Scratched my iPad, a warning to all!

[Mshilling]

This thread cracks me up. Everyone gets so defensive about their decisions here. Thats why we live in America people, so we are free to make those decisions (those who dont, sorry about your luck )

I have had an iphone 3g for almost 2 years. It sits in my pocket with no screen protection on it with my keys and whatever other junk goes in there. I take reasonably good care of it but in reality its a phone and it gets tossed around and used quite a bit.

I got an Ipad about a month ago, babied it, put it in a neoprene sleeve (from my netbook) when not in use, and only used it on the couch and at my desk at work. I got a scratch. It was not a little scratch either, it was deep enough to stop my fingernail when scraping over it. I was pretty surprised. Thankfully I also had the wifi problem so I brought in in to Apple and they replaced it.

Needless to say, I now have a $3 HHI clear screen protector. If you are not a moron (thats a stretch these days) you can install a screen protector with no lint and no bubbles. Nobody can tell it is on there, except for the fact that I know its there. One of my kids is in a nose picking stage (anyone have a parenting tip for me?) and I have wiped off some pretty questionable crap from my screen after he uses it for a while, so for me a screen protector was a no brainer. If there was even one bubble or defect, I would rip it off because I totally agree that it will take away from the experience.

If you think you need one, get one. If you dont want one, dont get one. Apple's decision to pull them from their shelves should not sway your decision one bit. They don't sell condoms at the apple store either, does that mean you plan on barebacking it for the rest of your life? Apple is not the god of all decisions. They dont want them in the store, thats it. That does not mean they dont want them on your device. They probably sell more replacement iDevices due to scratched screens so it was a better business decision to stop selling protection for them. They are a business, and DO NOT care about you OR your device, no matter how hard you try to convince yourself they do. They want you $$$$, period.

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

No offense but you have to be a complete and total idiot to not buy a screen protector for your iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

No offense but you have to be a complete and total sucker to buy a screen protector for your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

 

[St. Germain]

No offense but you have to be a complete and total idiot to not buy a screen protector for your iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

I've owned a version of the iPhone since launch without a case/screen protector on it and have never had a scratch on any of them. I simply keep in in my pants pocket by itself and make sure I put my keys in my other pocket. Pretty simple to keep it scratch free really. Oh, and I avoid taking it to the beach.

 

[ellenm]

I originally had the WiFi iPad and put a Clear-Coat screen protector on it mostly to help with fingerprints and to protect it from scratches. Well, I returned the WiFi and got the 3G model and don't have any protection on it and I definitely like the feel of the naked glass better. I am torn as to whether to put the Clear-Coat back on or not. I have a case to protect it but I do have longer nails. I'll wait for my replacement protector from Clear-Coat and decide then.

 

[bluedog3401]

I put CDs in my bag and carry them around in paper sleeves. On one or two occasions, I've tried putting the cds in between sheets of paper or in a book between pages as a quick put-the-burned-cd away.

Inevitably, they get scratched if they are not protected. Since you mention putting it in a sleeve, was it a completely closed sleeve? If not and you toss it in your summer beach bag, that one grain of sand could slip into your 'protective sleeve' and in essence you have a great sander for the glass surface of your iPad.

Keep them in a closed sleeve if possible and be sure the sleeve inside is clean. I'm not saying this is what happened but just a warning for someone who thinks putting a sleeve on something is always great protection.

 

[Dodgeroo]

Has there ever been any report of a screen protector's 'stickiness' affecting the oleophobic coating?

 

[avaloncourt]

This thread cracks me up. Everyone gets so defensive about their decisions here. Thats why we live in America people, so we are free to make those decisions (those who dont, sorry about your luck )

Unfortuantely, with that comes the inevitable flood of threads about a scratched screen and can I trick Apple into covering it under warranty if I tell them X?

 

[robanga]

Add another anti-screen protector person. My 3GS and my wife and son's iPhones all are bare. Barely a scratch even on the oldest devices. By the time something gets marked up it's long time to replace it.

