BLOGS

The dirty little secret behind all those new-fangled touch-screen tablets — one of the holiday season’s choice gifts — is that the glass screen continually gets gunked up with finger crud.

You know … skin oil, hand creams, desk dirt, strawberry jam and/or whatever else you’re eating at the moment. They can smudge your iPhone, Galaxy, iPad, Razr, Kindle, Xoom, laptop screen, camera screen and even your Etch-A-Sketch.

Gary Krause, a Wenatchee entrepreneur and gizmo fan, says don’t panic. He’s got a solution for scummy screens “that’s nothin’ but neato.”

His company, Touch Screen Solutions, is importing from Canada a full line of cool little nano-tech devices that clean screens and keyboards with one quick swipe. Called Sidekick, the device is made by LensPen, a company based in Vancouver, B.C., that also specializes in cleaning tools for high-end cameras and lenses.

The Sidekick’s design feels like something out of an Apple Computer lab — light, smooth, few moving parts, ergonomically perfect. About the size of a pack of gum, it has a fold-out cleaning pad (good for 100-150 cleanings) that’s infused with dry, carbon nano-beads that soak up oils and smudges.

It's environmentally green, too — non-disposable and refillable.

“No messy sprays and nothing caustic,” says Krause, passing the Sidekick’s pad over the screen on his personal Blackberry PlayBook tablet. Smudges and streaks gone.

Right now, Krause has the Sidekick ($20) and its sister products at Hastings Books, Music & Video, at 315 9th St., Wenatchee. Look for it in the tech section next to tablet accessories.

Krause said he’ll also be selling (soon) a glazing product for electronic screens that fills in and smooths out the micro-impressions — chips, dents, pits — found on every screen. “You can’t see them, but they’re there,” he said. The glaze coating makes a screen resistant to scratches and dirt and practically, says Krause, indestructible.

Long-range, Krause said he’d love to see Sidekicks and similar products manufactured right here in Wenatchee using high-grade polycarbonates. “These materials are the future of manufacturing,” he said “We could license the molds from different companies and make the products right here for a U.S. market. Maybe worldwide.” He's looking for seed money to get this idea off the ground.

Krause, a self-described Christian Patriot, says he’s “a research-and-development guy and a steward for ideas that come straight from my lord and savior Jesus Christ.” He was born and raised in Texas, served in the U.S. Navy and has worked at various manufacturing and construction jobs.

“I’ve been an entrepreneur my whole life,” said Krause. “I’m a voracious researcher who looks for the thing that’s coming next, the thing that everyone will want. Touch screen cleaning devices will definitely be one of those things.”

Details: Touch Screen Solutions, 126 N. Wenatchee Ave. Phone: 393-3603. Web: touchscreensolutions.us.

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