How Do I Choose the Best Cell Phone Skin?

A cell phone skin is a covering for a cell phone that can provide valuable protection while altering the appearance of the phone to better suit the user's preferences. Such skins come in many different shapes and sizes, and may serve a wide range of different purposes, ranging from preventing the screen from getting scratched to adding a pattern, image, or color to the phone. To choose the best cell phone skin, one should consider whether he mainly wants to protect the phone or to change its appearance. One should also consider the degree of protection necessary based on his lifestyle and the manner in which he wants to change the phone's appearance.

The most common use of a cell phone skin is preventing damage to the phone. When choosing a skin for protective purposes, one should consider how much protection is necessary. Thin, transparent, and generally-inexpensive skins can provide protection from scratches and are useful for those who keep their phones in their pockets or in bags or purses with keys. A bulkier plastic or rubber cell phone skin, often combined with a thin, transparent screen protector, can prevent damage that might occur when a phone is dropped. Individuals who often drop their phones, then, may find such skins to be more useful than their thinner counterparts.

Some cell phone skins can both prevent scratches or other forms of damage and substantially alter the appearance of the phone. Thin, adhesive skins often come in different colors or have images or patterns for decorating the phone. Similarly, a larger, bulkier cell phone skin, though primarily intended for protection, tends to alter both the shape and color of the phone. Some such skins also incorporate patterns and images while others are just a single opaque color. A thin, transparent cell phone skin intended primarily for scratch prevention will not, generally, affect the appearance of the phone in any substantial way.

Cost is another important consideration for one who wants to purchase a cell phone skin. Some skins, particularly the thin adhesive ones that only protect against scratches, are quite inexpensive. More expensive skins may fit the phone better or be made with more durable materials. On the one hand, if a skin prevents a phone from being damaged even once, it usually pays for itself. On the other hand, a particularly expensive skin tends not to provide protection that is drastically superior to a similar but less expensive alternative.