Glass or Plastic?

Dik F. Liu · 03-09-05, 11:16 AM

Does anyone know if the X50v's screen is made of glass or plastic? In other words: if I drop it, will it break?

Dik

Howard2k · 03-09-05, 11:17 AM

Both glass and plastic can break. I'd suggest not dropping it. I believe the screen actually has both a glass and a plastic layer. Either way - they can break.

FortyCaliber · 03-09-05, 12:45 PM

The actual display itself is a thin layer of glass. It CAN and WILL break. I threw out an old cassiopiea years ago becaus of a screen breakage. This was before after market screen replacements.
The top layer is plastic and it *floats* on top of the the touch LCD layer that registers the pressure points to be assigned to a location on the grid of the screen. I've never seen the plastic layewr removed, so I think the whole unit is one piece.

FallN · 03-09-05, 03:31 PM

The last time I checked they asked me "Paper or Plastic" at the checkout counter...

;) ;)

FallN · 03-09-05, 03:37 PM

Ok, seriously, to answer the question: The screen is made of both Plasitc & Glass.

There are three main layers invloved. There is a glass base with a thin layer of "goo" and, on top of that, a thin outer layer of plastic to keep the "goo" in. When you press down on the thin layer of outer plastic, it displaces the goo directly under the sytlus which registers on the glass layer and tells the PPC where you are pressing.

So YES, you can break the screen. You can puncture the outer plastic layer which would mean the "goo" would leak and ooze. You could crack the glass layer or you could completely destory both the glass and plastic layers. Any of those cases aren't good. Protect your screen at all costs. It's the most expensive part of the PPC and pricey to replace.

RChickenMan · 03-09-05, 11:28 PM

The screen is VERY breakable. In fact, if you really think about it, the pocket pc is a small, expensive, portable, fragile device. What a horrible combination, glad dell offers the complete care thing.

tmn72 · 03-10-05, 12:02 AM

I only know of one handheld that had a plastic screen. The Palm m130. I never did own one, but I heard that the plastic made the unit's screen more durable, but that the screen was also not as nice as others. Anyone else know if that is why companies use glass instead of plastic?

tmn72

Dik F. Liu · 03-10-05, 07:23 PM

Thanks, everyone, for your replies. TMN72, I as you wonder why companies use glass instead of plastic. It seems that if the screen is made of just plastic, we can simple protect the screen with a screen protector. This means we wouldn't need the additional case and therefore the extra bulk.

I have broken the screens of PDAs, and know how fragile they are. However, recently I saw a student with a T-Moble PDA. She told me that she dropped it a few times, and that it knocked the antenna off. I asked her why the screen didn't break. She told me that's because the screen is made of plastic.

Dik

FortyCaliber · 03-11-05, 12:38 PM

That's easy...

Glass has better optical qualities than plastic; transmits light better and glass is rigid, which means the LCD display can't flex or warp under more extreme conditions.
If you hold a plastic fork over a grill long enough it begins to deform and you can't ever change it back.
Which would you rather have; plastic windows in your house or glass windows? How about your car? I'd rather have glass... because I can see better through it.

03-11-05, 01:02 PM

Originally Posted by FortyCaliber

That's easy...

Glass has better optical qualities than plastic; transmits light better and glass is rigid, which means the LCD display can't flex or warp under more extreme conditions.
If you hold a plastic fork over a grill long enough it begins to deform and you can't ever change it back.
Which would you rather have; plastic windows in your house or glass windows? How about your car? I'd rather have glass... because I can see better through it.

Not sure where you got your info, but it is not correct. :headshake

Plastic allows more light through, can be made more rigid than glass, and can be made to handle higher temperature extremes than glass. Even the fuel tanks on the SR71 Blackbird have a plastic lining in order to withstand the extreme temperatures of its high speed flight.

Acrylic fish tanks are much preffered over glass since they allow more light through and offer better viewing of the true color of the fish, as well as having less distortion.

I would much rather have a plastic window on my car and house as it is a better insulator. You may not reaize it, but most front winshields on cars after '95 have a very thin layer of plastic on them.

The down sides to plastic are they color over time (even though the time it takes to notice is around ten years) and scratch more easily.

Dik F. Liu · 03-11-05, 01:28 PM

>That's easy...

Glass has better optical qualities than plastic; transmits light better and glass is rigid,<

Hmmm... Eyeglasses are often made from scratched-proof plastic.

Dik

BigBit · 03-11-05, 06:09 PM

Calling it "plastic" is like calling something "food". There's a big difference between a McDonald's cheeseburger and filet mignon, just as there is a big difference between the polyethylene used to make trash bags and the Polyvinyl Butyral material used to make the safety liner of car windshields and commercial buildings. SOME plastics offer superior optical properties to glass, most don't. There are thousands of types and grades of plastic materials, each with specific cost / performance criteria. Most of those used in electronics are used to take advantage of those specific attributes: cost; dielectric; optical, etc. I wouldn't lump "Plastic" (or "GLASS" for that matter) into one group as there are significant differences within the group!

FortyCaliber · 03-11-05, 07:02 PM

Here, here, BigBit...
Perhaps I was misunderstood...
Glass has a much better optical quality than plastic (assuming of appropriate grade) remember the world's best telescope mirrors are made from... GLASS!
Glasses, yes are usually a polycarbonate plastic... but not for optical reasons, it's for comfort reasons. Glass would add about 3-4 times the weight to offer the same refractions.
Remember, Dell (or HP, Toshiba, etc.) are companies... and companies are out to take care of one thing... THE BOTTOM LINE. Financially, I'm sure glass was the best bet.
Yes, I know that plastic is sandwiched between glass in windshields... it's not for optics or rigidity... it's for safety, so that the glass doesn;t become a knife when you crash.
My point is, for this application, Glass is the best material for it's cost to produce and implement and its mainstream acceptance for this type of product.
As far as the money goes...
Dell has a glass producing machine and a glass cutting machine. All the workers know how these two machines work and how to work them. If Dell decided on a poly-carbonate producing machine and poly-carb cutting machine then they would have to buy both machines, buy the new material to produce the product and train it's employess in how to use the new machines, or hire new employess altoghter. BUT WHY. Dell thinks "we've been using glass, glass works, and there is no reason to change it if the alternative isn't cheaper.