Pelican DS Lite screen protectors

destro713

destro713

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Incidentally, this is my first post on CAG.

My DS Lite was scratch-free, but as a precaution I ordered up some Hori protectors last week. The whole operation was a complete bust. I hadn't ever applied a screen protector before, and my greenness resulted in the bottom protector being pulverized with many dust specks before I applied it. Attempts to remove it and re-apply were disastrous since there was just more and more schmutz each time. The whole idea of cleaning the dust off with clear tape didn't occur to me, so I gave up and trashed the protectors, and I was left with a strange residue all over my touch screen that I had to buff out by spit-shining it with a microfiber cloth. (No, I didn't try to apply the wrong piece of plastic. I stressed over it and did all sorts of internet research to made sure I was doing it exactly right. Chalk it up to inconsistent manufacturing on the part of Hori I guess.)

Anyway, then I started to really get into Trauma Center and by the time I'd completed the titular 5-in-10:00 mission (which I somehow scored an A on) my screen had about 3 or 4 scratches and some other light nicks and markings. The scratches were completely invisible when anything was actually being displayed, but they were scratches, and I figured that if my screen already had a few blemishes after just a week or two it would probably get pretty nasty after a few months of play. Back to the screen protector idea.

Decided not to get another Hori because of my bad experience before (even though my own lack of skills was to blame) so I got a set of the Pelicans. I was much more careful this time, blowing the screens profusely with canned air and applying the protectors outdoors to lessen dust exposure. Managed to get the touch screen protector on with only one pocket of air I couldn't rub out, and I took care of that by half-removing it and letting it drop back into place with no force at all. That did it. Really good fit too; it's actually cut to better dimensions than the Hori, with less of a border around the edges. Later I did the top screen protector just for grins, and that one was harder. It took more finesse to position it, and I ended up reapplying it 3 times or so to get things really nice (had to dab it with packing tape to remove dust), but the end result was quite good. And no residue in any part of the process.

The bottom line is twofold: Yes, the DS lite can be scratched, even when it's being used by someone who has reasonable control over their mental and physical faculties. And no, the Hori is not the only acceptable brand of protector. In my case the Pelican was superior.
 
I haven't noticed any difference. I was able to get S ratings on a couple Trauma Center missions with the Pelican protector on, and I figure that says enough.

Honestly I'm sure both brands of protectors reduce the sensitivity by some extremely miniscule degree. The material is almost exactly the same. I'd guess that the only reason people flock to the Hori is that they're the ones Nintendo gave their seal to. I admit, that did sway me at first, and now I'm as surprised as hell that I'm actually enjoying a third party gaming product.
 
I had the same stuff from the hori...but it was not adhesive...it was fixed when i reapplied the protector properly. Its not even really a residue I don't think...it just seems like wherever it touches the screen, it makes it kind of milky/hazy looking when you take it off...still, my screens look perfect now so I got lucky after putzing up myself.

As for the pelicans, hope they work well for you. I don't understand the people who say screen protectors are useless...it just doesnt make any sense to me...
 
Yeah, the residue didn't seem like an adhesive substance. It was almost as if it left an extremely micro-thin layer of wax.

The weird thing was that before I gave up on the Hori I actually tried applying it upside down, with the side that has more "cling" to it facing out, and the same residue was also left when the front of the protector touched the DS screen. I'm thinking a Hori manufacturing plant quirk is to blame.
 
Addendum. There IS a slightly noticeable sensitivity loss with the Pelicans. In Trauma Center it didn't manifest itself at all, but in Big Brain I noticed that sometimes the stylus wasn't registering when I made small "clicks" with it. I adjusted my stylus technique from oh-shit-I-don't-want-to-get-another-scratch-on-my-screen mode to normal pen pressure mode, and the issue disappeared.

My brother has a Lite with the Horis attached and the sensitivity does seem better by some minute degree, but his filter doesn't have coverage as complete as mine so I guess you sort of have to pick which downside is more tolerable.
 
I had the exact same thing happen to me. Except everything went bad with the Pelican protectors, after trying for almost an hour to get it applied right and then I got Hori protectors and it went on perfectly first try, no problem at all.
 
I don't know if this is true for the DS lite versions, but for the old version of the protectors that came with the styli, they were terrible imo. They were easy enought to apply, but the filter created this annoying rainbow effect that was really distracting. Ironically the new styli were really great though.

Just a precaution to those with the older model.
 
