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Anyone regret not getting a screen protector???

Got a screen protector? Got any scratches?

  • Got One - Better Safe than Sorry!

    Votes: 94 44.1%
  • No Screen Protector and my screen is still MINT!

    Votes: 106 49.8%
  • No Screen Protector and got some minor scratches. Not too concerned.

    Votes: 8 3.8%
  • No Screen Protector and got major scratch(es). Regretting it!!!

    Votes: 3 1.4%
  • Considering getting one, not sure yet

    Votes: 2 0.9%

  • Total voters
    213
applied zagg screen protector on the phone. It's not cheap neither a easy job to fit it on, but it sticks the screen perfectly. I have to admit that I do feel a bit of resistant from it while doing pinch zooms and pattern unlocks. It feels more like moving your fingers on a rubber, but for easy keeping without extra care(I'd like to keep the phone in pocket along with my keys and coins) and directly use without pulling it from a punch every time ( a punch also blocks sounds) it
 
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To answer the title: No, I put ghost armor custom cut (until kit comes in).

I regret not putting a case on it as it fell from the shallow pockets of my new lounge panys out the door and onto the cement at the gas station yesterday. (Few scuffs snd scratches on the outer plastic) :(

Now im looking to buy a case just to cover those up.
 
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I like a naked screen. Ive had the previous 3 iphones and not had a single scratch. Yesterday I got quite a deep scratch on my GNex, and I've been super careful with it, no idea how it happened.

My advice, if you dont like scratches get a protector.

I should have listened to all the warnings about how this screen is susceptible to scratches. I was also in the "naked" group and loved how this screen looked and felt without a screen protector. I assumed that since my last couple phones remained perfect without any protection then this screen should hold up the same. Even though not gorilla glass, Samsung's claim of "fortified" glass was good enough for me. Well, I just got back from a weekend trip and my screen now has 4-5 scratches, all minor except for a long, deep one right down the center of the screen. The only thing I did differently this weekend is take the phone in and out of a chest pocket on a fleece jacket I wore often (pocket is/was empty and clean). My guess is that the plastic zipper is what scratched the screen, although I wouldn't think that was even possible.

My XO protector is now on its way, hopefully it fills the deep scratch at least a little bit. If you are still going naked with this phone, I suggest you reconsider. The screen on this phone is NOT like the fortified glass I've had on other phones.
 
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IMHO, it really comes down to a few simple things:

1) If you live near sand/dirt, or get a lot of sand/dirt around - you should probably use one. Sand can scratch glass -- any glass. Gorilla, Corning, or you favorite vintage wine bottle. Nothing is safe from sand.

2) If you don't have much sand/dirt around and are worried about keys in your pocket, that's not a big deal. Keys & metals don't scratch hardened glass (though they can do a number on the rest of the phone). (Also this is the best option if you would like to create a post with the word "naked" in it ;) ).

3) If you prefer a protector, go for it. If it gives you peace of mind, or you just prefer the tactile feel of it, or anti glare abilities, then have at it.


That's my $0.99 anyways :)
 
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Gorilla Glass is the DOW brand name for simple reinforced glass. The GN has reinforced glass, just not the Dow brand. It's still highly scratch resistant.

Galaxy Nexus - Scratch Test - YouTube

Seriously, this test/video is worthless. Key metal will not scratch glass, ever. period. "Gorilla glass" or not. What DOES scratch glass is other glass (sand, silt, "dust"- it is all silica or contains silica), and things that actually are harder than glass (check out Moh's scale here- Not the only scale, but most popular for rating mineral hardness). Key metal is a mixture of brass, nickel, and steel (mostly), and so is not any harder than about 4 Mohs. Silica (Quartz, glass, etc.) ranges from 6.5 to ~7.2 ("fortified"), well beyond the range of anything but the hardest of hardened steel. So anything 6.5+ Mohs could be a good candidate for scratching risk. This overview (while partially incorrect) is a much better display than the key test. Why? because it shows that the hardened steel (harder than the glass) does scratch the screen and that these screens are not invulnerable.
This can occur when silica grains (whether sand sized or silt sized) from the air collect either in your pocket, or on the surface of something else (such as a key/knife/finger, whatever) which in turn comes into contact with and drags across the surface of the screen. These can even be "nano-particles" that carry an electrostatic charge and so are more apt to cling to conductive materials, creating in effect a silica-plated surface much the same way that diamond-encrusted saw blades are metal blades with a diamond grit encrusted on it.
The reason some get scratched while some haven't (yet) is the force dragging the "grit" across the screen has to not only be lateral (parallel to the screen, i.e. moving it from side-to-side), but also proximal (perpendicular or "pushed into" the screen). So let's take the example of someone who just keeps the phone in an empty pocket. It brushes up against the lining of the pocket according to the movement of the body, with some actions perfectly mimicking the sufficient lateral force such as stretching the pant sides as one sits down or stands up or by removing the phone from the pocket, but this likely does not provide enough of a proximal force so it results in no scratches. But if a variable changes in that equation (more constrictive pocket due to the addition of other things into it, wearing of perhaps too tight of pants, brushing up against something on that side- provided the screen is facing outwards, etc.), and "grit" is introduced from the air or beach/desert, one can see the increasing and increasing risk.
Unless a pocket can be vacuum-sealed, scratching the screen is less a matter of what or why, but rather a statistical when. The true issue of course, is whether you (as the device owner) want to play the numbers game or not, and (pursuant to this thread's topic) will you be sad (or on a new device already) when your number is called?
 
