The Monte Carlo screen and condition of the phone

[Guest Navie]

Just to share a few things with Monte Carlo/Skate owners in regards to looking after your device :)

I bought my phone last Friday...brand new, I was excited about getting this phone as soon I set my eyes on it on the Orange website, which was on the same day I went out and bought it. The 4.3" screen along with the price and specs is what made this phone a bargain buy, upon opening the newly bought phone box, the phone seemed extremely appealing, the design is what gave it that 'feel good' factor on top of the specs. From the first moment you touch it...its evident that the glossy finish doesn't help in making the phone look clean, not to worry...I have a few tips that can make your phone stay newer for longer and its possible to keep your screen scratch free! :)

However...I am doing a few things that I suspect will make the phone look as 'brand new' for longer and already I have tested, purely because...when I bought my phone, I thought i'm going to look after it and not drop it like a hundred times like I did with my San Francisco and who wants a phone where there is numerous amounts of scratches on their screen?...this does make it hard to view the screen when the sun is out!

Anyway...the way I store my phone is in my pocket with nothing else in that pocket, I know car keys and any objects that can rub against the phone screen will leave scratch marks on the screen, as long as you handle your phone with your handsin a good way you can also avoid scratch marks, I don't advise using the tips of your finger unless you have very short nails as nails may leave scratch marks. Apart from the scratch marks, fingerprints/marks and dust are easily left on the screen, this isn't a big issue because you can always use a soft damp kitchen towel to clean the screen and I have found having a clean set of hands goes a long way.

When you leave your phone in your pocket, its a good idea to put it in your jacket/top pocket, most jackets have an inner pocket made of a silky material, this isn't rough so is the better option. Its easy to apply pressure on the side of your leg (where the pocket is) so a jacket/top is another good idea to keep your phone away from your jean pockets etc. It would seem that a jogger pocket is more better than your jeans.

Moving onto the glossy cover, finger prints and dust are more noticable on the back cover than anywhere else, again...the cover can get scratched so its advised not to store your phone where sharp objects may scratch its surface, you can clean the glossy cover using a damp kitchen towel, however...I have noticed that the glossy cover is much harder to get to the as 'brand new' state when cleaning, not because of damage but there are always streaks left behind.

I have managed to clean the screen to a perfect as 'brand new' condition, however...haven't managed to clean the back cover to this state as it may take longer (maybe 10 minutes), then again...do you want to clean it for that long when you know that as soon as you handle the phone...it will get dirty again.

Now...removing the back cover of the phone happens alot depending on how you use your phone and what you are doing with your phone, examples that comes to mind is resetting the phone by taking out the battery, that requires removing the cover. I think the best way to remove the cover from my experience is not to open up the lower half of the phone and then get under it and pull of the top half...that's wrong! This will distort that plastic and even though plastic has a good elastic limit, it will eventually fatigue and cause the plastic to deform. They way I remove the cover is to trace my nail around the lip of the cover so it can just pop off.

Anyway...I will update this to let everyone know my progress :)

Edited September 8, 2011 by Navie