Accessories 
Skinit.com offers a pretty cool little service that we figured we’d take a look at. Basically you can create a skin for your iPad (or heck any other device, there’s a ton of templates out there for mobile phones, laptops and more). The key point here though, is that you can choose the design, either from the library of designs available on the site, or by uploading a photo, art or logo of your own to create the design yourself.
I’m a sucker for personalizing my things to be ‘different‘ so I ofcourse, chose the latter. I had previously bought the smart cover along with my iPad 2, and while that does a great job of protecting the front of the iPad, I needed something that would prevent the back from the usual scratches and whatnot. A skin was ideal, since it sticks to the aluminum back panel and gives it some texture while protecting it from scrapes and other abrasions.
After using it for a month, here’s what we think!
Applying the skin:
Skinit sends you the skins in a nice big ol’ poster box, which took about 3 odd business days to get to us.
The skins arnt too thick, but are much less fragile that you’d expect them to be. They use “3M Scotchcal High Performance Film Automotive Grade with Comply Adhesive Performance” which allows for easy installation, and clean removal too with “little or no residue“. The skins are cut specially to fit each particular device, and curve with the device’s contours.
Ofcourse, a vinyl skin does not provide the drop protection that you’d get with a padded case, but it’ll work great as a protective layer between your device and a typical day of usage, with its scrapes and bumps.
Like we mentioned, the skin is surprisingly easy to apply. You first clean the surface of the device you want to apply the skin on, which is important for a mobile device since it might have hand or face grease all over. A quick wipe with a damp cloth, and after waiting for it to dry completely, we were on our way.
First up you’ll have to examine how the pieces of the SkinIt are arranged on the paper backings. There’s usually several pieces and cutouts.
The iPad back skin is made out of one single piece, but you have cut outs for the camera and speaker grill. Similarly for other devices, it might have cutouts for the LEDs, flashes, etc since every skin is custom cut for that particular device.
Worth noting, is that there is Skinit branding though, but its usually in a very inconspicuous spot, in very tiny letters. On the iPad 2′s skin it’s on the bottom, right above the charging/connection port.
When you remove the skin from the paper backing, it’s important not to stretch it. Applying it on the device is easy enough, if you take it slow and arnt in a rush. Make sure the sides of the skins dont touch though, because just like regular adhesive tape, they’ll stick to each other if they touch, which might damage the skin as you try to separate them apart.
Make sure the holes in the skin are lined up with the edges and buttons on the device, and apply it. The skin can be carefully pulled up and realigned, so dont fret too much. Still, you’ll want to get it right on the first time, so that there’s no chance of stretching the skin.
As with all skin-ons there’s the chance of tiny air bubbles forming under the skin, especially with a large surface like the iPad’s back panel. But they tend to go away within a day or two. You can also try to smooth-en them out if they annoy you, and once they’re gone, it’s for good.
The end result looks pretty darn sweet. We only went with a back skin for our iPad, but you get a whole set too, with a front skin. I managed to do it without any bubbles or stretching because I installed the skin from the top, peeling back the amount of skin I needed to apply, and rolling the paper back as I attached it to the iPad. Basically the same way you’d attach a screen protector. Also worth mentioning, is that because the iPad 2 has literally no sides, there’s no side stickers like the iPhone version has.
The Skinit in use:
The skin looks way better on the iPad than it would on an iPhone or mobile device for one thing, because the large surface really makes the design stand out. Especially as light hits the curved back.
Unfortch you cant really see the Apple logo under the sticker, which I know is going to be a deal breaker for some Apple fans out there. Personally I really like the grip of the skin on the iPad too, since it makes its less slippery, and prone to scratches. As nice as Apple’s back panel looked on the iPad 2, it did give me a heart attack at times, when I’d place the iPad down on a surface that might not exactly be ideal. With the skin, you do feel a lot safer.
If you have a smartcover, you can even customize your skin when creating it, so that you have the best color combination to go along with it, and the sticker doesn’t interfere with the Smart Cover magnets at all.
Bottom line is, great protection, great looks thanks to the customisability factor, no added bulk or weight, and an improved grip.
I really like how the SkinIt looks on my iPad, and I’ve gotten quite a load of compliments over it, so I’ll definitely be leaving it in place. Applying a vinyl overlay is an easy and quick way to protect your device’s surface from daily usage, and also to set it apart from everyone else’s as was the intention here.
The selection of stock designs on Skinit.com are pretty good, but the ability to create a custom skin from your own image or art, is what makes the service really great. Deffo recommended.
Rating: 
Clinton is currently based in New Delhi, India and is executive editor for UnleashThePhones. He is responsible for all editorial decisions, and covers all forms of Mobile and mobile-related accessories.
Cj is addicted to caffeine, social media, and technology. Always up for a good conversation, you can reach him through the contact form, his website, on Google Plus 
or on Facebook or Twitter: Follow @clintonjeff
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