I had been resisting putting a screen protector on my iPad from day one, preferring to use it naked because I didn’t want anything to come in between me and the gorgeous screen. This is a departure for me because I normally slap a screen protector on my devices on day one. When I got the opportunity to check out the Screenguardz Anti-Glare protector for iPad I thought I’d most likely put it on, test it out and off it would go. Flash forward to now. It’s been on since the moment I applied it and I have no plans to take it off any time soon.

First of all, the Screenguardz protector is a dry application, unlike the Bodyguardz protectors from NLU, which are glossy only and require you to wet the protector before applying it. This means that it’s not repositionable once you have it on, but it also means that it goes on and off with relative ease. If you apply it and find a speck of dust underneath, you can peel it back and get rid of it pretty easily. This is good because any speck of dust on the screen will result in a bubble.

Once I got it on I took it outside for a test. I read a book, watched a movie and did some browsing and typing outdoors, all of which were much more pleasant with the protector on than it was before. The amazing brightness of the iPad screen doesn’t really help you once you get outside, so the anti-glare coating was a real help. Rest assured that it does make a huge difference in how easy it is to see what you’re looking at on the screen of the iPad.

While it doesn’t remove glare entirely, it does make the reflections much, much less sharp. This allows you to focus on the screen itself rather than your own face or what’s behind you.

Obviously the main pull of an anti-glare screen protector is that it reduces the amount of glare that you get in brightly lit or outdoor environments, but I found a really nice bonus when I started testing it out. It actually improves the feel of the screen significantly. I do a lot of typing on the iPad for instance and the feel of the glossy screen for typing just isn’t as nice. It feels satiny with a pleasurable texture and didn’t seem to bother my fingertips as much as pounding the screen for extended periods of testing.

It does make it slightly, and I mean slightly, more resistant to finger prints. But thanks to the satiny finish, the prints that you do get are relatively minimally visible. I had to turn the protector to the side to see how much oil was gathering as I typed. It proved reasonably easy to wipe down with the supplied cloth as well.

Despite my early misgivings, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this particular anti-glare protector. It does what it’s supposed to, goes on easy and has a nice finish as a bonus that might help you get even more use out of your iPad, who could ask for more?

The Screenguardz Anti-Glare Screen Protector for iPad is available at their site for $19.95.

[Screenguardz]