MrBrad

I understand what a screen protector is supposed to do, but are they really necessary? I got some for a Handspring something or other I had years back and couldn't stand the feel. So I took it off.

When I gave that pda away and got a Visor Prism, the screen was still fine.

Fast forward a couple years and I'm about to pass on the Prism and the screen is still perfect. I've played Bejeweled, drag and drop, highlight and drag, yada-yada.....

What are people using that scratches the screen?

Is the Handspring screen just tougher?

Is the Clie screen fragile?

What's the best screen protector for a NX80?

hherbzilla

Brad - Do a search... there are a TON of threads on this topic (even some very recent ones). Don't know if Clie screens are more "fragile", but I doubt it. FYI, best protectors seem to be Boxwave, G2, and Brando.

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• SJ30 > NX70V > T3
  

MrBrad

I'll grant you there are a ton of threads that have "screen protector" in them , even a nice thread regarding which people would recommend, but little I've been able to find on the first three questions.

Particularly what people are using/doing that is scratching their screen. My screens have -never- scratched.

Now if I could just find that thread that had the recommendation for a car wax that works great as a screen protector

hherbzilla

Mother's, I think.

We're probably wondering how you've NEVER scratched your screens... at least I am! Well, in fairness, I've always used a screen protector, so don't know how the screen would look if I didn't have one. However, I don't feel like taking a chance, either, so I'll never know. IMO, better safe than sorry when it comes to some things.

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• Search and ye shall find!
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• SJ30 > NX70V > T3
  

jglover

I use a screen protector mainly because I use a multipen stylus. I hate the skinny little stock Clie stylus, plus I like the option of having a pen handy when you need to write something down. So, no matter how diligent you are, there will be times when you pick up the multipoint stylus and forget to switch over to the stylus. I've only done this once where I actually wrote on my screen, but without my Boxwave, I'd at the least had a big ink mark on my screen, more than likely a scratch.

With the Boxwave, you just pull off the protector, wash it off and put it back on.

Plus I have a five year old son.....

kp*

I don't like the look or feel of a screen protector either, but I used them periodically on my non-Sony handhelds (actually only on the graffiti area of my 2 Handsprings, if that means anything). I finally started using them full-time for my NR because it was getting some scratches and would make a horrible screeching noise when using the stock stylus, like a nail on a blackboard. I also got a PDA Panache stylus to give the screen a gentler stylus tip. It's also extra important on the VG screens because the letter side of the graffiti area traditionally gets most scratched, and on those models that area also doubles as the display, so if it gets all scratched up it looks awful.

I also started using Brando protectors, which are a little milky, but much better than the WriteRights and other softer protectors I had been using. I have no fear writing firmly on the screen, or tapping with my fingers. When I got my NX80, the first thing I did while waiting for it to charge was to put on its screen protector. The next morning, it turns out I did something I usually am too careful to do -- I wrote on it with the pencil tip of my pen-pencil-stylus. If I had hesitated to put on the protector for even a day I would have ruined my screen. Thankfully both screen and protector emerged unscathed.

I think the situation is very similar to using a condom -- nobody wants to use one because it doesn't look or feel as good as it does "natural" but it's something you have to put up with if you want to be safe.

MrBrad

That's a good point. I've never had a multipen stylus, I've always used the original stylus (and some extras I leave lying around).

But I just bought a stylus/pen/laserpointer/flashlight (Infiniter XP2).

One of these days I'll use the pen point instead of the stylus point for sure...

MrBrad

Always used a stylus, never a multi-pen (so never confused), and absolutely never that straightened paper clip I use for reset instead of unscrweing the stylus point.

Even the graffiti area is spotless. maybe I just have a light touch. Maybe it's the screen composition on a Visor Prism. It almost seems glassy.

pusfarm

I think dirt, lint or dust is what gets on the screen.  A few times [thankfully with a screen protector in place] I've dragged my stylus across the screen only to hear and feel a scratching of something stuck between the stylus and screen.  I would hate to have that happen to the actual screen.

I used the "Scotch tape" graffiti area method in my Palm/Visor days, but only since I've had Clies have I used protectors.  I've only tried Sony's and WriteRights [which I'm using currently on my NX80].  The Sony's are decent and easy to write on, but get marked up easily.  The WriteRights are terrible to write on - feels like there's glue on the screen that I'm trying to drag my stylus through.  May have to try the others recommended here.

The NX80 seems to have a plastic screen overlay similar to the Visors [which probably contributes to the relative difficulty in tapping and writing], but I just feel better with a protector.

hherbzilla

In all seriousness, that might be one of the factors.

__________________

• Search and ye shall find!
• "It's because they're stupid, that's why. That's why everybody does everything." - Homer J. Simpson
• SJ30 > NX70V > T3
  

MrBrad

You may be on to something there - I'm fanatic about keeping the screen clean - I use an optical cleaning cloth.

WriteRights were the protector I tried a while back and they are what turned me off to the whole idea of screen protectors - fuzzed the screen, hard to keep clean, felt "micro-bumpy" and gluey to the stylus, not a pleasant writing experience at all.

a_clie_er

Sometimes when you drop your stylus the tip of it becomes scratched. If you use that tip on a unprotected screen, guess what.. it'll scratch the screen. So with screen protectors its a safe bet that won't happen. I drop my stylus many times onto concrete and notices the tip of it got warp and had sharp points.. althought not very noticeable to the naked eye. I have the brando and have scratchs from the droped stylus.

jglover

I also used WriteRights and could not stand them. I switched over to a Boxwave and it has a feel just like the screen to me. Granted it is not quite as bright as without the protector, but the change is negligible in my opinion and the porotection offered is worth. Plus I can wash the Boxwave to remove those inadvertent ink smudge.

MrBrad

I've been reviewing my stylus/screen habits and have noticed several things:

a) I habitually put the stylus back in the pda if I'm not actually using it to touch the screen. I rarely just hold it. This sometimes means several in and outs during a pda session, but I still do it. I think I originally started doing this when I was scared of losing the stylus while out and about and made it a habit So it has far less chance of me dropping it too.
2) I've noticed I unconsciously take a little circular swip with the stylus tip on a shirt sleeve or some other section of my clothing from time to time, particularly if I've set the stylus down.
~) I have replacement stylii positioned in odd places, like near the pda cradle. So the stylus in the pda stays there, and I grab the loose one.
#) I rarely seem to have anything on the screen in terms of finger marks or smudges or even a lot of dust. While I keep the screen clean using an optical cloth, most of the time I'm cleaning a pretty clean screen anyways.
e) I've never done what one of the reviewers of a screen protector did - taped his pda to the windshield of his truck and drove around for a day to test the protector.

hherbzilla

Good tips for all of us to follow!
Well, except for e). I wont' be doing that, either.

__________________

• Search and ye shall find!
• "It's because they're stupid, that's why. That's why everybody does everything." - Homer J. Simpson
• SJ30 > NX70V > T3