The iPad's screen: To protect it or not?
Apple's banned protective film screens from its stores, but they're still very popular accessories for its mobile products.
- Maggie Award for Best Regularly Featured Web Column/Consumer
Before the launch of the iPad, Apple removed all the plastic and film screen protectors from its online and brick and mortar stores, even though they are among the most popular accessories for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Apple didn't seem to give any particular reason for this move, but as iLounge noted in an article, "One vendor speculated that the ban is an Apple marketing attempt to suggest screen durability, despite scratches that have damaged both plastic and glass displays of its products for years." Others have mentioned that because it's hard to adhere the film to the screens without having tiny bubbles get trapped underneath the film, people get frustrated and frequently return the protectors--or at least try to.
Though Apple's banished film screen protectors from its stores, including mirrored film and antiglare film for laptop screens, that hasn't stopped companies from making them. The big question is whether it's worth putting film over the iPad's screen. With the iPhone or iPod Touch you end up putting the device in a pocket with change or keys (inadvertently) and the screen can end up getting scratched despite how scratch-resistant it's supposed to be. However, the iPad isn't pocket-friendly, and chances are you're going to have a case for it that covers the screen when you're not using it (a lot of people have bought Apple's $39 iPad case). And it's unclear if a layer of film will help prevent your screen from cracking in the event you drop your iPad (I haven't tried the drop test)
Like with the iPhone, it's a serious challenge to get the film to adhere to an iPad screen without trapping any bubbles. Companies like Zagg, which makes a screen film that protects both the front and back of the iPad for $39.99 (or $29.99 for just the front), ships the film with a little squeegee to assist you in getting those bubbles out. It's kind of amusing that you need an accessory to install an accessory, but it does help.
What do you guys think? If you had an iPad or another slate-style device, would you bother putting protective film over its screen or would you let it go out there naked?