[_Odyssey]

pete,

At first i wondered the same thing. I thought the dirt and dust was getting in through the USB port and headphone socket. Which it can, but it has to work it's way up through the player to get onto the screen. Shortly after giving mine a clean i used a cloth to wipe off the fingerprints. As soon as i had finished i saw that more dust and fluff has got in under the glass cover.

Then i had a close look at it. Around the sides of the screen there is a very small gap about 1/8th of a millimeter wide.. wide enough for dust particles to squeeze between. When i gave the screen a wipe, some small particles of... something... came off the cloth and slipped in this small space and stuck to the LCD panel under the glass. I then realised that all the while it was rolling around in my pocket earlier, dust and fluff were getting 'pushed' under the screen at the sides.

I have considered trying to squeeze some silicon sealant or glue around it to fill the gap.. a delicate job. Maybe... but for now if i take it with me anywhere i put it in a small air tight plastic clip seal bag