I’ve seen many pictures where the lens glass has been scratched due to tiny particles trapped underneath the cover. My lens also has been scratched but only on the side of the lens. Nothing in the middle that would cause the quality of the picture to degrade. My pictures are still clear with flash on.

To protect the lens from more scratches, I cut a small piece film from a screen protector that I had left for my camera. I made sure that it was long enough to slide right under the cover (see picture) and that it was thin enough for the cover to slide over. This kept the cover from getting stuck.

Spare piece of a canon screen protector

Big scratch right of the lens

Cut piece with plastic films on both sides

Cut it a little longer to go under the lens cover

Attached and removed plastic films

Part of the screen protector is under the cover (blue)

Sample - Before

Sample - After w/ protector

This is only a temporary fix. I do hope Nokia can do something about this. For a $700 flagship phone I do expect more. At least for now I feel more comfortable sliding the cover open.

ZAGG the maker of the famous invisible SHIELD is now selling the screen protector for the N97. You can purchase either the full body coverage (2 pieces front and back) or just for the screen. I have used their screen protectors on capacitive touch screen phones before which is great, but I don’t know how well they will work on resistive screens. You might be able to find them at your local mall to see how it looks and feels and have them install for you since the installation process requires you to spray on a solution.

Here is the link:

invisible SHIELD

Yesterday, I received my N97 screen protector from Clarivue.com. Although it took almost a week to get it,  they were one of the few online stores that have them in stock. I’ve used Clarivue before for my digital camera but not for a phone. I usually would prefer buying from BestSkinEver or Zagg (invisibleSHIELD), but they didn’t have it yet.

Here is the product overview:
- Shield and protect your screen from scratches
- Materials are manufactured in Japan
- Ultra thin and durable, comes in clear or anti-glare
- Anti-scratch, anti-dust
- Non-adhesive backing, will not leave residue
- Can be cleaned with water and used repeatedly
- Custom designed to fit your LCD screen
- Quickly and easily adhere directly to the screen

After installation, I was testing the responsiveness of the screen. As you can see at the end of the video (below), the screen is still pretty responsive. Although at certain areas of the screen, I felt that I had to apply a little bit more pressure to get it to select an item. But it didn’t bother me, it actually made the screen feel more solid due to the additional layer and thickness of the film. Overall very satisfied with this product.