Google G1 Update - Protecting the Screen

Well it didn't take long. On a conference call a couple weeks ago, trying to juggle the phone, the laptop, and grabbing a cup of coffee, the phone slipped out of my hand and hit the hardwood floor. I ended up with a crack in the screen, but it hasn't affected the phone operation. It looks bad, but it's not raised (you can't feel it), and the touch screen seems to work fine.

However, the screen protector wasn't doing a great job, getting fogged, picking up scratches, and more. At times it was hard to read the screen and things blurred or were somewhat illegible from the screen protector. I've had devices with no protection and that doesn't work well.

When I bought the G1, I grabbed a case and a screen protector from eBay, at the same time as I bought the phone. I applied the protector right away, accidentally bending it, but with some plastic covers, that was easily covered and it wasn't an issue.

It's been about 3 months, and that screen protector has gotten quite scratched. I was going to just buy another one, but then I noticed something. The screen protector on my iTouch, from Zagg, has held up well. The kids are constantly using that thing in the car, but the screen is still highly visible and looks unscratched, unlike the Google screen.

Over the week I was debating about what to do, Zagg sent me a mailing. They must realize that they're not in the high volume business, selling screen protectors and earbuds. You're not likely to buy something every week, or even every month, so sending a mailing too often just gets annoying. Once a quarter, however, isn't too bad, and in this case there was a 30% off coupon.

I checked, and sure enough they had a G1 screen protector (and a larger back, side protector) and ordered one. With the 30% off, I added a Zune cover for my son and I was still ahead on terms of cost.

The screen protector lists for $14.95, which is similar for the iPhone and other devices. It's an investment I highly recommend for your devices. In fact, I'm going to order one for my daughter's Nintendo DS as well.