Is this the one you got: http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=152027&com.broadvision.session.new=Yes&BV_SessionID=@@@@0563050597.1152296424@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccdladdiffjkjhdcfngcfkmdffhdfii.0

I'm thinking about picking up some Pelican screen protectors since my DS Lite has a couple scratches in it after less than a month (hopefully Best Buy will take it back since the touch screen doesn't look right anyway, just been waiting for them to have one in stock) and I want to put a screen protector on as soon as I get it this weekend, so I don't want to order the Hori and have to wait for it to get here. From the description it sounds like the two screen protectors included are identical. I'd prefer that, I really don't see a reason to put a protector on the top screen, I take care of my DS well enough that I don't see it getting scratched. However, with games like Bust-A-Move, Brain Age, and Lost In Blue I could see needing to replace the screen protector on the touch screen and would rather save the 2nd one as a replacement for down the line.
 
I have the same Pelican DS Lite screen protecotrs ($5 each from CC) and I love them.

Much better fit than the previous Pelican ones for the old DS.
 
Cool, I'm planning on picking the pelican protectors up. However, there's not a Circuit City around here and I'm not going anywhere this weekend like originally planned. Anyone happen to know what other stores typically carry them? I've never seen them in the Gamestop or Best Buy here.
 
[quote name='rlse9']Cool, I'm planning on picking the pelican protectors up. However, there's not a Circuit City around here and I'm not going anywhere this weekend like originally planned. Anyone happen to know what other stores typically carry them? I've never seen them in the Gamestop or Best Buy here.[/QUOTE]
If you check the back of the packaging for the GameStop branded DS Lite protectors, you'll notice that they're also manufactured by Pelican. The actual product ought to be completely identical.
 
Best Buy carries the Pelican "Write & Protect Pack" (or something like that) which has the protectors plus 2 styli and costs $8.
 
Yeah, I ended up picking up the write and protect pack since Best Buy was out of just the screen protector. Our Gamestop didn't have any screen protectors in stock. Not sure what I'm going to need 4 styli for, but oh well.

In case anyone cares, I checked Shopko and Toys R Us and they both carry the Intec screen protectors and Wal-Mart was lame and didn't have any screen protectors for the DS.
 
[quote name='zebbers']So in everyone's opinion, screen protectors are a must for a ds lite?[/quote]

No.

It depends on what kind of person you are. If you're an impatient SOB, then it may make sense to just forget about it, because I've read enough stories about people trying to get them on just right. You need time, patience, and finesse in most cases.

I'm a pretty anal person, and one who loves to keep his stuff in great shape, but I've decided to not bother with screen protectors. I've found them a bit of a nuisence to apply to my PDA (they always got some dirt under them and air bubbles), so I haven't bothered to try on my Lite. I've found that if I use a soft cloth to carefully brush away any dirt before a heavy stylus session, that I avoid scratches. I so far have none.

If I get a scratch (which I no doubt will sometime down the road), well, oh well. I figure it's meant to be used. If it ever gets so bad as to be unusable (which I doubt considering the fact that I do take care to ensure any large particles aren't on the screen), by that time I'll be ready to buy a new one.

I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with people who have bought them - I'm just saying that if you take good care of the screen, you won't need them.

-HM
 
I think it depends on what games you play. Bust A Move had put a pretty bad scratch in my DS Lite within a month (which luckily needed to be exchanged anyway) largely because of the fact that you're repeatedly touching the same spot on the screen over and over (and I was a little lazy about cleaning the screen which I'm sure didn't help). I'd much rather pay a little money and take the time to put a screen protector on and not have to worry about putting a scratch in it. And while I'm usually pretty careful about it, I let a few of my friends play my DS and I'm not sure that they're as cautious as I am.

Really, it's like sex. You can not use protection and you might be fine, but something bad could happen...
 
rise9,

You pretty much just stated what your issues were. You said you were lazy about cleaning it and you let your friends play it. If this is going to be the case for a person, and scratches are going to bother you, then try protectors.

But it's all about cleaning the screen. The scratches come from a piece of dirt particle getting stuck on the stylus and then getting dragged across the screen. If there's no dirt particles on the screen, and you don't press hard, you won't get scratches.

-HM
 
I must second Destro's positive experience with the Pelican DS Lite screen protector: It's really nice.

I got the Pelican pack that included upper and lower screen protectors, a soft cloth and two DS Lite styluses for $7.99 at Wal-Mart. The instructions were clear about which protector was for upper and lower screens and which part of the plastic was the backing to be removed, the cloth worked well, and a small cardboard card to smooth the air bubbles out of the screen protectors also was included. A very nice touch, as I was leery that a credit card would scratch the screen protector.

