Macworld 2010: Hands-on with Musicskins

Musicskins was kind enough to show us around their booth on the Macworld floor, and while we expected to see the usual vinyl case stickers, what we found was actually pretty impressive. The 'skins, which are made for almost every accessory and device under the sun (the rep told us they add five to ten devices to their roster per week) are actually very durable.

For one thing, they're made to be removed and replaced as much as you want, so while attaching one to the back of your iPhone, you don't have to worry about making one minor mistake and having to stare at it every time you check Twitter. The skins themselves have little grooves on the surface, which we were told acted as air channels, so if you ever did get a bubble underneath, it's much easier to squeeze out.

But the most interesting part of skins like these isn't on the side towards the phone, it's on the side away. Musicskins is one of the biggest licensors of art for device skins, and as you can see in the gallery below, they've got all kinds of different famous and infamous licenses to stick on your iPod, iPhone or Macbook. They just recently made Apple history, too -- read on to learn how.


Musicskins is apparently the first licensee to ever create a Beatles licensed product for an Apple device. Thanks to the longtime feud between Apple Corps and Apple (formerly Computers), The Beatles had never, ever been licensed for a product that had anything to do with Apple, including the iPod or the iPhone. But with the recent decision in the case, and the make-up between the two companies, Apple Corps recently approved Musicskins to make iPhone and iPod accessories, which were revealed at this year's CES.

They also license from all sorts of different artists and brands, from other musicians and artists to video games and comic books. They recently inked a deal with manga company Tokyopop to manufacture skins with their art, and here at Macworld, they're announcing a deal with Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, so they're showing off skins from the popular Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Metalocalypse shows. The aforementioned Beatles skins are by far their most popular, but in terms of straight art, an Exploding Dog robot skin tops the list.

Finally, we asked about the iPad and skins for that device, and Musicskins told us that they're finished and ready to be printed -- as soon as they were able to pull up the dimensions from Apple's site, they created production models of the skins. Of course, they haven't touched one yet (neither have we), but we were told that when the iPad goes on sale, they'll buy one on the first day and test it out, make sure the skin fits correctly and works well. There's only a 24-hour turnaround on any edits they make, so while they'll start selling orders on day one, they'll do their tests and make changes before they actually send any out.

iPod and iPhone skins are $15, and all of the Macbook and laptop skins retail for $30 -- you can buy them over on the Musicskins website or in your local retail store. If you want protection for your device, you'll have to look elsewhere -- these skins are straight up vinyl, so they don't pad the iPhone or iPod at all. But if you just want the back (and the front -- each skin comes with a downloadable wallpaper that matches the skin) of your device to look good, Musicskins will do the trick.
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