Basic tips for mobile care

Every second person on the planet and sometimes I think a little more than that number, is a mobile phone user. Handsets themselves are designed in all possible shapes and sizes and directed at various demographics. It’s because of this insane, virtually unlimited variety that we tend to take a handset’s maintenance for granted. Looking after the handset is usually not something that we would pay too much of attention to. Let’s face it, it’s not high on our list of to-dos. But, mobile maintenance is very important for the longevity of the device. It’s the little things like dust and sedimentation that can be quite harmful to the handset in the long run. Of course, these tips are not for the hardcore mobile users, although, I do know a few who have been using handsets since day one and have no idea how to take care of them.

So without getting too technical, here are a few simple everyday methods and tips to help you keep your mobile in shape.

Wiping the Display
Nearly all of us, myself included, on rare occasions, will use any surface fabric that’s available to clean a handset’s display - T-Shirt, table cloth, hanky et al. This is never a good idea, EVER! It tends to leave small scratches and streaks on the screen. This is something that you have to pay special attention to especially if your phone doesn’t have a scratch resistant display. The last thing you want to do is leave marks over that screen. I know how annoying fingerprints are, but trust me, there’s a right way and a wrong way to get rid of them.

Various ways to keep clean

‘Microfiber’ cloths are very easily available for this purpose. Companies like Scotch-Brite and Staples carry the same and price-wise shouldn’t cost you more than Rs.100. Try not to press the LCD too hard as one of the main reasons displays go on the fritz is because of too much pressure. Microfiber cloths are also great for cleaning Laptop and Desktop displays, as well as your CDs and DVDs. Liquid cleaners are also available, but use it sparsely.

Screen Protection
This is not something that’s specific to just touchscreen handsets, but to all mobile phones. Having a Screen Guard ensures that the display is protected from dust, as well as scratches. There are a few different kinds of protectors. For touchscreen handsets, we'd recommend using a thinner quality as the thicker the protector the less receptive the display becomes to touch. All handsets already have a plastic sheet covering the display, but we've noticed that it somehow manages to peel off too quickly.

Be careful of fingerprints

You can easily buy one off the street for as little as Rs.5 to Rs.10. There are more expensive options available that range anywhere between Rs.60 to Rs.100. ScratchGuard is a very popular screen protector brand and is available for almost all phones. The advantage of this is, it’s re-usable, which means if down the road, dust and grime manage to get in, simply peel it off, wash it and apply it. You can put the protector on your self, though we’d recommend letting the guy behind the counter do the dirty work. In case you don’t have that option, then here’s what you need to do.

• Wipe the display carefully with a Microfiber cloth. Make sure it’s devoid of smudges or dust particles

• What you’ll need to do first, if you’ve bought one of the street brands, is cut the sheet down to size. It doesn’t have to be the exact size of your screen as most screens these days are not usually sunk in.

• Carefully peel off the plastic from the back portion. DO NOT touch the adhesive part or that’s the end of this procedure and you’ll ache to get yourself a new one, unless you’re ok with having an almost permanent fingerprint mark on your screen.

• Gently place the top portion over the top of the screen and slowly lay it down over the entire display while pressing it down using a flat surface. This is to make sure that you don’t end up with air bubbles. If there are any, slowly peel up the layer and lay it down again a little more carefully this time, or gently push away the bubbles towards the edges using the flat object you’re using.

Remove any air bubbles that may have formed

It’s extremely important to make sure that the edges are absolutely flat, especially the four corners.