Does your smartphone have a screen protector and/or a case?


How do you protect your phone from damage?  

58 members have voted

  1. 1. Which combination of protectors do you use for your favourite device?

    • Both a screen protector and a case
      16
    • Just a case, or a case with built in screen protection
      17
    • Just a screen protector sheet
      3
    • Nothing. Naked. Bare. Vanilla. Stock. Just the way they sold it to me.
      22


Recommended Posts

*I'm aware that most people go "naked" when their phone is old/replaced/out of warranty, and take off the screen protectors and case.  I'm only referring to your newest phone/tablet/device.*

 

I've been thinking a lot about smartphones, and the various lengths people go to protect them from scratches.  Most people use some combination of these two tools:

 

1.    The Screen Protector

 

sbjy.jpg

 

This is usually the first thing people are looking for when they get a brand new phone.  Many brands actually include a cheap one with the device in the box.  Some are just a cheap sheet of plastic, that degrade picture quality with a "rainbow" sheen and scratch easier than butter, and some are actually a secondary thin sheet of hardened glass that you place on top of the phone's glass with oleophobic properties.  There are screen protectors of all grades, hardnesses, and prices anywhere in between, but almost everyone would agree that you need one.  Why?  While the toughest, Gorilla Glass-iest, most scratch resistant screens will easily withstand a pocket full of keys or loose change, nothing short of the absolute latest in sapphire/ruby glass technology can stand up to the infinite scratching power of POCKET SAND.  The fact is, if you scratch a screen protector, you just need to peel it off and apply a new one for very little cost, but if you scratch your phone's built in screen, fixing that can be a long, costly procedure, or even impossible.

 

Unfortunately, the downside of screen protectors is that most people do not buy, or aren't even aware of the higher quality, oleophobic, hardened plastic protectors.  Most people buy the cheap $2-per-pack ones, and never change them, leaving their phone's screen a giant, fingerprint and scratch covered mess, completely wasting that nice oleophobic coating that the manufacturer was so kind to apply to their phone.  So what's the point, if your phone is going to be constantly scratched anyway?

 

 

2. The Case or Shell

 

ht5m.jpg

 

These come in almost every shape, color, function and variety you can imagine.  Some even have leather or fabric "covers" to protect the screen while you aren't using the phone, and some are even two-piece assembly affairs with their own built in glass screen protector.  Again, if you drop your phone with one of these on, you're only out a few bucks, but if you drop your bare/naked phone on concrete, it's gonna be all scratched to hell and ugly for the rest of its life.  

 

But the downside with these is that they usually make your phone thicker, and sometimes more difficult to handle.  Your phone's manufacturer spend years and thousands of dollars in R&D trying to shave off a few extra millimeters off the thickness of your phone, and you throw all that out the window by thickening it up with a plastic shell.  But cheap plastic shells are a "one-time-use" deal, once you drop it on a hard rough surface, they crack and scratch and break extremely easily.  Which is why some people opt for the rubber/silicone cases.  They can actually survive a 5 foot drop onto concrete without a noticeable scratch, but they're even thicker, and they make it very awkward when you struggle to slide your phone out of your tight jeans pocket while the rubber case fights you all the way.

 

 

So I was wondering, are there people out there who opt to enjoy their phone's built in oleophobic coating, who trust the Gorilla Glass's toughness and scratch resistance, who frown at the idea of doubling their phone's thickness with a protective case, and who appreciate the raw beauty and design of their phone's naked, virgin body?

 

Or is everyone ironically ruining the beauty of their devices by trying to protect their devices' beauty?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Every time I buy a case or screen protector I end up taking it off and/or peeling it away. A good case makes the phone a lot thicker.. which also adds to the weight.. I'll take my chances without one.

 

Screen protectors are just not possible to put on properly unless you do it in a scientific clean room or something. :p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Every time I buy a case or screen protector I end up taking it off and/or peeling it away. A good case makes the phone a lot thicker.. which also adds to the weight.. I'll take my chances without one.

