Screen Protector

[dan_h]

I received my Prime from HP Direct on Feb. 1, and am going through the User Guide that I downloaded. I want to make sure I don't mess up the screen. Is there any recommended way to clean it, or any screen protector that will work?

[Oseaco]

Soft lint free cloth to clean it, those ones used for spectacles are particularly suitable. As for a screen protector, you can pick up old Apple 3G etc screen protectors from just about anywhere for next to nothing. Cut them down to size to suit the HP's smaller screen. Those screen protectors often come with a suitable cloth to clean the screen as a bonus.

[NewMC]

I used HTC One anti-glare, anti-fingerprint from Amazon. 3-pack for $5.95 or so with free shipping, turn it sideways and it covers the screen nicely, cut width to fit.

[cdodds]

I like the anti-glare screen protectors from Radio Shack.

[JDW]

Is the outer screen of the Prime plastic or glass?

And does anyone have practical experience with screen protectors like these?

Anti-Glare film:
https://www.amazon.com/Guerrilla-Militar...00JALV3II/

Glass:
https://www.amazon.com/Tempered-Protecto...06ZYWHVY3/

Glossy Film:
https://www.amazon.com/FitSand-Definitio...015ZXTSQI/

[Joe Horn]

(07-08-2018 01:27 PM)JDW Wrote:  Is the outer screen of the Prime plastic or glass?

Glass, like good smart phones. Early reports of the glass being easily scratched turned out to be false. Buffing the glass clean with a microfiber cloth removed the "scratches" which were not in the glass itself but were merely in the thin layer of oils which the users' fingers had deposited there.

(07-08-2018 01:27 PM)JDW Wrote:  And does anyone have practical experience with screen protectors like these? ...

Not I. Unless you use Prime while wearing diamond-studded gloves, or throw it around without the cover on, it won't get scratched. I've been using Prime daily since Day One, and have yet to see a scratch.

Disclaimer: The above was my opinion when I wrote it, but might not be my opinion by time you read it.

[JDW]

Thank you for the clear and helpful information, Joe. Are we talking Gorilla glass here, or just basic glass?

I'm mulling the purchase of a Prime because I have a daughter in high school. She lacks Michael Jackson's diamond studded gloves, but she did warn me last night saying, "I will drop the calculator at school. It's it durable? I drop the calculator I have now all the time because my desk is so small at school."

Calculators with plastic screens won't break when dropped at such heights, although they would scratch easily. Glass is an altogether different matter though. Adding a screen protector may not be necessary on the Prime, but it might enhance durability against shock. That's only my theory though.

Thoughts?

[Joe Horn]

(07-09-2018 12:16 AM)JDW Wrote:  Are we talking Gorilla glass here, or just basic glass?

Tim Wessman wrote that it's "Hardened soda-lime glass".

(07-09-2018 12:16 AM)JDW Wrote:  I'm mulling the purchase of a Prime because I have a daughter in high school. She lacks Michael Jackson's diamond studded gloves, but she did warn me last night saying, "I will drop the calculator at school. It's it durable? I drop the calculator I have now all the time because my desk is so small at school."

Calculators with plastic screens won't break when dropped at such heights, although they would scratch easily. Glass is an altogether different matter though. Adding a screen protector may not be necessary on the Prime, but it might enhance durability against shock. That's only my theory though.

Thoughts?

I've dropped Primes only twice, from desktop height to a stone floor, and both times the only result was a tiny dent in the metal corner of the calculator. What would happen if it landed face-down on a very hard object? Don't know, but my guess is that it would shatter the display. I highly doubt that a thin film of plastic over the display would prevent it from breaking. "Screen protectors" are intended to prevent scratches, not to prevent damage from ballistic impacts.

Suggestion: Have her pay for it, using money she has earned over time and carefully saved. That will probably render her Prime unbreakable, and if not, it will definitely render her second Prime unbreakable.

[JDW]

Thank you, Joe!

[Tim Wessman]

So far I've only heard of 3 people that ever contacted support regarding broken screens. It has been far less than we ever anticipated. Broken screens was one item we were quite concerned about before product launch. Now if that is actually due to people just not calling support because they are used to phone screens breaking...

In terms of scratches, the worst one I ever saw had a single large scratch across the screen that was quite visible. The calculator was basically destroyed after 3 years (it was part of a classroom set and looked like a badger had gnawed on it). Despite that, the screen was in remarkably good condition and not broken - just looked like someone took a switchblade across it. Why were they returning it to get a new one? Not for the scratch or because it was non-functional ... "someone" had used a screwdriver to pry one of the keys to break it off.


My personal units get dropped, tossed, have things piled on them, etc and basically after all that I've yet to scratch one in a noticeable way.

In all, I've been remarkable impressed and surprised with how little breakage or physical problems there have been. Anyway, anecdotal evidence.