 

[gorkt]

I used a screen protector on my first Iphone, a 3G, for the year that I owned the device. I got used to it and never had any issues with it, but then I stripped it off to trade it in for the 3GS and it really struck me how much the protector dulled the screen, and how much easier my fingers glided on the unprotected screen. I decided to use my 3GS without a screen protector. It has been almost a year and to be honest I do have a few very small scratches on the top of the screen (not on the lit part but near the top microphone. Even with the scratch I still prefer to use the phone sans protector, and I also use the IPad without one.

 

[ratbatblue]

No offense but you have to be a complete and total idiot to not buy a screen protector for your iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

Can't see how anyone could possibly take offense at that. Nothing brings a feeling of friendly neutrality more than being called a "complete and total idiot" for indulging a harmless personal preference.

 

[ratbatblue]

This thread cracks me up. Everyone gets so defensive about their decisions here. Thats why we live in America people, so we are free to make those decisions (those who dont, sorry about your luck )

I have had an iphone 3g for almost 2 years. It sits in my pocket with no screen protection on it with my keys and whatever other junk goes in there. I take reasonably good care of it but in reality its a phone and it gets tossed around and used quite a bit.

I got an Ipad about a month ago, babied it, put it in a neoprene sleeve (from my netbook) when not in use, and only used it on the couch and at my desk at work. I got a scratch. It was not a little scratch either, it was deep enough to stop my fingernail when scraping over it. I was pretty surprised. Thankfully I also had the wifi problem so I brought in in to Apple and they replaced it.

Needless to say, I now have a $3 HHI clear screen protector. If you are not a moron (thats a stretch these days) you can install a screen protector with no lint and no bubbles. Nobody can tell it is on there, except for the fact that I know its there. One of my kids is in a nose picking stage (anyone have a parenting tip for me?) and I have wiped off some pretty questionable crap from my screen after he uses it for a while, so for me a screen protector was a no brainer. If there was even one bubble or defect, I would rip it off because I totally agree that it will take away from the experience.

If you think you need one, get one. If you dont want one, dont get one. Apple's decision to pull them from their shelves should not sway your decision one bit. They don't sell condoms at the apple store either, does that mean you plan on barebacking it for the rest of your life? Apple is not the god of all decisions. They dont want them in the store, thats it. That does not mean they dont want them on your device. They probably sell more replacement iDevices due to scratched screens so it was a better business decision to stop selling protection for them. They are a business, and DO NOT care about you OR your device, no matter how hard you try to convince yourself they do. They want you $$$$, period.

+1

 

[zukernik]

Sorry to hear about that. This morning I dropped a metallic object on my screen but it doesn't have any scratches, so I guess you really got unlucky there

 

[barkomatic]

I had a scratch on the screen of my iPhone 3G. I wasn't imagining it--and it was clearly visible when playing movies, games, etc. I'm not one of those people who are careless either. I kept the phone in my pocket and did not drop it. However, one day when I was slipping it into my jeans the screen came into contact with a copper rivet in the material. Scratch!

This wasn't an unusual circumstance and I wasn't trying to scratch it to make a point. Since then I've used a Powersupport screen protector. It doesn't degrade the touch sensitivity or the screen colors and you don't know its on. The cheaper protector do look like crap I admit so you have to spend a little more to get better quality.

I think part of the issue here is what one considers a "scratch". I think many people on this forum who insist that they have raked their iPhones over a bed of rusty nails don't consider a relatively big hairline mark a scratch--there has to be a chasm of glass missing. While others define a scratch as any mark at all on a screen that doesn't wipe away.

I think in order to scratch a screen to meet the definition of some here--that screen would shatter first.

