Review By Jason Kessel

If you are on the market for an extremely thin skin for your iPod or iPhone, this product might just be the ticket. Although, as their motto goes... there are not skins, they are Shades. When I say "thin", I'm not kidding. Being an iPod Touch owner, one of the things I like is how thin and sleek it is. Most cases or skins make the iPod Touch more bulky, taking away from it's elegant design. Shades come in various colors and are available for the most recent generations of iPod and iPhone. So not only will you iPod or iPhone still look slim and sleek, it will be customized to your liking with your favorite color. The most unique aspect of Shades is that they are 100% recyclable. Shades protects the entire iPod or iPhone, including the screen. All ports and buttons are accessible and you can still use them in the Apple Universal Dock.

We tested Shades on a 80GB iPod video, an iPhone and an iPod Touch. Getting the Shades on the devices isn't always an easy task and it's even more difficult to take them off. Once they are on though, they fit really nicely. It is amazing how thin Shades are. Your Apple iPhone or iPod will literally look the same, but in a flashy new color.

One other thing we didn't like about Shades is the screen protector. Since the material isn't 100% smooth or very flexible, it tends to stick to the screen in various places. It's especially noticeable on the iPhone and iPod Touch. In fact, one of our staff who tested it on his iPhone had this to say about it: "The screen cover is horrible! It reminds me of my Grandmother's old plastic-covered couch!" and ended up removing the Shade the very next day. I have tried about three different color Shades on my iPod Touch. Due to slight differences in the manufacturing process, only one of them doesn't make my screen look like Grandma's old couch. The screen portion is actually raised a bit and doesn't really touch the screen. Although, there is still some annoying glare on the screen in outdoor lighting. I think they should have made the actual screen protection part of the Shades a little thicker and more rigid or do away with the screen cover completely.

Aside from the not-so-great screen protection and the difficulty of applying and removing them, we still think the Shades are pretty cool. They are extremely thin and add protection to your iPod or iPhone as they should. Being 100% recyclable is also a very cool thing. If you don't mind the way the screen looks but want super-thin and colorful protection, then definitely take a look at Shades.

http://www.shadescases.com
$14.95 to $16.95 depending on iPod/iPhone Model