I used to have a thing for gadgets. Small, portable electronic devices that can make my life better. I'm not as much a technophile as I once was, but I still keep quite a few.
One common theme for most gadgets is that they all have a display of some sort. Just about every gadget I own has some form of screen to display content. Some screens are big, some screens are small. All screens glare. And glare annoys me.
When I first realized that it was the glare, and not the game, that was frustrating me, I was playing Tetris on my Game Boy Color. Game Boys have notoriously poor screens. Until very recently they were not back-lit, so you can't play them in the dark. You can barely play them in the sun, either, because you have to get it at just the right angle to avoid the glare but have enough light to see the game.
Something must be done. After thinking about how to backlight the thing myself, it occurred to me that other people have probably shared my pain and perhaps a more technically apt modder had already solved the problem. So I went googling.
My search turned up several options for 3rd party Game Boy Advanced front-light kits. These were hard to find, too expensive, or obsolete with the advent of the Game Boy Advanced SP. I researched further until one element of the kit caught my attention.
These kits contained a transparent film that was used to diffuse the light to prevent the front-lights from glaring the screen. This told me two things: 1) Front lighting would cause glare, which is what I'm trying to get rid of and 2) I can get a film that would diffuse the glare.
The googling quickly shifted from "Back-Lighting Game Boy Mods" to "Light Diffusing Film". This turned up lots of results, all giving me exactly what I was looking for. For one reason or another, the site I chose to go with was PhotoDon (http://www.photodon.com). The site itself is a bit amateurish, but these guys are monitor accessory suppliers, not web designers.
Photodon has a large selection of Anti-Glare protective films. There are several different grades of anti-glare-ness and a plethora of pre-cut sizes ranging from $6.50 to about $35. Most of the sizes are for various computer monitors, but they do have several PDA sizes. Of course, there were no "GameBoy Color" pre-cuts, so I would either have to have them cut a custom piece (which they are more than happy to do for an extra cost) or, like most of my other products, just do it myself.
The gameboy screen is very small, so even the smallest of sizes would have to be cut down. I elected to go with the smallest size of the highest anti-glare-ness that I could find. I think it ended up being about $10. I placed the order, paid via Pay-Pal and received my film in a week or so.
They shipped it in a stiff cardboard envelope which kept the film free of creases. They also included a really nice micro-fiber cleaning cloth. These are awesome for removing smudges and fingerprints from just about everything. I use them mainly for cleaning my eye-glasses, but they work good on monitors.
After a few measurings and markings with a sharpie, I clipped out a piece perfect for my GBC. I peeled off the backer and stuck it on. Unfortunately, some dust got trapped between the film and the screen, resulting in bubbles and more aggravation. That's okay, though... I had enough for a second try (and third and fourth if need be). On my second try, I made sure to wipe clean the screen with the provided cloth before applying the film.
With the film applied, I turned on my lamp, reclined my chair and turned on the GameBoy. With the light shining straight on the screen, there was still some glare. A slight tilt to the left and the glare was gone. The light was adequately diffused and the only aggravation was the music as my stack of Tetrominoes grew.
I was elated by this success.
A little while later, I noticed a similar glare problem with my Creative Zen Sleek. So, I whipped out what was left of my initial PhotoDon sheet and applied a piect to the screen of my MP3 player. Success.
So much a success, that I decided to replace the screen of my homemade, duct-tape, Zen Sleek case. I had originally used a zip-lock bag for this purpose, but I had enough PhotoDon left to replace the zip-lock, resulting in a sturdier, more protective, and glare-free case.
Since then, I ordered a second sheet. This second sheet was larger, of a lesser anti-glare-ness, and about $20. I decided that the super-anti-glare-ness of the first sheet was a bit overkill, and I felt that this option would give me the biggest bang for my buck.
I've used this second sheet in a number of applications. I re-built my Zen case around a fresh piece of photodon film. I added some to the outer and inner displays of my cellphone -- no more having to squint to see the caller-id in sunlight. And, more recently, I added a piece to my newly acquired PSP.
Let me tell you: This produced is ESSENTIAL to a PSP. PSPs feature a mirror-piano-black finish. The case itself smudges terribly and creates a glare of its own, so you can imagine how the screen would be. The photodon film eliminates the glare, cuts finger-print-cling in half, and protects the screen from scratches. The new Slim PSP 2000 that I have does not have a cover, so the protection is important. My only regret is that I waited a week to add the film -- It's already got a couple of scratches. Not a big deal, though, because I mainly play it using a video link to my TV.
Bottom line: This product is absolutely essential if you have any number of gadgets. In fact, it would be good for any application that requires a reduction in reflective glare, including monitors, tv's, auxiliary displays, watches, and car-radios. You should definitely look into it.
Until next time,
~Ben
Resources:
PhotoDon Glare Reduction and Privacy Protectors: (http://www.photodon.com/)
GameBoy Color on Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GameBoy_Color)
Tetris on Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetris_DX#Tetris_DX)
PSP Slim on Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSP_Slim)
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