archos 101 exim anti-glare matte screen protector review

doing a search on the internet for reviews on anti-glare screen protectors can be quite the chore. so i decided to write this review to give you guys an idea of what these cheap archos 101 screen protector are all about.

the brand i purchased is called EXiM and i got this one off ebay for the wonderful price of $12.65AUD for 2 pieces. thats $6.33 each - bargain! so lets test out these cheap anti-glare protectors to see if they can do their job as advertised.

if you've ever applied a screen protector before, you'd know exactly how tough it is to get a dust and bubble-free application. luckily for me, i'm quite experienced now having applied over a dozen or so (over half of them failing miserably) screen protectors on numerous devices over the past 3-6 months. i won't dwell over the application itself but the key to applying these, is to do it by sections using a credit-card to scrape out the bubbles as you run along.

so anyway, here are the results. the photos we're taken in my bedroom which is brighter than these photo's would have you believe.

first impressions are quite decent, the fit was perfect. other cheap matte protectors have the tendency to smear colours and give a very greasy look, but this one didn't show any of that.

one of the great benefits of getting a matte protector is how smoothly your fingers glide across the surface and the fact that they don't collect fingerprints. the sensitivity didn't seem to be affected by the screen protector either.

here is a shot viewing directly above...

the colours do however seem a fraction muted as you'd expect and if i were to put a percentage on the colour and light through-put after applying the matte protector, it'd be something around 90% - still very decent. i also found that whilst using the tablet with the protector on that i could hear my finger swipes - it sounds like sliding your finger over paper. so if you're the type to sneak up on people whilst using your tablet, then this probably isn't for you.

and one last close-up shot of some text...

so there you go. whilst it's not the most definitive review, it gives a good indication of what you may expect from these cheap ebay protectors. considering the price you pay, i give this a score of 8.5/10.

pros: anti-glare properties, leaves no fingerprints, smoother finger navigation, cheap, doesn't have the greasy look like some other anti-glare protectors.

cons: slightly muted colours and brightness, fingerswipes are audible.

and for those interested in purchasing the same one, the ebay auction archos 101 anti-glare screen protector - hope that helps.