We mentioned the Gelaskins last week, liked what we saw and ordered a pair. Gelaskins are adhesive, protective skins for your Windows Phones that comes in a wide assortment of patterns. You also have the ability to order custom skins using your images.
First, the ordering experience went smooth. We ordered a stock skin and a custom skin for the Samsung Focus. Creating the custom skin was simple using Gelaskin's online wizard. The order shipped within twenty-four hours of placing it and, shipping UPS ground, the full turn around was six days. Not too shabby considering the order involved a custom skin.
The order arrived packaged with the skins in cardboard envelope that was inside another cardboard envelope. Sturdy enough to significantly reduce the chances of the skins being bent or folded in transit.
To read about the fit and feel of Gelaskins, slide on past the break.
The Skin
The skins are made of a thick but flexible plastic that helped make it easier to instal. A thinner skin would have been prone to curling or wrinkling when affixed to the phone. The thicker plastic also should give the Gelaskin a decent level of durability.
The larger, back portion of the skin was easy to align and place. The front portion of the skin, on the Focus, was divided into an upper and lower section. The challenge with aligning the lower portion was to align it with the lock screen wallpaper. The challenge with aligning the upper section was lining up the cut-outs with the Focus's front facing sensors and ear speaker.
Overall, the placement of the skins was easier than expected. Gelaskins uses a 3M adhesive that is durable enough to withstand removal for re-alignment. It took three or four attempts to get the upper section lined up correctly and the adhesive remained strong.
The matching wallpaper is emailed by Gelaskin when the order ships. You can install the wallpaper through Zune or forward the email from Gelaskin to your Windows Phone email.
Fit and feel
The skins added no noticeable thickness to the Samsung Focus. There is a texture to the skins that also adds a bit of grip to the phone.
Likely by design, the skins stop just shy of the sides of the Focus. Had they extended any further, I believe the skins would be prone to snagging on cases, pockets, and such causing the skin to peal back and weaken.
As far as protection, the Gelaskin does offer a decent amount of protection from scratches but not so much from dents and dings. The Gelaskin does excel in giving your Windows Phone a unique, customized look. Either through a stock design or your custom image, Gelaskins can make your Windows Phone better reflect your style and tastes.
Overall Impression
From the selection of designs to the ability to use your own images to the delivery turnaround to the quality of the product, Gelaskins is impressive. After using the skin for the past few days, I'm not seeing any signs of wear or frayed edges with the stickers.
The skins won't protect your phone as well as a hard shell case but combined with a pouch or a belt case, you shouldn't have an issue.
The key attraction to Gelaskins will be the appearance or "pop" they give your Windows Phone. They allow your phone to better reflect your personality. While Gelaskins do offer some protection and they look good on your phone, they don't add any noticeable thickness to the phone.
Gelaskins will run you $14.95 a set and from time to time, Gelaskins does run specials to reduce the cost. You can check out all the styles at the Gelaskin website. If your wanting your Windows Phone to stand out, Gelaskins is worth looking into.