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I should have listened to all the warnings about how this screen is susceptible to scratches. I was also in the "naked" group and loved how this screen looked and felt without a screen protector. I assumed that since my last couple phones remained perfect without any protection then this screen should hold up the same. Even though not gorilla glass, Samsung's claim of "fortified" glass was good enough for me. Well, I just got back from a weekend trip and my screen now has 4-5 scratches, all minor except for a long, deep one right down the center of the screen. The only thing I did differently this weekend is take the phone in and out of a chest pocket on a fleece jacket I wore often (pocket is/was empty and clean). My guess is that the plastic zipper is what scratched the screen, although I wouldn't think that was even possible.

My XO protector is now on its way, hopefully it fills the deep scratch at least a little bit. If you are still going naked with this phone, I suggest you reconsider. The screen on this phone is NOT like the fortified glass I've had on other phones.
Plastic zipper most likely not, although they do now have plastics with a higher hardness rating than 99% of metals, but it has to be kept lubricated I believe (otherwise it becomes brittle). Is the scratch just through the oleophobic coating, or into the glass itself?
 
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I have always used Protectors..true it does dim a bit but I guess I've gotten used to it. The fact is if you don't want nicks and microscratches use protection. People should learn that phones are electronics, not some magical damage resistent device.

I used to have an OG Droid that stayed in awesome shape but I decided to go naked for a few months and it looked worn afterwards. Just sold a DroidX I owned just as long except kept it in a case and protector and it didn't gain one blemish.
 
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Plastic zipper most likely not, although they do now have plastics with a higher hardness rating than 99% of metals, but it has to be kept lubricated I believe (otherwise it becomes brittle). Is the scratch just through the oleophobic coating, or into the glass itself?

The large scratch is definitely into the glass, small ones I'm not sure about but those I don't really care too much about. When the screen is on I can plainly see that ugly rainbow effect of the light reflecting off the inside of the scratch.
 
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I have always used a full phone skin from BestSkinsEver.com on all my phones and MP3 players, and installed them on my wife's phones and MP3 players as well. I just got my Nexus yesterday and the skin should come in the mail within the next couple of days. I got a Zagg protector once a few years ago, but then I found BestSkinsEver and realized they are the same thing but much cheaper. The full body skins are under $10 on that site, which is hard to beat in my opinion.

I assume the one I have on order will be just as good as all the others I have had, but I suppose the curved screen could cause fit or application problems. I'll post back after I install it to let you guys know how it worked out.
 
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I have always used a full phone skin from BestSkinsEver.com on all my phones and MP3 players, and installed them on my wife's phones and MP3 players as well. I just got my Nexus yesterday and the skin should come in the mail within the next couple of days. I got a Zagg protector once a few years ago, but then I found BestSkinsEver and realized they are the same thing but much cheaper. The full body skins are under $10 on that site, which is hard to beat in my opinion.

I assume the one I have on order will be just as good as all the others I have had, but I suppose the curved screen could cause fit or application problems. I'll post back after I install it to let you guys know how it worked out.

Got my bestskinsever full body skin in the mail today and just finished installing it. It actually went on a little easier than some of my past skins, or maybe I am just getting better at it. Of course I am going to have to leave the phone alone overnight and at least until tomorrow afternoon before I know for sure, but it fits very well and it looks like it is going to work out perfectly. :cool:
 
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