by Jon Ferguson

Created on: December 07, 2011   Last Updated: December 12, 2011

The smart phone has become our portal to everything.  They are sleek, expensive, and powerful.  The LCD screens are larger and they are capable of transmitting, receiving, and storing vast amounts of data.  But with this power and beauty comes a price.  These phones are more expensive and also more fragile than other simpler cellular phones.  In today's economy it pays big dividends to keep your phone working as long as possible. 

 Most smart phones simply do not have the ruggedness and longevity of their older simpler ancestors.  They have larger screens which means a more fragile surface both in terms of scratching and breaking.  More power means that larger and more potent batteries and processors which equals more heat.

 I myself use a Palm Pre.  This is among the smallest of the smart phones yet it is fully capable of doing the same functions as it's more widely known competitors the IPhone and the Android.  It's smooth pebble shape and slide out miniature keyboard makes it difficult if not impossible to find protective rubberized or plastic covers for it.  I have owned and destroyed three of these phones.  The best of these three lasted nine months.  I decided that I must learn ways to protect and increase the longevity of this little wonder. 

 My latest Palm Pre (number 4) has survived over two years without a single scratch.  This is almost triple the longevity of the Palms I owned before.  In fact I have kept the little guy working past it's warranty which is fairly unheard of!  I don't have a protective case for the phone and I don't buy or use those expensive plastic laminations to protect the screen.  In fact in my experience these things reduce longevity in spite advertisements to the contrary.

 So let's break it down.  The first enemy to your phone is strangely you!  Five things break smart phones these are: movement, thermal extremes, electrical spikes, moisture and dust.  We humans create all of these environmental hazards for our electronic friends.

 First is movement, for a cell phone to be useful we must necessarily carry it on us.  That means that it gets moved routinely, probably more than any electronic device on earth (with the exception of the wrist watch). 

 For men phones these days reside in the pocket.  A few poor souls still utilize the belt clip or holster.  Not only is the belt

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