Minimalists will appreciate the simplicity of the BodyGuardz Protective Skin for Windows Phone. Those looking for a bit of protection for their Windows Phone may want to look elsewhere.
The skins are offered for a wide range of Windows Phones including the HTC Radar and Nokia Lumia 710. We took the BodyGuardz Skin out for a test drive on the Nokia Lumia 900 and while the skin is well made and durable, it doesn't offer any padding and essentially a barrier to protect your Windows Phone from scratches.
The BodyGuardz Protective Skin is a thick plastic/PVC sticker that wraps around your Lumia 900. The skin offers no padding to protect your Windows Phone from drops but it will prevent the phone's case from being scratched up. The carbon fiber texture adds a little grip to the Lumia 900 but I kept seeing the protective skin more as a fashion statement than a way to protect your Windows Phone.
The BodyGuardz skin is packaged with the skin itself, a cleaning cloth and a screen protector. With the Lumia 900 having Gorilla Glass, I'm not sure if the screen protector is necessary. If something is going to shatter Gorilla Glass it is highly unlikely a plastic screen protector will do much good.
The plastic skin is thick enough that you really don't need to worry about air bubbles and applying it to the phone becomes more of an issue of alignment than anything else. I found lining up the camera cut out first, then wrapping the skin around the sides of the Lumia worked best. There are two thin strips that can be applied above and below the screen but I think the Lumia 900 looks nicer without.
With regards to the top and bottom of the Lumia 900, there are three stickers that could be applied to one of these areas. However, if you apply these to the top, you cover up the headphone jack. Applied to the bottom, you cover up the phone's speaker. The fit of the skin is nice but I'm a little concerned the edges of the skin may begin to peel back as you use the Lumia 900.
Once applied, I would be hesitant on re-usability. My concerns are that the adhesive wouldn't last long and if you're not careful in removing the BodyGuardz skin it will stretch and become useless.
All in all, the BodyGuardz Protective Skin is a nice skin but it won't appeal to everyone. The protective value is limited to preventing scratches to the body of the Windows Phone. Beyond that the BodyGuardz gives the Lumia 900 a splash of color and texture. If you're desire is to add a little color to your Lumia 900, I'd lean towards the Gelaskins simply for the wider selection of artwork and colors.
The BodyGuardz Protective Skin comes in black, white, and red colors. They are currently running $17.95 and up depending on which Windows Phone you have. You can find a listing of the BodyGuardz skins here at the Windows Phone Central Accessory Store.
