In what is sure to be a multi-part series of articles, I have purchased extra protection for my Nexus One.

I’ve been trolling through the forums to see what is out there in terms of cases for the Nexus One. Right now, I use an old Blackberry Bold side-holster case to carry it. While I’m not a big fan of Blackberries, their side-holster cases are nigh indestructible. I’ve own 3 of them, and have used them to carry everything from a Nokia 6620, my HTC Magic and my Nexus One. Keep in mind, this spans easily more than five years, and while the first case is a bit beat up, the belt clip is in excellent condition.

However, there are times that I just want to pocket the phone and go—times when a side-holster case just isn’t appropriate with what I’m wearing.

So after looking at what was availalble, I settled on two options:

• Best Skin Ever for Google Nexus One
• Case-mate Barely There Case for Nexus One

These two choices have one thing in common, minimal additional footprint.

I chose the Best Skin Ever clear film. It’s like a decal, you dip it in soap-solution and position it on your phone like so. If done properly, it creates a transparent vinyl film protecting your phone from scratches and light-use. It’s a pain-in-the-ass to install in one go though. You need to set aside several hours. If I had to do it all over again, I would:

1. Place the film pieces one at a time and leave 30 minutes to an hour to dry before setting the next piece.
2. Leave about 15-20 minutes for the edges to get tacky, before you try to seal the edges.
3. Don’t force the film into place—you just end up stretching it, adding wrinkles to the skin

I’m fortunate that the Best Skin Ever was the cheapest out of all the other competitors (e.g., like ZAGG’s Invisible Shield). For $8USD, I’m pretty happy with the results. More over, in comparison with the ZAGG and other competitors, its made out of less parts—so it’s a more seamless feel. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get it 100% right the first time—I had to use a box-cutter to cut the film where it was bubbling at the edge. You really need a lot of a patience when installing these things.

Final Thoughts

I’m not sure if I’ll keep the film on. It has a gummy texture to it. I can no longer feel the soft-touch paint on the back, and the plastic film is not nearly as nice as the oleophobic glass used in the capacitance display. I don’t find it very pleasing to hold, but it’s nice to have peace-of-mind. I’m also convinced that touch sensitivity has decreased a bit, although the proximity sensor and light sensor still seem to work well.

I must have been lucky, because i don’t notice much “orange-skinning” on my N1, as others have reported.

I will use this for a bit before I decide to purchase the Case-mate.