Here's a brief review of my initial impressions of the Boxwave ClearTouch™ Crystal Screen protector for the GNex.
First, a few preliminaries for perspective. I've had several screen protectors in the past for my phones, including some Seidio protectors, a ZAGG Shield, a Steinheil Ultra Crystal, and a few others. I mention this for the sake of clarifying that I've had a little experience with some different screen protectors.
I chose the Boxwave mainly because the description came closest to resembling the Steinheil Ultra Crystal that I had and mostly liked on my Thunderbolt. The Steinheil Ultra Crystal is not yet available for the GNex (as of this posting) -- only the Oleophobic variety is, and I don't think the Oleophobic version has the same lack of texture and clarity that the ultra crystal does. Hence, I decided to give Boxwave's crystal style protector a try.
I'm a fan of the crystal-style protectors for two reasons: (1) great clarity without loss of brightness; and (2) smooth surface for scrolling your finger around. I never liked ZAGG Shields or similar textured/rubbery screen protectors because my finger gets sort of warm when scrolling around on the rubbery surface with extensive use. You don't get that effect with low resistance crystal type protectors. The trade off, of course, is that all crystal-type protectors tend to scratch easily, but if you're a "gentle" user like me, that's not really an issue. They also get fingerprints easily, but I'm used to wiping the screen periodically.
Anyway, on to the review:
I applied the protector per manufacturer instructions, which are essentially identical to those accompanying all dry application-type screen protectors. You just wipe the screen very carefully with the provided lint-free cloth, test fit the screen protector to see how it lines up, then remove the protective backing and apply, being careful to trap as little air as possible. Then you remove the protective front sheet and apply the rigid card to remove additional air bubbles. I did all of this very carefully as I have dozens of times. Here are the results:
As you can see from the image, the screen protector fits well. However, the edges do not fully adhere to the screen at the top and bottom of the GNex. I suspect that this may be a product of the curvature of the glass. The lack of adherence is pretty uniform, lending some support to this theory. And unfortunately, I suspect that after some time, dust will accumulate under these edges since they are not intimate with the glass.
Another gripe that I have is the reduced responsiveness of the virtual buttons. Tapping anywhere on the screen requires a bit more effort than it did when my GNex screen was naked, but tapping on the virtual buttons (back, home, app menu, etc.) especially when in portrait mode results in multiple failed responses -- and it's god-awful when I attempt to tap on the tiny menu dots that appear at the bottom of many apps. I usually tap the menu button 2-3 times before I get one to register.
Otherwise, the Boxwave is as expected: very smooth and it offers great clarity. It fits edge to edge and it has a cut-out only at the top for the ear speaker and front facing camera.
I'd be interested to hear if others have had similar experiences with THIS screen protector, and whether others have experienced any reduction in tapping response with this or any screen protectors that you have used on your GNex. I suspect that there is some learned behavior involved in the latter -- i.e., if I had put a screen protector on my GNex from day one, rather than leaving it naked for ten days before applying one -- I might not have such a difficult time adapting to the touch sensitivity. Thus, if you've had a screen protector on from the beginning, you might not experience the same effect that I did.