Review: HTC EVO 4G privacy screen protector
Even though we should all respect each other's privacy, sometimes it's really hard to not read over someone's shoulder or glance sideways while pretending to look straight ahead to see what the people sitting next to you are doing or watching on their phone/computer. Sometimes you don't even really care what's going on; you just have nothing better to do while waiting in line or sitting on the bus so you may as well get into a stranger's business for a few minutes.
But if you live by the "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" creed, then you know the stuff you've done in public on your HTC EVO 4G has probably been seen by unwanted eyes nearby at some point too. If this doesn't sit well with you (and it shouldn't), then you might want spend a few bucks on an EVO privacy screen protector
.
Quality & Feel
Like privacy films for computers, this screen protector for the EVO is made of thick gray plastic with a smooth matte finish.
The length of the protector and the earpiece cutout at the top are not perfect matches for the EVO, as you'll see in the photos below, but the majority of the screen is covered. It gives the EVO's screen a soft feel but it isn't as smooth as Sprint's anti-glare protector; it actually feels like there's a very, very, very fine grain to it, almost like there's some dust particles on it that you think you can wipe off.
Installation/Removal
Because the screen protector doesn't fit the display perfectly, you have some options when applying it.
You can align the bottom, which is what I did, and leave the extra space on the top uncovered; you can try to align the top (as mentioned above, the earpiece cutout isn't quite right) and leave a small strip on the bottom uncovered; or you can cut the top part off so that the protector is aligned on the bottom and ends at the top of the actual screen (rather than the device).
Whatever you decide, installation is a breeze. The plastic is so rigid that the whole thing can be applied all at once (just drop the screen protector straight down onto the screen) and air bubbles can be squeezed out with ease.
Removal is just as easy. Just lift up any of the edges and cleanly peel the whole thing off.
Effectiveness
I think the photos will speak for themselves here, so all I'll say is that the privacy screen works very well.
Example 1:
Example 2 (head-on view, partial side view, side view):
Example 3:
Pretty amazing, huh?
The main downside, of course, is clarity. You can't expect a "black" screen protector to be perfectly clear.
Conclusion
If you want to use your HTC EVO 4G privately but in public, then the privacy screen protector is a great way to be able to do it. The fit isn't perfect and screen clarity is affected, but those may be small trade-offs you would be willing to accept to read email, send text messages, and watch all that *ahem* Flash video content without having to worry that the person sitting next to you knows all about it too.
The privacy film screen protector for the HTC EVO is available now for less than $4.
