I've never been a huge fan of stick-on skins for devices. I've got nothing against them, but I never found much use for them. The ones I had were, usually, the transparent ones that offered minimal protection and ended up turning brown after a couple of weeks of fraternizing with dirt and pocket lint.
The BodyGuardz Armor for the Lumia 1020 brings a little more to the table though. It is a cross between a protective film and decorative skin.
The BodyGuardz skin itself is incredibly easy to apply. You just peel it from the backing, line the holes up with the buttons and ports on the phone and stick it on. If you get clumsy and put it on crooked, you can just peel it off and try again.
The main sheet, which covers the back and sides of the Lumia 1020, gives the body some added flare, especially if the color of the skin is different than the phone. In my case, I used a red skin on a white phone. That gave my Lumia 1020 a little pop, albeit a bit candy cane-ish.
I don't know whether or not it adds much protection to the phone, but it makes it feel better to hold. Since the armor is so thin, it simply changes the texture of the phone without adding weight. It is so thin, in fact, that it will not interfere with wireless charging if you attach a Qi backplate.
My favorite part of the BodyGuardz Armor system isn't even included in its description, the screen protector. From the idiot-proof application to the everyday use, it is by far the best screen protector I have used. The kit comes with an alcohol-based gel that you apply to the sticky side of the screen cover. This helps eliminate the dreaded air pockets that often occur with such a product. Smear on the gel, stick to the phone and wait up to 30 minutes for it all to dry. That's it.
What I love about this screen protector is how your fingers glide across it. Movement is smoother than any screen protector I have used and even better than the bare Lumia 1020 screen itself.
I'm on the fence on whether I recommend this product or not. If you are looking for protection for your smartphone, you can get a good case for the same price or less. But if you want to add some pizazz to the otherwise bland Lumia 1020, this is a good way to do it.
Heck, if you are looking for a top-notch screen protector, it might be worth buying the BodyGuardz Armor just for that.
You can find it in the Windows Phone Central store for $17.95, which is $2.00 off the regular price.