 

[Compile 'em all]

No offense but you have to be a complete and total idiot to not buy a screen protector for your iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

I can post you a video of me trying to scratch the bare screen of my iPhone with my keys, and it won't get a single scratch. I do that pretty much daily in front of my friends just to freak them out when they ask about the iPhone's screen. The glass on the iPhone isn't normal glass. It was developed by a german company and is very very scratch resistant.

May be the screen changed on the iPad, I don't know. But saying it is required to buy a screen protector to protect the screen from scratches is ridiculous.

 

[bluedog3401]

I've owned a version of the iPhone since launch without a case/screen protector on it and have never had a scratch on any of them. I simply keep in in my pants pocket by itself and make sure I put my keys in my other pocket. Pretty simple to keep it scratch free really. Oh, and I avoid taking it to the beach.

Just make sure you're not putting your iDevice into your 'stonewashed' jeans. There's usually a bit of sand left from the process in the pockets!

 

[raremage]

Unfortuantely, with that comes the inevitable flood of threads about a scratched screen and can I trick Apple into covering it under warranty if I tell them X?

I hear you. I've been using my iPad in the Apple case since release, but no screen protector. I won't make that mistake again!

As with everyone else, I take good care of it, but had left it out of the case and seated in the keyboard dock in my home office. So I was in my garage the other day and sort of tripped a little over the extension cord that my wife had left curled up on the floor. As luck would have it, the business end of the cord bounced and actually plugged itself into the wall, which activated the belt sander I had plugged in at the other end. The belt sander started bouncing around the garage, ran under the car, then burrowed it's way through the drywall, just missed the dog, clipped the leg of the desk, bounced off a bookshelf (which if I had been more proactive I'd have removed and avoided this mess, since I replaced my entire library with digital editions via iBooks) and wound up hitting the iPad. Unfortunately this also coincided with the exact length of the extension cord, so it sort of sat there, running against the iPad for several minutes while I scrambled to run into the house and assess the damage. Finally the sander, having chewed through the sanding belt, made contact with the iPad screen. Thank goodness that contact blew the circuit and the sander shut off, but it left a minute 3/4" scratch on the screen. you can't see it with the iPad on, and it's not big enough to feel, but you can be sure I'll be using a protector from now on!

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

Just make sure you're not putting your iDevice into your 'stonewashed' jeans.

Did the iPhone exist in 1987?

 

[zeferjen]

I hear you. I've been using my iPad in the Apple case since release, but no screen protector. I won't make that mistake again!

As with everyone else, I take good care of it, but had left it out of the case and seated in the keyboard dock in my home office. So I was in my garage the other day and sort of tripped a little over the extension cord that my wife had left curled up on the floor. As luck would have it, the business end of the cord bounced and actually plugged itself into the wall, which activated the belt sander I had plugged in at the other end. The belt sander started bouncing around the garage, ran under the car, then burrowed it's way through the drywall, just missed the dog, clipped the leg of the desk, bounced off a bookshelf (which if I had been more proactive I'd have removed and avoided this mess, since I replaced my entire library with digital editions via iBooks) and wound up hitting the iPad. Unfortunately this also coincided with the exact length of the extension cord, so it sort of sat there, running against the iPad for several minutes while I scrambled to run into the house and assess the damage. Finally the sander, having chewed through the sanding belt, made contact with the iPad screen. Thank goodness that contact blew the circuit and the sander shut off, but it left a minute 3/4" scratch on the screen. you can't see it with the iPad on, and it's not big enough to feel, but you can be sure I'll be using a protector from now on!

 

[malnar]

No offense but you have to be a complete and total sucker to buy a screen protector for your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

I won't say sucker, but "to each their own." I think they suck. The "Invisible Shield" kind are rubbery/grippy and feel awful, but admittedly won't scratch, and the "Power Support Crystal" kind are perfectly clear and smooth but scratch VERY easily and therefore will need replacing often. I don't see the point.

 

[blco02]

Has there ever been any report of a screen protector's 'stickiness' affecting the oleophobic coating?

