If you’ve been reading this site for a while, you know how I feel about screen protectors. If you want to keep your handheld screen pristine and scratch free, you need a screen protector. They’re an inexpensive way to protect your $$$ handheld investment, but they are something of a necessary evil, and you need the patience of a saint to install them! My experience with the Crystal Touch screen protector from ARM Station was slightly different though– they add an extra layer to the top of the protector so that you won’t get it all smudged and covered with fingerprints while you’re trying to install it. That’s a nice touch, since it took several tries to get it installed correctly. I think that’s more the fault of my clumsy fingers than the protector. This particular one is fairly “stiff” so it was just a matter of peeling off the backing and getting it started in just the right spot on one edge of my Tapwave Zodiac screen. Once you do that, it’s a relatively simple matter to slowly press it down onto the screen, adjusting as necessary to prevent air bubbles from getting trapped underneath the protector.
Of course the main question with any protector is not protection, since they’re all pretty much equal in that regard, but screen clarity. The Crystal Touch Screen Protector is just that– crystal clear. I was truly amazed at the improvement over the Brando screen protector. Once it was installed, I was hard pressed to believe that I was actually looking at my Tapwave Zodiac screen through a piece of plastic. The only problem with that though is glare. I work in an office environment with florescent lighting, and that means that my Zodiac is almost unreadable when it’s lying on my desk. That wouldn’t be such a problem if I had sprung for the desktop cradle when I bought the device, but I am something of a cheapskate, after all! It’s also slightly disconcerting to see myself in the device screen when I pick it up to use it, since I have a dark background on ZLauncher. If I look closely, I can also see it in my other applications, most of which use a white background.
The feel of the stylus on the protector is also very good. It’s just like I’m writing on the glass screen itself instead of on a piece of plastic. My old Brando protector had developed some wear after being used heavily for six months, especially since I no longer have an accessory keyboard. I think that was mainly due to the texture of the protector, which does a fabulous job of also reducing glare, unlike the Crystal Touch. I’m having so much fun writing effortlessly with the stylus though that it’s hard not to love this protector.
One important thing to note: if you do want an anti-glare screen protector, you might want to try the ARM Station Securer Edition Screen Protector. I personally like the Crystal Touch, even with the slight difficulties involved– a little glare is easier to deal with, considering how smooth and clear the protector is. It would be an especially good choice for those who don’t work in offices or have to deal with florescent lighting, since the screen looks almost as good as a bare screen, but is of course well protected. My games on the Zodiac have certainly never looked better. The Crystal Touch Screen Protector from ARM Station is available for $16.50 for a variety of devices, including the Tapwave Zodiac, Dell Axim X3, Toshiba e800, ETEN P300, and Sony Clie TH55. For more information or online purchase, please visit the ARM Station web site.
PocketGoddess Rating for ARM Station Crystal Touch Screen Protector: 