 

Screen protectors are just not possible to put on properly unless you do it in a scientific clean room or something. :p

 

They've gotten WAY easier to put on nowadays.  Even the cheap ones.  I remember the old screen protectors, you basically just had to "accept" a bubble or two.  But with the new ones, you can just squeeze them out, with the bit of dust and all.  Or then there's the hardened glass plates, that actually intentionally leave an air gap between the device screen and the protector, with only the edge of the phone in contact with the new glass.  But as you can imagine, they tend to introduce touch sensitivity issues.

 

What ever happened to that company "Best Skins Ever"?  They made super thin transparent silicone sheets that were perfectly cut for every edge of your phone, front AND back.  It was basically like dipping your phone in a bit of liquid silicone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The phone I have now, the HTC One, is the first phone I've had that I've put a case and screen protector on. It's just so thin that if I dropped it somewhere I'm sure it would just smash...the Otterbox Commuter though seems to make it pretty much indestructible! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

and gorilla glass has kept all the scratches on the screen away.

 

I assume you mean it's kept scratches "off" the screen.  But aren't you worried about pocket sand?  Gorilla glass might be able to resist metal, but not silicon.

I loved how thin my Galaxy S3 was, that I hated having my phone case on it.  So of course, the one day that I decided to take the case off, I dropped it onto a brick driveway, and the bottom of my phone looked like I had tried to take a bite out of it. 

 

Needless to say, I will not be taking my cheap screen protector off until I buy an expensive replacement, even IF it got completely covered in scratches thanks to an aggressive mobile gaming session and an unusually hard callous on my swiping thumb.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I assume you mean it's kept scratches "off" the screen.  But aren't you worried about pocket sand?  Gorilla glass might be able to resist metal, but not silicon.

 

LOL  yea, it kept the scratches off of the screen!  haha

 

but i've kept my phone in my pocket forever  (s3 when it first came out, so 1.5 years?)  and no scatches yet

Link to comment
Share on other sites

but i've kept my phone in my pocket forever  (s3 when it first came out, so 1.5 years?)  and no scatches yet

 

 

Really?  You have an S3, you've never used a screen protector, and no scratches in 1.5 years?  I have an S3, albeit the crappy Canadian version with only a dual core, and only an Adreno 225, so maybe it has crappier glass too... but I really want to use its screen without a protector, at least for a little while...

 

Have you ever dropped your phone?  Cause I've dropped mine at least 4 or 5 times in the half a year I've owned it.  There's one small gouge in the screen protector, I'd hate to think what would happen to the S3's screen if it wasnt there.

 

edit: also I didn't realise you said "kept the scratches on the screen away", which makes sense just fine, I only saw "kept the scratches on the screen", my bad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't use a case or screen protector on my Lumia. I've dropped it a couple of times (parking lot, hardwood floor, carpet) and it never got a scratch.

 

I didn't use a protector on my iPhone either, but I never actually dropped that one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On my Lumia, no, gets a fair bit of abuse and still looks as good as day one.  On my HTC One I have one of them screen skin dealies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've stopped using screen protector and cases. Yes, they are important to protect but it removes the real beauty... besides, I rarely drop my phone anyway (almost never)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I always screw up screen protectors. Maybe I am just all thumbs or something. My S4 is bare, I like to think I am pretty careful so I am not too concerned with cases.

 

*5 minutes later drops phone, cracks screen*

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have an Apple leather case on my 5S, no screen protector.

 

The case has a lip which protects it if I accidentally put it down the wrong way or drop it. Never got hairline scratches on any of my phones.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes i have both screen protector and case for my lumia 925. As i tend to drop/scratch my phone easily they are a must for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've never broken a phone or a screen. I've dropped them but even my (abused for me) SGS2 barely had a few scuffs after dropping on the concrete several times.

 

No point really. They just add bulk and take away from the original aesthetics.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A screen protector doesn't do squat! Never saw the sense in one.

 

I have half a case on my phone is all. Little clips that held the face part on broke/wore down. Actually, with just the back part of case still on, phone is much easier to handle and set down! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I took the screen protector off my old Atrix a couple months ago, and it's already got 3 hairline scratches and one scratch that is short, but is deep enough that my fingernail can get caught in it.  And the Atrix was supposed to be the first phone with Gorilla Glass 2.  I have no idea what scratched it, but it was probably pocket sand, and I think I'll be leaving the scratch-and-fingerprint laden protector on my S3 for now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.