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Provides: Protection from scratches and scuffs
Developer: XO Skins
Minimum Requirements: iPhone 3G
Price: $24.95 (Full Body) or $14.95 (Screen)
Availability: Now

I knew the XO skin was going to be a high quality product before I even opened the box. The packaging alone gave me some good vibes, and I was quite surprised by the contents inside as I opened it. I was expecting a plastic skin and nothing else (as per usual when buying skins), but instead got a few more items I soon found out were for applying and maintaining the skin, which confused me. I figured it would be as simple as putting the skin onto the iPhone, but I was wrong.

The XO skin comes with a very detailed installation instruction sheet (with pictures!) that makes the process of applying the skin quite simple as long as you follow them properly. The included bottle of application spray and squeegee may intimidate you at first, but they actually make the process easier than applying some of the competing products that require you to continually lift and reapply the skin until you get the positioning perfect. It only took me about two minutes to apply the skin to my iPhone 3G.

It is recommended that you wait overnight (12 hours) to let the skin set properly (something which I didn’t realize until after I applied the skin), which can be inconvenient to some. Also, if you do not follow the installation instructions properly, you’re at risk of water damage to your device due to the solution that you must spray on before applying the skin, which would be a pretty big price to pay for not following instructions.

When it comes to quality, XO definitely went all in. This skin has to be one of the sturdiest that I have ever seen or used for the iPhone 3G. Scratching your screen is next to impossible with the skin on, I tried (not too aggressively, obviously) with a set of keys and a screwdriver, and couldn’t produce even the tiniest scratch, which is definitely a very good sign.

All in all, the iPhone 3G skin by XO Skins is definitely worth the slightly expensive price tag if you’re really looking for quality in an iPhone skin.