Protect Your SmartPhone with Phantom Glass

We’ve all seen (or had) it: the cracked or scratched smartphone screen. It seems unfortunately inevitable that anything small enough to fit into a pocket or purse and get carried with us everywhere we go will eventually get dropped or scratched or broken. When I got my new Samsung Galaxy S5 phone just before Christmas, my first thought was to make sure that didn’t happen. I knew where to look. I’d seen other smartphone users discussing something called Phantom Glass, so I hopped over to their website.

I found out Phantom Glass is made from Durable Corning Gorilla Glass to protect your phone from scratches and bumps. It will also shatter (instead of your screen) if it takes a really hard blow. It installs itself with silicone nano-adhesion, which sounded really cool. I couldn’t wait to try it.

A Mommy Moment Happens

Sunshine (six going on sixteen) is just as excited as I am about parcels that arrive in the mail. I knew with a glance at the return address that my Phantom Glass had arrived. I didn’t need her encouragement to tear open the package. Then, as I began to read the instructions, Sunshine wanted to know what it was and how it worked. She’s fascinated by any gadgets, so she wanted to help put it on my cell phone.

While I told her not to touch it, I carefully peeled one protective layer off the glass, stuck it to my phone, and peeled off the other layer. Then we watched to see what happened. That magical instant adhesion didn’t seem to be working. There were a few places where it was smoothing against my phone, but lots of bubbling. I tried gently pressing it down and smoothing it out, then read the instructions again. It said, “The extremely tiny bubbles that may be visible will dissipate within a matter of hours.”

Okay. I set my phone down on a shelf to wait for the bubbles to disappear. I might have checked it every ten minutes for the next hour to see if the bubbles were going, but they weren’t. I waited overnight, but the next morning, the screen looked the same. Lots of bubbles. It also wasn’t very easy to slide my thumb across the new glass; it seemed rubbery rather than smooth. But I had an errand to run, so I dropped my phone into my purse and headed out the door.

When I pulled my phone out, it was covered in lint. Now I was really unimpressed with the Phantom Glass, but also starting to suspect something. I looked at the instructions again and wondered if somehow, with Sunshine’s attempts to help me, I’d gotten the screen on the wrong way. The website said Phantom Glass can be removed and reapplied, so I very carefully peeled it up and ran my finger over a corner of the other side. Smooth. Yep, I had it on backwards.

Now the problem was that the “sticky” part of the screen was covered in lint and fingerprints. The part of the screen the instructions had said “do not touch.” I was pretty sure I’d just mucked up my Phantom Glass, but I very carefully ran it under water until the lint disappeared, then shook the water off and reapplied it to my phone. It took me a couple attempts to get it on (taking it off again to get water or dirt out from underneath), but finally, it stuck.

The lesson: follow the instructions carefully, preferably in a distraction-free area.

My Conclusion about Phantom Glass

Phantom Glass is awesome. This product lives up to all the promises on the website. It’s almost invisible on my phone and so smooth to slide my thumb around on. I really like the way it’s stuck right to the glass of my phone; I got a case for my tablet, which came with a screen protector, but that screen protector is just a plastic sheet that goes over the screen and makes it harder to touch or swipe the screen.

It’s easy to wipe fingerprints off the Phantom Glass and I’m less worried about my phone getting scratched when it’s in my purse or diaper bag. And any product that still works even when the user fails to follow the instructions gets my vote. 🙂

If you’re looking to protect your smartphone or tablet, check out Phantom Glass. You can also find it at Staples and on Amazon.

This post contains affiliate links; as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I received this product for review from Phantom Glass; all opinions and mistakes are my own.