Screen Protector Primer needed

[indyspal]

I ordered protectors with my Axim. No info or directions on why/how/when came or can be found in documentation.

What are they for? To protect from what? Dust...Stylus ... fingers ... UV .. impact ???

They came with funny band across the middle. This seems to let user peel a thin film off. Which is the protector? The thin film or the remaining thicker piece? If one uses the thicker piece do you try to peel off the other side?

Which side goes down? Can you turn over and use either side?

Thats all the 'dumb' questions I can think of right now ...

Bill

[wct097]

Don't feel bad. I used a screen protector for a week with the thin film still on it before someone pointed out that it peeled off.

You use the thicker piece. I put the side that had the protective film on it down. I figured that side was cleaner and better to have the clean side on the screen than the dirty side (don't want dust/dirt between the protector and the screen).

I think they're used to protect the screen from scratches.

-Will

[Hibiki]

prevents scratches, reduces glare, and improves surface contact with the stylus

[Petaho]

You can save a bunch of money and cut your own screen protectors out of overhead transparency film or vinyl sheet protectors. They work great and only cost a few cents each as opposed to $2-$5 each! :D

The transparency film for overheads seems to work the best as the vinyl sheet protectors seem to scratch more easily but then again, when it cost about 2 cents, I don't mind replacing it with a new one every week.

You don't even have to make it fit your screen exactly, you can tuck the edges (~1/8") of the sheet into the edge of your screen.

[Hibiki]

nice idea, only problem I see with that is that unless you do some amazing job of fitting it, or use some sort of light adhesive, dirt and debris is gonna get caught between the home made protector and the screen making the situation even worse. also they're bout $12 for 12, at least from dell they are. change them once a month, $1 / month maintence isn't so bad.

[Petaho]

Actually, I haven't had any debris under the protectors yet. With the transparency film, I cut the sheets to be slightly larger than the exposed surface of the screen and then tuck the edges under the plastic surrounding the screen. It makes for a very tight fit.

As for the vinyl sheet protectors, they cling to the screen by themselves very nicely (no adhesive necessary) and there is no need to tuck the edges up under the plastic at the edge of your screen.

[alraygraham]

The screen protectors are for scratch protection. You pick up a static charge on the screen or stylus and some of the dust particles are abrasive... so they scratch the screen. I didn't use one when I first got my Jornada 548 and marred up my screen pretty bad. When I sent it in for unrelated service later on and they sent it back reconditioned with a new screen I've used them ever since.

You lose a little bit of sensativity but not much with the good ones. Just be sure you use something that really is clear. Some of the cheap protectors for Palm and other primitives will cause a rainbow distortion on the color TFT screens.

I believe the Jornada screens will fit the Dell ($10 for 10) and they don't wear out quickly. I've been using the same one for over three months now without a problem.;)

It did take me a week to realize I only had half the protective film off:)

[PPC2517]

I tried Avery Self Adhesive Sheet Protector. So far, not very satisfy with it. Seems to carry dust particle even b/f I paste it on the screen. (maybe they are bad batch). Will try Vinyl sheets..thanks for the suggestion. One Q though...does it stuck to the screen properly?

[alraygraham]

The Jornada covers are a rigid almost transparency-like material (I think the material is thinner than transparency) and are super clear don't have adhesive and don't cling. The vinyl I tried (think it was Avery) was soft and clingy. I've been very satisfied with the rigid protectors. Tried vinyl and it caused a blurry rainbowish kind of distortion in color images and had a pebbly textured kind of surface.