Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Review: aevoe.com's PalmGuard for the Macbook (white)

Deutscher Testbericht

Official homepage: PalmGuard

Introduction

The palmrests of the Macbooks are known for their discoloration. While one might think that Apple would have fixed this by now you still can find many threads in Mac forums where Macbook owners complain about discoloration. This is where moshi's Palmguard comes in to play.


Material

The material used for the Palmguard is hard plastic. It is a sticker type of protection you have to apply to the palmrest area of the Macbook but what surprised me the most when opening the package and holding the Palmguard in my hands was the fact that the material is surprisingly hard. Don't get me wrong it is very thin and flexible but the material itself is very tough. If I had to summarize in one sentence: it feels like someone took the material of the original Macbook top case and formed an ultra thin protection layer.


Contents of the package

Obviously you get one piece to protect the top case of your Macbook (the bottom half of the top case). Included also is a small piece for your trackpad button that is made of the same material as the main piece. Finally, there is a transparent very thin sticker that you apply to the trackpad itself. A very neat extra that you'll find in the package is a plastic ruler (6 inches, black) which you are supposed to use to get the guards on properly.

The application

Applying the Palmguard is very easy. There is actually nothing to say about it. Just align it correctly and use the included ruler to press and it's done. A little tip: When you get the alignment perfectly around the trackpad the Palmguard should be in the correct position.


The Design, feel, and fit

I truly love the design. The Palmguard just looks awesome on my white Macbook. Since the material which is used is very similar to the original top case it blends in very well. I especially like the little logo in the right bottom corner - now that is elegant understatement of the finest. The feel is very nice also. Because of the material which is used, there is no "sticky feeling" like with other palmrest protectors. The fit of the Palmguard is very exact, too.
To summarize: I think if you are on the search for palmrest protection only this is the one that fits the best (color-wise and material wise) and feels the best when resting your palms on it.


Final thoughts

I recommend this product to all Macbook owners that want protection for the palmrest area and want to do it without attracting too much attention. From a distance you won't be able to notice the Palmguard because it doesn't reflect, because it matches the color of the top case very well and finally because there is no large company logo on it.
Is this the best palmrest protection I have tested so far? For my taste, yes, unless you want to customize the look of the top case (like the DeinDesign skins). If you are looking for solid protection that doesn't stand out, go for the Palmguard. At a price of 20$ I can truly recommend this product.

MB-switcher

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi! I was wondering if this is easy to apply? And also will there be a sticky residue on the macbook when I remove it?? Thanks!

MB-switcher said...

applying the guards is really simple...
concerning residues...a representative of the company told me that there should be no problem when removing the guards...I have experimentally lifted a small portion of the guard to see but there was no residue left, so I'd say you'll be safe.

Unknown said...

Thanks for your very thorough review. I am ordering a black one for my WHITE MB ;)

I think the contrast will be very interesting :D

Isabel said...

I have the white PalmGuard to match my white MacBook. I love it! My package looked different than the one in the picture (was brown, made out of recycled paper?) and didn't come with a ruler.

When I first applied the PalmGuard I noticed it was just a TAD bit further on one side than the other, which bothered me. I took off the whole thing and reapplied it. Granted, it was only on for a few seconds, but it left no sticky residue.

I love the PalmGuard. I was so worried my MacBook would turn gross and dirty because it's white, but now I don't worry at all. I also have a keyboard cover by iSkin to protect the keyboard.

The one thing I didn't like about the Moshi PalmGuard was the vinyl protective sticker they provided to go over the trackpad. When I aligned mine on perfectly and tried to use the trackpad, it seemed to have lost all sensitivity. No matter how much I dragged my fingers across the trackpad, the mouse would barely move. I chose to leave my trackpad unprotected.

mineralwater said...

hi, thanks for this great review! however, i have one question left: over time, has the moshi palm guard discolored in the same manner that the macbook's palm rest does? you said that the material was very similar in the review, and one of my main concerns is that my macbook not only IS clean but LOOKS clean. If it does stain over time, is it easier to clean than the macbook palm rest surface, or does it eventually have to be replaced? Thanks, and i hope to hear your thoughts on it soon! :)
-K

Anonymous said...

hi, stupid question, but i recently ordered a moshi palm guard as well but didn't know how to apply it onto the macbook. There wasn't any instruction in the package about how to get it to stick (and it didn't have a peel off adhesive sticker type of thing on the back of it.) Do I suppose to wet it (like applying a stamp?) Also, mine didn't come with the black ruler some mentioned either, but I suppose that's not important. Any comment on the sticker question would be great! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

i just got this in the mail and applied it. having used the invisibleshield for half a year, this was a complete joy. my invisibleshield had discoloured hideously - the entire thing was browned and tinted. i couldn't take it anymore so i bought this. application took me 1/3 of the time it took me for IS, and the trackpad!!!! i LOVE the feel to it. the IS trackpad had an uncomfortable sticky feeling to it.

the best part? the price was more than acceptable, if you compare it with the other palmrests you can get online.

mine also didn't come with a black ruler - maybe they decided to stop giving those out.

Samloon said...

Alternatively, I get my palm rest protector from skinstyler.com The main reason that I get from them is because they able to personalized it with my name (sort of like laser engraving) instead of brand name on the palm rest. No brainer as they work the same with moshi, just stick on and start protect the wrist area. just my 2 cents

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

Well It was perfectly reviewed, i like your post. I thinking about to have it. Keep sharing like this.
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