Review: Antec Advance Screen cleaners
For most of us, the goto way to clean our iPods, iPhone, and iPads is the old “breathe onto it and quickly rub it with your shirt before the vapor disappears” thing, and with good reason – it works quite well. So given that you have your own built-in supply of hot water vapor, is it worth spending the money on a screen-cleaning solution? Well, Antec thinks so. Let’s see if they’re right!
Antec sells TWO varieties of screen cleaning solutions – their “3X Strength Spray Non-drip Cleaning Solution” ($11.62 Amazon), and their “100% Natural Spray Natural Cleaning Solution” ($11.62 Amazon). Each kit comes with a large 240 mL sprayer, a smaller 60mL sprayer (sized to meet TSA guidelines for traveling on planes), and a Microfiber cleaning cloth. Both solutions also claim to “formulated to be fingerprint resistant”, and both are ammonia and alcohol-free. So what’s different?
Well the Antec 3X Strength Spray Non-drip Cleaning Solution contains a magical “no drip formula” that is designed to “adhere” to your screen, allowing you time to properly clean it. And one would assume the “3x Strength” formula would men it’s 3x stronger than something… although Antec never says what is is 3x stronger than. It also has an anti-bacterial element to it to help keep your touch device germ-free. If the idea of spraying chemicals on your screen bothers you, Altec’s 100% Natural Spray Natural Cleaning Solution claims to be free of chemical additives, alcohol and ammonia.
But do they work?
Yep. they do. Both solutions worked very well in our tests. In fact, I’d go so far as to say they worked identically well, and with both costing the same price, so we saw no clear advantage for choosing one over the other unless seeing the word “green” gives you a psychological comfort.
But do they work better than the “breath” method? Yes they do, although not SO noticeably better that the difference shows up in pictures. However, there is no denying that immediately after cleaning your screen with either solution, it looks as clear as the day you unwrapped it. However, 10 minutes later (assuming you have fingers like mine) odds are you’ll see many of the same streaks and smears that were there before you cleaned it.
Conclusion
So, are these cleaning sprays worth it? Well, that depends on how you use them. While the solutions may seem like a fleeting victory in a losing war against smudges when it comes to your touch devices, it should be noted that the sprays also work on all manner of screens, including monitors and televisions – devices that need only be cleaned of dust and smudges every couple weeks or so, and are not constantly being touched by oily fingers (I find my MacBook in particular needs its screen cleaned, as the oil from my fingers on the keyboard is often visible on the screen when powered off). In this respect Antec’s screen cleaners work as well as any such product could be expected to. So if you have a wide range of electronics, touch or otherwise, I think you’ll be pleased with the results. Antec provides a generous amount of solution for you $12 or so dollars – probably enough for hundreds of cleanings. Of course odds are you probably won’t be carrying around even the smaller sized bottle with you when you’re out and about, but for those times you can always fall back on the “breathe and wipe” method.
Price: “3X Strength Spray Non-drip Cleaning Solution” ($11.62 Amazon)
“100% Natural Spray Natural Cleaning Solution” ($11.62 Amazon)
Pros: Works great, reasonably priced, included smaller bottle for travel
Cons: Results don’t last on touch screens
Maybe you should spray it on your fingers? 🙂
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I sure wish you had something more interesting for us. How about delving into some more Mac Chicks? Now that would not only interesting but highly artfull. I wonder how this pure spray would look applied onto a naked female. Now that would be interesting!