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screen protector, whats the point?

S

solarguy17

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 10, 2007
738
183
I dont really understand the point of puting a screen protector on the front of the phone.

Pros: no scratches
Cons: not smooth, easy to mess up install, bubbles, wavy lines, dirt under, lifting, ect.

I never put a screen protector on my 3gs and I ended up with 3 small shallow scratches, hard to see but annoying nonetheless. Where as on my coworkers 3gs, he had an invisibleshield which was extremly visible and have a shiny multicolored tint to it that was noticable all of the time.

Remember when you had a "standard" phone and the screen was plastic and it got majorly scratched up, you just dealt with it....why all of the fuss now over the small possibility of getting some small unoticible scratches?

I have found two real good times the shield has helped. MY wife keeps we phone in her purse, so if no shield, keys would detroy phone. My friend dropped his and IS kept glass on phone, still shattered but it staying the phone itself, so he can still see the display...
 
All but the first of your cons is user error that a careful person does not have issues with. The smoothness is also dependent on the brand and type of screen protector you get. Something like Zagg will be rough, but a Power Support or SGP will be smooth
 
I got a plastic film from ebay and its the best.


PROS:
Keeps the phone clean.
No scratches.
Easy to sell in a few years.

CONS:
One little dust particle could mess up the whole look on the screen.
 
For myself, the old phones's display was only a display, and they only cost a hundred bucks. My new iPhones display is the primary interface and costs 700.00 clams to replace new out of contract. Being a picky anal retentive kinda guy I like knowing I have a pristine phone I can easily sell to help cover the cost of next years iPhone.

Btw the good screen protectors are truly invisible to the eye and touch but supposedly offer less protection. Those that supposedly offer the most protection will have a slightly sticky feel ala zagg.
 
I’d rather use a flip case and not have something attached to my screen. Someone was bragging about their screen protector while waiting on mass transit and all I noticed was the bubbles around the screen. Even if you get it on there perfectly, if that gets damaged, you have to remove it, which is quite a mess.
 
-aggie- said:
I’d rather use a flip case and not have something attached to my screen. Someone was bragging about their screen protector while waiting on mass transit and all I noticed was the bubbles around the screen. Even if you get it on there perfectly, if that gets damaged, you have to remove it, which is quite a mess.
Click to expand...

Yeah. Even if you put it on right, eventually it's bound to start looking ugly and dirty around the edges, and sh`it gets under it. It's just gross.

I bought a lot of them for my 3GS, and after they all got like that, I just stopped using them. Never dropped my phone, never had any scratches on the screen either. Just am very careful.
 
I have never really been interested in putting one on something, but I guess they can offer some level of protection against sloppy use. I normally just make sure that the screen is covered and if I am going to wipe it off that there isn't anything on the screen that can scratch it.
 
not all of us are in greatest of conditions all the time. I work in a very dirty dusty machine shop. i get dust and grime all over my clothes which means it transfers to my phone when its in my pocket. i went 2 days without a screen protector or case for the ip4, it has 3 good scratches one the back, and multiple minuscule scratches all over. so i buckled and got a gay looking case from at&t and some screen protectors. as for a back screen protector, the case on my 3g would actually trap dust in it and permanently marred the back of the phone, so i will picking one of those up ass well, when someone decent comes out with some. some of us like to protect out expensive things. I personally like knowing that if the screen protector gets cruddy, i can always change it and still have a pristine screen.
i can also get the screens on with no bubbles, and can go more than six months before they need to be changed
 
Kentobentos said:
For myself, the old phones's display was only a display, and they only cost a hundred bucks. My new iPhones display is the primary interface and costs 700.00 clams to replace new out of contract. Being a picky anal retentive kinda guy I like knowing I have a pristine phone I can easily sell to help cover the cost of next years iPhone.

Btw the good screen protectors are truly invisible to the eye and touch but supposedly offer less protection. Those that supposedly offer the most protection will have a slightly sticky feel ala zagg.
Click to expand...

I have to agree. I have always made sure all of my iPhones have been well protected and have actually made a large profit selling them on eBay when the new phones came out. All of my phone have always had a screen protector and a hard case. For example I sold my 32gb 3GS old bootrom on eBay for $500 three weeks ago. The $15 or $20 for a good screen protector is definitely worth it in my opinion. Plus I take my time and don't have any of the cons you listed, you can't tell I have a screen protector on my i4 front and back plus a lucky labs clear vinyl around the sides.
 
solarguy17 said:
I dont really understand the point of puting a screen protector on the front of the phone.

Pros: no scratches
Cons: not smooth, easy to mess up install, bubbles, wavy lines, dirt under, lifting, ect.

I never put a screen protector on my 3gs and I ended up with 3 small shallow scratches, hard to see but annoying nonetheless. Where as on my coworkers 3gs, he had an invisibleshield which was extremly visible and have a shiny multicolored tint to it that was noticable all of the time.

Remember when you had a "standard" phone and the screen was plastic and it got majorly scratched up,
you just dealt with it....why all of the fuss now over the small possibility of getting some small unoticible scratches?

I have found two real good times the shield has helped. MY wife keeps we phone in her purse, so if no shield, keys would detroy phone. My friend dropped his and IS kept glass on phone, still shattered but it staying the phone itself, so he can still see the display...
Click to expand...

This is a completely pointless thread it's purpose is to protect the screen, hence the name screen protector. Maybe you camshaft a thread that is title....the phone charger, what's the point.
 
You mostly listed user error. With a few tips it's not hard to properly install a screen protector. The rest of your cons don't apply to a quality screen protector like SGP or PS. There's a huge difference between those and a tacky zagg protector. I baby my phones and I still use screen protectors. The glass on the iPhone is pretty scratch resistant but for ~$13 I don't have to worry about any permanent scratches whether large or small.
 
For me it's simple: If I get a scratch/blemish/eye sore on a screen protector, I can remove it and put on a new one. If I get a scratch/blemish/eye sore on the screen, I have to live with it for the life of the phone.

I wouldn't generalize all screen protectors based on your coworkers invisibleshield. Check out powersupport's screen protectors. They are the best imo. Their crystal film is truly invisible and don't have the multicolored tint, orange peel effect, or sticky feel that the invisibleshield does.
 
Kentobentos said:
For myself, the old phones's display was only a display, and they only cost a hundred bucks. My new iPhones display is the primary interface and costs 700.00 clams to replace new out of contract.
Click to expand...

Not true. Apple will replace any iPhone in or out of contract and/or in or out of warranty that has a broken screen or water damage for $199.
 
solarguy17 said:
I dont really understand the point of puting a screen protector on the front of the phone.

Pros: no scratches
Cons: not smooth, easy to mess up install, bubbles, wavy lines, dirt under, lifting, ect.

I never put a screen protector on my 3gs and I ended up with 3 small shallow scratches, hard to see but annoying nonetheless. Where as on my coworkers 3gs, he had an invisibleshield which was extremly visible and have a shiny multicolored tint to it that was noticable all of the time.

Remember when you had a "standard" phone and the screen was plastic and it got majorly scratched up, you just dealt with it....why all of the fuss now over the small possibility of getting some small unoticible scratches?

I have found two real good times the shield has helped. MY wife keeps we phone in her purse, so if no shield, keys would detroy phone. My friend dropped his and IS kept glass on phone, still shattered but it staying the phone itself, so he can still see the display...
Click to expand...


Here are similar threads in which to hash out this tired argument:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/962779/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/955893/
 
what's the point? well...
you scratch a screen, it's scratched.
you scratch the screen protector, you can replace a new one with low cost and have it look perfectly for a while...
 
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