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Screen protector

Revision as of 01:56, 23 May 2009

Screen protectors are a good way to protector your tablet's touchscreen from damage. As the tablet's screen is susceptible to scratch damage, especially with extended stylus use, use of a screen protector is highly recommended. Some protectors provide additional benefits, like glare reduction. There are many different brands available that all have different pros and cons; this article outlines some of them.

Nokia shipping protector

Nokia ships the tablets with a simple shipping protector that isn't intended to be used as a real screen protector, but can temporarily perform that role until a real protector can be purchased and applied. You may have trouble removing the sticker attached to the factory shipping protector, but it can be removed either with a bit of patience or with a naptha-based lighter fluid (like Ronsonol).

As it isn't designed to be used as an actual screen protector, the shipping protector will show wear very rapidly, and should be replaced as soon as possible. It will, however, do an adequate job at preventing screen scratches.

Boxwave

Boxwave offers two protector styles for the tablets, the Anti-glare and the Crystal. Both protectors provide plenty of protection, but they differ in glare reduction and in texture. The Anti-glare protector has a matte surface that greatly reduces the amount of glare (especially outdoors), while the Crystal protector has a shiny surface more similar to the tablet's bare touchscreen. The Anti-glare also has a more paper-like texture than the Crystal (which is slick and smooth like the tablet's screen). The cost of glare reduction is an ever-so-slight reduction in the protector translucency (honestly not noticeable, but there all the same—Boxwave says 95% translucency).

Applying

Get your work area cleaned up and set up ahead of time. Do it in a low-dust room, with a sink nearby. Place the tablet face-down on a table after you clean its screen and only turn it over when you're ready to apply the protector. Lots of water makes things easier, so don't be too worried about getting water on the screen just try not to get too much into the edges (you may find it helpful to remove the faceplate). The application procedure goes like this:

1. Wash your hands with a good strong soap. Lava works particularly well here.
2. Remove the tablet's faceplate.
3. Unpack the protector, setting the hard plastic bubble remover nearby.
4. Clean the screen, making sure to remove all smudges, spots, and dust (either use the included lint-free cloth, or one of your own).
5. Set the tablet face-down on a flat surface (I constructed a little stand so the screen wouldn't touch the table with the faceplate off).
6. Grab the protector and figure out which side goes on the screen, then peal off the protective plastic on the sticky side.
7. Flip the tablet over, center up one edge of the protector and apply it from that edge to the other side.
8. Now, if you've gotten lucky you'll have it nicely centered up, dust free and with very few bubbles (Ha!). If so, then go ahead and move on to step 14, if not, then it's time to start the next of many attempts to get it right.
9. If you've got dust, then go ahead and remove the protector and set it aside somewhere safe (sticky side up, it doesn't really matter if you get more dust on it right now).
10. Remove all of the dust off of the tablet's screen and flip it back face-down again.
11. Now, head on over to the sink and wash all the dust (and, probably, fingerprints) off of the protector.
12. Most of the water you can get off with gentle shaking (just be certain not to crease the protector!) and more will come off with a little bit of blowing (a keyboard-duster might actually be useful here, although I didn't have one—try not to spit on it if you use your mouth).
13. Now go back to step 7 and through to this point until you get it on right!
14. Now that you've gotten it on, centered up and dust-free, it's time to use the little plastic bubble-pusher to get those bubbles out. Start from the center and work the bubbles out towards the edges.
15. You'll need to use a decent amount of force, but don't overdo it, as if you push too hard, the touch-layer may become attached to the LCD-layer.
16. After all bubbles are out, use a towel to clean up the excess water and reattach the faceplate.
17. Once you've got all the dust out, you're done. Congratulations!

DealExtreme

Deal Extreme offers screen protectors that may or may be not as durable or effective as the Boxwave protector, and are not specifically cut to size for the tablet (so may have to be cut down or fitted under the bezel), but if you don't want to spend $15 plus shipping for a glorified piece of plastic, they're a good option since they can be had for around $1.5 (shipping included). Some of these protectors will wear much more quickly and will need to be replaced frequently, though.

However sku 3800, after six months of use, is as good as new.

PSP screen protectors for Sony

A cheap alternative to screen protectors made especially for the N810 are protectors for the Playstation Portable from Sony. On Ebay they are very cheap and the material is a nice quality multi-layer film. The width of them fits perfectly, and only the length has to cut down with scissors (easy to do).