• WHAT: A great way to protect your expensive products without changing the appearance you love
• WHY: Because these things are easily scratched or damaged and we have to live with them that way for years
• COST: $7.95 

Regular readers of this blog know that I rarely review wireless-related products – there are plenty of great sites that do that already (see my LINKS section for some ideas on that).  But every now and then I come across a product that's either works so well (like the Jawbone headset) or is so inexpensive – like today's subject – that I feel compelled to tell everyone about it. 

Cases, both leather and plastic, for phones of all kinds are a dime a dozen.  Really – you can find them on eBay for a couple of bucks and they'll usually include some kind of built-in screen protector.  But the thing that has always bugged me about most cases of either variety is that they impinge on the design of the product that industrial designers and engineers spent thousands, if not millions, or man-hours working on.  Take, for example, the iPhone, probably the most potent example of industrial design brought to a phone – would you really want to cover up that beautiful form with a plastic case?  Some people would, but I don't… to me it's like draping a potato sack on the Venus de Milo. 

No, instead, I've opted for another solution that leaves the design elegance of the iPhone entirely intact, protects the screen like a Star Trek force field and wraps the entire remaining parts of the phone in film that's reminiscent of a combination of shrink wrap and the Saran Wrap you'll find in almost every kitchen.  The product is made by BestSkinsEver and has been protecting my phone's screen and body for about six weeks now through a series of rigorous tests – some unintended – of being scratched with keys, coins and other items, stuffed in my pocket next to paper clips and pocket knives and some so much worse it's a miracle that it has escaped in one piece.  But it has. 

I've had a protectant film like this on one of my devices before – it's still there, in fact, on my iPod (Black, fifth generation) and the iPod still looks factory-new.  The cool thing about the BestSkinsEver film is that it's virtually identical to the Invisible Shield film that I used for the iPod (I can't detect any difference whatsoever) and costs, literally, a fraction of the price.  The "full body shield" from Invisible Shield is $24.95; the absolutely identical product (to me, as a user, not from a patent or manufacturing standpoint, although I can't imagine that the material is any different at all) from BestSkinsEver is $7.99.

Now, once you look at the product you're going to say, "What - $24.95 for that??  Forget it!"  But when you can get it for $7.99 instead you're going to look at it and say, "Fully protect my iPhone's screen and body for eight bucks?  Where do I get one??"  As the slogan on BestSkinsEver's web site (very nicely done and easy to navigate, by the way) says: "Keep the scratch in your wallet… and off your stuff."

The skin takes some patience to put on, but it's well worth it.  All you need is about 15 minutes, a small bowl of soapy water and the will to get it right.  One of the big keys here is to wash your hands fully and carefully – especially the fingertips – so that you don't get any oils or fingerprints on the film.  Then soak the film in the soapy water, remove it from it's backing and place on the phone.  The film has precise cutouts for the sole button on the phone at the bottom, the earpiece, the vibe/sound switch, the headset jack, etc., so it's easy to place exactly correctly if you just take the time to do it.  I had to pull mine off (easy when it's still wet) a couple of times and re-soak and reposition it, but it's easy to do and well worth the result. 

BestSkinsEver makes the same product to fit iPods, Blackberries, laptops, Palms, slider phones and too many more to mention.  All at a great – no, make that an unbeatable – price.  If you've got a phone that you like and want to keep it looking new this is a small investment that will pay dividends every day.