Despite improvements in glass technology, cracked screen remain the biggest drawbacks of large-display phones. JOEL DORFAN looks at a solution called Impossible Tempered Glass.
As smartphones arrive with ever-larger displays, they become ever-more vulnerable to damage when dropped. Despite ongoing improvements in glass technology, the cracked screen is still the bane of many phone-users’ lives.
There are a number of hybrid cases on the market that offer high levels of protection, but at a cost in convenience. Typically these are two-part cases with a neoprene or silicone inner plus an ABS plastic outer case. The idea is that, if the phone is dropped, the flexible inner will absorb the shock while the case bears the brunt of the knock. These cases do work incredibly well, but can tend to be a bit bulky.
To address this, Patchworks Global has developed The ITG Level case – for Impossible Tempered Glass. It is a one-piece case, but has a dual layer incorporating polycarbonate and TPU (Thermoplastic polyurethane). This provides the protection of a two part hybrid case, but reduces the bulk.
The case is specially designed 1mm higher than the surface of the ITG tempered glass screen protector. This allows the user to place the phone face-down without worrying about anything coming in contact with the screen.
The version of the ITG level case and ITG PRO Tempered Glass we received was for the IPhone 6, but is available for other devices too.
At firstsight, both products look incredibly well made. Immediately one can see that these products are designed to give maximum protection to the phone.
The ITG PRO Tempered Glass offers 93.7% transparency, giving users clarity and maintaining the Retina display experience offered by Apple.
The glass is marketed as being both scratch and oil resistant. In daily use this means that coins, keys or other sharp objects in your pocket will not damage the screen, and finger prints can easily be wiped off. We tested both of these features and both claims proved true, while the unit maintains the original touch feeling.
Fitting these types of screen protector can be quite fiddly and I did struggle a little, but the job was made easier by using the supplied guide pin to help get things properly lined up.
All the buttons are easy to use. Port openings are wide enough for compatibility with third party chargers and high-end headphones.
It is claimed that, if this case is properly fitted to the phone, it will meet or exceed the military drop test. This means 26 consecutive free fall drops from a 4 foot (1.2m) height at various angles. While we were not brave enough to subject our phone to this abuse, that’s still an impressive claim. However, looking at the construction and fit, there is no reason to believe this not to be true.
The price of the combination of the ITG PRO Tempered Glass plus the ITG Level case is $48.95. Bought separately the pricing is $38.95 and $29.95 respectively. While not cheap, it’s a small price to pay to protect an expensive phone from accidental damage.
* These products are available online from http://patchworks.us/
