I've never found any need for a screen protector, but if it helps sway you that way, I do find the latest generation to be noticeably less smudgy than previous iDevice screens.

I am also in camp Never Bothered Screen Protecting. I wear glasses all the time so I always have a cleaning cloth somewhere in my purse.

Talk to me about sound bars, people. My Vizio TV is exactly 3" from the cabinet it's sitting on to the bottom of the screen (not the bezel, the screen), so most sound bars are too big to put in front of it. Would I get decent audio if I mounted it to the wall above/behind the TV? Should I be looking at a "sound base" instead, and if so is there one that fakes surround sound pretty well?

I have this Vizio soundbar: [link] . It is recommended by Wirecutter as well as Lifehacker, though apparently has been updated with a more expensive version that I don't know about. The subwoofer connects wirelessly to the main bar and the satellite speakers connect to that and give pretty darned good surround sound through the optical input - luckily, my (and I assume your) Vizio TV will stream the full surround signal from any HDMI input through the optical port, which not all do - my old, more expensive Samsung TV did not.

I think it would work if mounted above/behind the TV. My dad has a soundbar mounted up above his that works fine.

I love it. I replaced a $1000+ surround system with it to slim down the space taken up (and because I don't really watch as many movies as I once did). The sound quality is definitely less than what I had, but pretty amazing for the price and more than good enough. I also have a Vizio TV, and I can say that this soundbar (and I assume all Vizio ones) will work perfectly with your Vizio TV - in fact, if set up to do so the volume buttons on your TV remote will control the volume on the soundbar directly, and volume-up can turn it on. A nice trick, especially if you're not one for universal remotes. The only problem I've had with it is that every so often the subwoofer gets confused and starts pumping at full volume, making everybody sound like James Earl Jones. I can easily fix it by turning the sub volume up then down one click, but it was weird and confusing for a while.

The reviews on the Vizio Sound Stand [link] are good, too. I doubt it's the world's best at pseudo surround sound, but it's a very good price, and even though I bought one that has surround speakers I really do wonder how much I'd actually care if it didn't have them. Depends on the user and room size I suppose. It's a shame Vizio doesn't offer a sound stand that pairs with a sub and satellites like mine, as it's a cool feature that not many competitors offer.

Edited to add: I just noticed that your problem isn't space to put the bar, just that it would block the TV. Mine did that too. I just put the TV up on some books behind the soundbar - the bar hides the books. In some ways sound stands are supposed to be better than soundbars - bigger soundstage, larger speakers, thus higher quality - but if you decide you want a soundbar that is a workable solution to the height issue.

You know, I think I will go without the screen protector. The times that I have dropped my iPad were times when I was in process of standing up or sitting down and the way it fell did not seem to put the screen in direct jeopardy. The various cheap cases I've used have done their duty in absorbing the shock.

I am coming to you via my brand spanking new I touch having finally made what turned out to be an excruciating decision.

I will be getting both a screen protector and a stylus. Also, a super thick case. I just don't trust my stubby little mitts to neither scratch nor fumble this wonderous thing to the ground.

Merciful heavens, it's taken an age to peck out this post!

Jessica, I have the same soundbar as Gris. I also love it. It's perfect for what I need, and at a great price point. I have a 55" Vizio TV (same 3" from stand to screen) and it sits in front of it without blocking the screen. It also comes with a template for wall mounting it that should make the job a lot easier, should you decide to do that.

Thanks guys!

Hey, Drew, did the Protools 11 compatibility thing with the Waves plugins get resolved? I think my incoming laptop will only run 11, but I wanted to make sure before I upgraded the desktop.

Anyone use FastMail? I'm really tired of Gmail & Calendar. I'm using the free trial now and really like the streamlined layout but wanted to solicit opinions before actually paying.