Review: Decal Girl Skin

I recently got an Amazon Kindle and I cannot have it be nekkid. So I got a skin and a case for it. (I will post my review on the case at a later date.) The case will protect it from being scratched and dinged up while in my purse. The skin will protect it from my grubby, slimy fingers while holding it. I admit though, I also got a skin to jazz up the bleak white appearance of the Kindle o_O

I decided to go with Decal Girl because I've heard great things about their products and if you damage the skin during installation, they'll send you a new one free (you just pay the shipping). With that kind of guarantee, I knew it was the right choice. 

Designs

Decal Girl has lots of designs to choose from for the Kindle (they have 499 specifically for the Kindle 2 alone!). As soon I saw the Tree of Books design, I knew it was the one I wanted. You have two choices for the skin finish: high-gloss or matte. Fiction Vixen recommended to go with the matte finish and I highly recommend you do the same, especially for an eReader. The reason being is so that you don't have the glare from the high-gloss distracting you from your reading.  

One difference I noticed about the skins from Decal Girl is that the skin pieces that go on the navigation buttons (Next Page, Previous Page, Home, etc.) are labeled. I can't see any labels on the skin pieces from GelaSkins (the other vendor I was considering). I know that with time I will learn which buttons are which but I'd still like them to be labeled. (I am known to have a blonde moment from time to time.)

Cut
The skins from Decal Girl go around and in between the buttons on the keyboard of the Amazon Kindle 2. Other skins, like the ones from GelaSkins, do not go around the buttons. I only see this dilemma for the Amazon Kindle (1, 2 and DX) due to the keyboard, whereas with the Barnes and Noble Nook you won't run into this because it has a touch screen. And you won't run into this problem with the Sony Touch because it doesn't appear that GelaSkins have skins for this devise (at least that I could find). Back to the cut; the cut enhances the appearance of the skin dramatically. The main reason you select a skin is based on appearance, right? 

Here are pictures of two different skins from two different vendors. The first one, Tree of Books, is from Decal Girl. The second one, The Enamored Owl, is from GelaSkins. See the difference in the cut?

Price

The price for the Tree of Books skin, in high-gloss is $14.99. If you go with the matte finish (which I recommend you do to avoid the glare), its an extra $5. (I got 10% off my order by using the promo-code "PSPHOME".) GelaSkins for the Amazon Kindle 2 are $19.95. I can't tell if the skin is high-gloss or matte. 

Delivery

It took 6 days to get from Delaware to California (and that was using the cheapest shipping rate) from the day I ordered it to the day I received it. It came in a somewhat sturdy cardboard, with a bright orange "DO NOT BEND" label on the front. The skin was in an enclosed plastic pouch, which was inside an open-ended plastic bag. Inside the plastic pouch was another, more sturdier, piece of cardboard. My skin came undamaged and free of any creases or wrinkles.

Installation

The installation was not as difficult as I had imagined it would be. I was deathly afraid to apply the skin in worry of installing it crooked and/or full of creases. I didn't get the skin on perfectly; there are two small creases which I can't seam to smooth out. But it is good enough, even for me (Ms. OCD). The installation took about 5 minutes.

Bottom Line

I love the skin from Decal Girl! I don't plan to replace the skin on my Kindle anytime soon but I am getting one for my laptop. And I'm definitely getting it from Decal Girl.

The Book Vixen Rating