Screen Protectors

[GMC]

Are they necessary? I just received my T4215, and am debating whether I should put on.

[alltp]

they aren't really necesary for protecting the screen, but if you have an indoor/outdoor screen or get annoyed by dirt and smudges, get one. There have been many debates on the best screen protector and I'm a big fan of the WriteShield from PocketPCTechs. Much better that the Fujitsu ones IMHO. Look for p/n WSTAB003-1.

[GMC]

I do have an indoor/outdoor screen. Is it less durable than a standard screen?

[alltp]

It is not less durable in any way. In fact, for all the thousands of tablets ALLTP has sold, we have only had 2-3 that have had screens that didn't look like brand new years later - and those people obviously abused them.

It's that indoor/outdoor screens seem to have an affinity for the oil from your fingertips and get very "smudgy" quickly. When you are looking at it head on you won't have a problem but you might have issues when you have a dark background or look at it from an angle.

With the WriteShield, it comes with a whole cleaning kit so if you decide to wait and see if the smudges annoy you, it can be put on later.

[schroder]

I realize everyone's usage is different but I have discovered that screen protectors are fairly important if you plan to draw on the screen a lot. Unlike writing, drawing, especially rendering often will involve rubbing the same area of the screen very repetatively. I have worn down a few nibs and I have in fact found that over a period of a few years I have made some marks on the screen despite my best efforts to take care of it. Just thought I'd mention it. I think if you are writing on it normally though you probably wouldn't have a problem but people planning to put it to heavy use as an art tool could run into issues depending on how you draw and how heavy handed you are.

[rcxAsh]

My personal opinion is that it's better to put them on, especially if you have them readily available to you. On my T4010, the bundled screen protectors added a little bit of extra glare to my screen when used under certain lighting conditions, but, I wouldn't use my tablet without them.

After two years of use, I can see visible markings where I always write on the screen.

Some how, there are one or two visible blemishes (scratches) on the screen protector now, not sure where from, but I'm glad that they're on the protector and not the actual screen underneath.

Bottom line, you can never anticipate things that may happen to your screen. This is especially true when you're constantly writing on your screen. I think that the actual screen coating itself is quite tough, but I wouldn't care to find out on a machine that cost me nearly three grand.

All it takes is one scratch, and you'll probably regret not using a screen protector...

[Steve S]

Ash makes some excellent points. Add to that that when it finally comes time to sell your baby...as it inevitably will...a scratched screen will have a bigger negative effect on the selling price than almost any other fault. In fact, you may find that a scratched screen makes your tablet almost unsalable!