It took me many tries to get it perfect due to dust, but once I moved outside, with compressed air and magic tape in hand to remove dust and lint, the application worked fine.

The Pelican protectors are pretty easy and safe to remove for relalignment by anal folks like me when you use the included cardboard card to lift the corners. I removed mine numerous times until I was happy, with no residue.

I also found no loss of screen sensitivity with the DS Lite after the protectors were applied, either.

I know the church of Hori worship always is open here, and that's cool. But if the Hori really is better than the Pelican, than it must be an amazing product, because I'm pleased as punch with the Pelican screen protectors, which are available at any Wal-Mart, EB, etc.

In contrast, I first bought the other Nintendo-licensed screen protector -- not the Hori; B&A is the brand? -- and it was total crap. I bought the combo with two screen protectors and the two pen-like styluses. It was the same price as the Pelican pack, but it didn't have the soft cloth or the little cardboard air-bubble remover card.

The B&A screen protectors were crap. Very stiff and seemingly easy to scratch. There were no instructions whatsoever, and it was damn near impossible to figure out which part of the backing to remove, and there was glue-like residue on all four corners of the protector once the backing was removed.

I learned a lesson: Sometimes Nintendo will give its license to the highest bidder, regardless of the quality of the item. That may not be the case with the Hori, but it certainly was the case with the B&A.

The Pelican screen protectors are a FAR superior product to the Nintendo-licensed B&A protectors.

Take care,
PK
 
After several months of having the Pelican screen protector on my DS, I'm pleased with it. I was a little concerned when one corner didn't quite go down all the way when I put it on because I was worried it would get worse. But it's been fine and I don't even notice it when I'm playing. I've used the touch screen quite a bit and there are only a few minor scratches on the screen protector. Haven't noticed any change in sensitivity of the touch screen, half the time I forget there's even a protector on the screen. Overall I give this product a thumbs up.
 
I also had issues with the Hori ones so I bought the cheapest ones I could find and that was Intec. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised very easy to put on and the touch screen if anything is just a tad less sensitive but nothing that has effected any kind of game play.
 
Quick follow-up on my Pelican screen protector experience, which sadly has gone downhill.

These protectors scratch at practically a whisper. My lower protector is filled with scratches after just two weeks, and I have a very light touch with the stylus and try to keep the screen clean. It's obvious that these screens are very cheap plastic.

And I also discovered that the top protector leaves a gummy residue around the edge of the top touch screen. Not good.

I just ordered a set of Hori protectors from DecalGirl.

These Pelicans do the job of protecting the screen, but with too many downfalls to be satisfactory.

Take care,
PK
 
I got a set of these and the install went relatively smooth. I had to remove the top one a couple times for various reasons and bent the corner a bit when trying to pry it up. Now that corner doesn't stay down all the way, but it's just in the corner and I'm not going to worry about it.
 
I got the Pelican for my DS Lite and they are working fine. My girlfriend plays Nintendogs on the DS Lite for hours at a time and about half the time it's just petting the dogs, which, as you may know, is just rubbing the stylus on the screen. So the screen gets a lot of action (she really likes petting her puppies...).

On BF I got a DS phatty for $99. I love it but I'm confused about screen protectors for it. Everywhere I look the screen protectors say they are for the DS Lite. I stared at the screens in a side-by-side comparison and I can't tell. Is there a difference in screen size? It looks like the top screen on the phatty displays smaller but the screen area is the same.

So, will the DS Lite protectors work on the original DS? Any experience out there?

Thanks.
 
[quote name='pk500']
I know the church of Hori worship always is open here, and that's cool. But if the Hori really is better than the Pelican, than it must be an amazing product, because I'm pleased as punch with the Pelican screen protectors, which are available at any Wal-Mart, EB, etc.

[/quote]
mind your words blasphemous heretic
 
Two quick questions regarding screen protectors
1. How hard are screen protectors to apply? Can someone give me a step-by-step? I'm terrified I'll just fuck it up something awful.
2. Where can I purchase HORI protectors B&M?
 
The screens for the DS and DS Lite are the same size but the border around them is slightly different. I think the border around the DS Lite is smaller, so I'd think technically the protectors for the Lite would fit the DS, there'd just be a little bit bigger gap around the edges. But I'm not positive on that.

