Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Beaverton, OR USA
Posts: 87

Has anyone had any problems with screen scratches and the stylus from the 5-pack? I would like to not have to use screen protection when mine arrive. Can I do this without scratching?

------------------
Mark N.

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: venice, ca. USA
Posts: 32

The styli look plenty smooth, but you have no control over whether their tips will catch a piece of dust and drag it across the screen, thus causing the most common type of scratch.

Look under "accessories" for a great set of threads on alternatives to the absurdly costly WriteRight, which seems to have no worthy competitors on the market.

f


------------------
factoid
venice, ca
http://www.well.com/~factoid/

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Kutztown, PA, USA
Posts: 106

I have the 5 pack and the first mm of the tip is smooth but then it goes to a rough texture. and if you write on the screen at an angle it scratches it

------------------
Greg Moore
[email protected]

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 7

I received the deluxe stylii with my BVD so I have never even used the stock stylus. On top of that, I smoothed out the stylus using my wife's emory board. Even after all this I still got a couple of nasty scratches after a few weeks. The only explanation I can find is that there must be occasional dust/dirt that gets between the stylus and the screen. I finally broke down and ordered some Writerights from buy.com. Compare this to my wife's IIIe which she has been using for 8 wks with not a single scratch and no screen protection. USE PROTECTION!!!

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: TX
Posts: 29

I never used the stock stylus either. I received my 5 pack of styli with my visor. Luckily, I put WriteRights on before using it , because even with the better stylus I have scratched the screen a bit. Well, hopefully, I have just scratched the WriteRights. I HIGHLY recommend putting some sort of protection over your screen before using it at all.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Beaverton, OR USA
Posts: 87

I am awaiting the 5-pack for two reasons:

1. I would like a heavier, more solid-feeling stylus.
2. I understood that the stylus tips in the 5-pack were more screen-friendly, and would not be as likely to cause scratches.

I have been using a piece of clear tape over the graffiti area since I began reading of the scratching problems in November. And I like the feel of the tape over the "grabby" feel of the stylus on the screen. I used to own a Palm III, and never even had to think about scratching the screen. When I had a Franklin planner, I didn't have to be concerned about the kind of ink my pen had, or how clean the paper was. Granted, the Visor is a piece of electronic equipment, and proper care should be taken, but having to always think about whether the screen has a minute piece of dust on it, or needing to purchase and change a writeright every month seems like more work than should be necessary. Often when you purchase a piece of equipment with a screen, there will be a piece of plastic over the screen for protection while shipping. What a neat idea ... for shipping. Sure, you could leave the plastic on, but that kinda detracts from the look and feel of the product. Some people leave lamp-shade plastic on their lamps, and plastic bags on their new car seats. I take good care of things I purchase, but I also view them as tools to be used, not investments to be protected. And in not providing extreme protection, I would expect that they would handle normal use with no problem.

Don't get me wrong -- I love my Visor, but the less I need to be concerned about when using it, the happier I'm going to be.

Trade-offs are sometimes necessary. So, can I have my cake and eat it: is anyone using a Visor without screen protection, and with a custom stylus, that is not having screen scratching problems?


------------------
Mark N.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 9

I've had my Visor since November. Used the stock stylus until last week when I got the PDA Panache custom stylus.

I had some minor scratching with the stock stylus, but nothing I considered horrendous. The PDA Panache is pretty sweet. Not much chance it'll scratch. I also like the nice weight it adds - definitely makes writing Graffiti more successful.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Durham, NC
Posts: 78

I just got a 5-pack as a gift from HandSpring for having their stock stylus scratch up my screen. All 5 have a very rough texture and 3 of them have 2 nubs each (along the mold seam) that are clearly visible. They easily scratch the screen. I mean these suckers are like .1 or .2 mm high. You can SEE them. Kinda looks like they were snapped off one of those plastic trees you get when you put together a plastic model. Unbelievable. I don't know if this is representative... but the 5 I got are trash.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 4

I had the same problem with my 5 pack that Robert described- two of them had sharp nubs just behind the tip. See my post in General Visor at: http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...TML/001119.html

I scanned the tip of the orange stylus and sent the picture to the screen scratch email address early this week. Nothing more than the auto repsonse from them.

To be honest, your best bet for a spare or new stylus is the PDA Panache one. I have it- its great. Much heavier that the Handspring replacements, and a great tip. Yes, it sticks out a little, but with my Visor in the bi-fold case, this actually helps to remove it.

Clark