This is the only thing that worries me about buying an iPad screen cover.

 

[malnar]

However, one day when I was slipping it into my jeans the screen came into contact with a copper rivet in the material. Scratch!

No, sorry. Do you know how soft copper is? It's very soft. It will not, cannot scratch glass. You got that scratch some other way (probably something in sand (bits of quartz, etc.) that you didn't even see sliding between it and another hard surface for just a brief moment and you didn't realize it until you hit the Iphone's glass against the rivet on your pants. Or, heck, I guess it could have happened on the rivet itself, as some kind of weird luck. But it was not the copper rivet.

 

[Mshilling]

Did the iPhone exist in 1987?

hahaha. excellent

 

[bluedog3401]

Did the iPhone exist in 1987?

Its 1987 all over again. Didn't you see the fashion return from the past. Of course the 'pre-distressed' clothing is made to look all worn as if its your favorite clothing. In fact, its ready to fall apart and you pay a premium for it. Someone in a developing country gets to take a sander to the a** and legs of your pants before shipping them off to you for a premium price. Enjoy!

And the look of these worn patches of clothing reminds me of someone who has put on a little too much rouge.

 

[bobob]

No, sorry. Do you know how soft copper is? It's very soft. It will not, cannot scratch glass. You got that scratch some other way (probably something in sand (bits of quartz, etc.) that you didn't even see sliding between it and another hard surface for just a brief moment and you didn't realize it until you hit the Iphone's glass against the rivet on your pants. Or, heck, I guess it could have happened on the rivet itself, as some kind of weird luck. But it was not the copper rivet.

Once again, I point to the MOHS scale of relative hardness. Glass is a 5.5 - 7 on the scale (probably more toward a 7 with the tempered glass Apple uses) while copper (CU) is only a 3. As malnar notes above, sand is surely the most common enemy of your iPad/iPhone's screen.

On the Mohs scale, a pencil "lead" (graphite) has a hardness of 1; a fingernail, 2.2-2.5; a copper penny, 3.2-3.5; a pocketknife 5.1; a knife blade, 5.5; window glass plate, 5.5; and a steel file, 6.5. A streak plate (unglazed porcelain) has a hardness of 7.0. Using these ordinary materials of known hardness can be a simple way to approximate the position of a mineral on the scale.

Hardness Substance or mineral
0.2-0.3 Cs, Rb
0.5-0.6 Li, Na, K
1 Talc, graphite
1.5 Ga, Sr, In, Sn, Ba, Tl, Pb
2 hexagonal BN [11], Ca, Se, Cd, sulfur, Te, Bi
2.5 to 3 Mg, Au, Ag, Al, Zn, La, Ce
3 Calcite, Cu, As, Sb, Th, Dentin
4 Fluorite, Fe, Ni
4 to 4.5 Pt, Steel
5 Apatite, Co, Zr, Pd, Tooth enamel
5.5 Be, Mo, Hf
6 Orthoclase, Ti, Mn, Ge, Nb, Rh, uranium
6 to 7 Glass, fused quartz, Iron pyrite, Si, Ru, Ir, Ta
7 Quartz, vanadium, Os, Re
7.5 to 8 Hardened steel, Tungsten, emerald
8 Topaz, Cubic Zirconium
8.5 Chrysoberyl, Cr
9 Corundum, Carborundum (SiC), Tungsten carbide, titanium carbide
<10 Rhenium diboride, Tantalum carbide, titanium diboride, Boron
10 Diamond
>10 Nanocrystalline diamond (hyperdiamond, ultrahard fullerite)

 

[mstout]

AFPoster, no offense? I got rid of my screen protector on my iPhone. 7 months later, not a scratch. Nothing on the iPad, not a scratch. I am not an idiot. I'm just careful. Sorry to the guy who got a scratch, but mine is perfect. And there are a lot of folks who don't use the screen protector and are just fine. And I'm pretty sure they're not idiots either. To each his own I guess.