They're really not that hard to apply. I had no problem putting mine on and I was worried I'd screw it up. Just have to make sure the screen is really clean and put it on carefully from one side to the other without leaving any air bubbles. It's really pretty easy as long as you're careful with what you're doing.
 
[quote name='SDC']Two quick questions regarding screen protectors
1. How hard are screen protectors to apply? Can someone give me a step-by-step? I'm terrified I'll just fuck it up something awful.
2. Where can I purchase HORI protectors B&M?[/QUOTE]

Piece of cake on my DSL. I just made sure my touch screen was clean and lint free. Peeled back the protetive film enough so that about a 1/2 inch from the edge was exposed. Set that edge on the screen (bending the other edge into a C shape). Then slowly pull the protective film off while holding the loose edge up very loosely until you get to the end then drop that last half inch or so edge and you're done. Hopefully you won't have bubbles or they're only at the edges. I only had a couple bubbles near the edges so they were easily squeezed out.

I picked up my Hori at Fry's B&M. $8 IIRC. Dunno if you have Fry's in your area and I haven't heard of any other B&M having it except for some spotty sightings and GS and EBGs. Neither of the GS/EBG in my area had them. Only the Pelicans which are pretty much everywhere.
 
[quote name='gaelan']mind your words blasphemous heretic[/QUOTE]

See my update. I'm not crazy about the Pelicans anymore and bought a set of Hori protectors.

Take care,
PK
 
[quote name='SDC']Two quick questions regarding screen protectors
1. How hard are screen protectors to apply? Can someone give me a step-by-step? I'm terrified I'll just fuck it up something awful.
2. Where can I purchase HORI protectors B&M?[/QUOTE]

Highly recommend installing them outdoors if it's not too cold, wet and/or windy. There's a hell of a lot less dust flying around outdoors than indoors, at least that's the case here in upstate N.Y.

It was damn near impossible for me to install my protectors without dust indoors, but I got it on my second try while installing it outdoors on my front step.

Take care,
PK
 
Here is the method that worked best for me.

step 1. Go into the bathroom, shut the door and turn the shower on hot for a few minutes. The steam will settle most of the dust in the room.

step 2. While the shower’s running, get some scotch tape (the normal ½ inch size that everyone has around their house) and a microfiber cloth or any cloth that’s good at removing lint without being too fuzzy.

step 3. Now go into the bathroom armed with your DS/DS Lite, screen protector, tape and cloth. Turn off the shower.

Step 4. Choose one screen to work on. Take your cloth, wipe up any big pieces of dust, then take the tape and wrap it around your finger with the sticky part on the outside. Pick up any dust bits that the cloth has missed. Remember, any dust you miss will cause bubbles to form under the screen protector so do your best to get everything. Once you're done, quickly close your DS to stop the dust from settling on again and put your tape ring aside but don't toss it out.

step 5. Now take out your appropriate screen protector, remove the backing and get ready to apply it. Open your DS and take one last look at the screen and zap any little dust bits that might have snuck back on with the tape ring.

Step 6. Now apply your screen protector as per the package instructions and smooth out any little air bubbles that might have formed by sliding a credit card across the screen. Always scrape from the center of the screen out towards the ends.

Step 7. Now you're ready to do the same procedure for the other screen. You might want to turn the shower on again if the steam has dissipated.

tip: Before you start, take out your screen protectors (leave the backing on them) and hold them up to their appropriate screens so you can see exactly where to center the screen protectors so they leave as little gap all around them as possible.

It took me a couple of screen protectors before I perfected my technique but I now have a DS Lite with screen protectors and absolutely no air bubbles.
Good luck
 
How relevant that this thread was just bumped up...I purchased a pair of Pelican DS Lite protectors about an hour ago and I'll apply to them to my new DS Lite Onyx probably around Christmas. Good to see the majority of CAGers are pleased with them.
 
I still approve of them after almost 6 months. I was playing EBA last night and between songs I was trying to see if I could see any of the scratches on the screen protector (there are some minor ones I can see when the system isn't on) but I couldn't see any of them. So even after a decent amount of abuse from EBA (and Lost In Blue and Brain Age to a lesser extent) the screen protector is holding up well.
 
I imported HORI DS Lite screen protectors from Play-Asia for my sister's birthday. I just installed them, and I have to say, I am VERY impressed. You can not even tell that there is a protector on the screen.

HORI is the way to go.
 
I just got some Hori ones, but all the instructions are in Japanese...
Is there any where I can get them in English? (not even sure which protector is for which screen)
Cheers.
 
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