. Oh, wait.. I tell you what I do have…
A big jug of water! :) Hmmm.. should I ? Should I ?
Well yes, it has to be done. If we’re to really see if
the mobile skin works then it just has to be done.. :)
Woaha! It still works! Thank gawd, because I didn’t wanna trash
my SPV M600 ! :) I was impressed, so I decided to do it again. Sure enough,
there were no bubbles – this isn’t just splash proof! I’m guessing that if you
had this mobile skin whilst swimming in the pool or sea it would work extremely
well.
I’ve chucked a video of this "sinking" on YouTube, check it out
below..
Surely it couldn’t be this good ? I’ll try chucking it in a big bowl..
Hmmm.. that worked too. I even turned the tap on! Check out the
video of this too…
I was determined at this stage to try and defeat the skin, so I
turned the tap on full-blast directly onto it..
Conclusion
For those odd trips or moments when you need to protect your phone properly
this is the ideal solution. They’re available
all over the
world and they’re cheap too. For the UK you can check
woodlandorganics.com for a list of distributors. I purchased from
extremedreams.co.uk who were excellent. They cost around £3.49 for a pack of three and they
do exactly what they say on the box – once fitted they’ll protect you from
water, dirt, sand, snow and more. Sure, it looks like a condom, but I’m guessing
that’s where they got the idea from originally and – if I’m honest – it works
damn well.
