I hate smudges. They always seem to show up on my eyeglasses, so I usually try to keep nearby one of those microfiber lens cloths that you can pick up at any store that sells eyeglasses, and more often than not you’ll find one in my pocket or briefcase. I also hate smudges on my iPhone and iPad, and that is one of the reasons that I love the oleophobic coating on those devices that makes it fairly easy to swipe the face on your shirt to clean off most of the smudges and dust — although frankly that is harder to do with the iPad because it is so much larger than an iPhone. I doubt that John Hartigan knew about my smudge-phobia when he sent me a free sample of a product that he sells called the MOBiLE CLOTH, but it made me very curious to check out this product.
The MOBiLE CLOTH is a 9 inch by 9 inch cloth made of microfiber. When you touch the cloth it instantly sticks to your fingers because of the large number of tightly woven microfiber nubs. It feels a little strange at first, almost like you are touching something that is sticky as if you are touching cotton candy. But the stickiness is simply the result of the way that the microfibers are woven, and it makes this cloth much more powerful at picking up dust than those lens cloths that I have used for years with my eyeglasses.
Does it work? Yes, amazingly well. For example, the other day I had been typing on my iPad screen using the virtual keyboard, and when I was done my screen was covered with smudges, dust, etc. It would have taken a lot of rubbing on a shirt to try to clean it off, and even using a normal lens cloth it would take a short while to get this clean. But with simply a few quick swipes of the MOBiLE CLOTH, the screen looked amazing.
I decided to really put the MOBiLE CLOTH to the test by using it to clean the screen of my big screen TV, a screen that was covered with countless smudges and quite a few sticky substances of unknown origin from my 3 and 5 year old kids. It did an amazing job, and the screen looks as good as new. Afterwards, I washed the cloth in water (I didn’t use any soap, but I understand that you can use a mild cleaning agent as long as you don’t use bleach or fabric softener) and let it dry, and the cloth itself cleaned up very well.
I recognize that my desire to keep my iPhone and iPad screen clean is partly because, as noted, I am a little neurotic in this area. I like a clean screen. But with my iPad, I feel that there is an important need to keep the screen clean because I find that I am often using it to show something to a client or colleague such as a PDF file, a photograph, or even just a website. It is nice to have a great looking screen when you are showing off the iPad to another person, so it is great to be able to quickly swipe my iPad with a MOBiLE CLOTH.
The website for MOBiLE CLOTH claims that it doesn’t just make your iPhone and iPad look good, it also removes up to 98% of germs. I have no way of testing that, and frankly I don’t know how much of an iPhone germ problem there really is, but if this is important to you than perhaps this is an additional reason that you will like the MOBiLE CLOTH.
Best of all, the product is cheap. You can buy one (either blue or white) for only $2.99, or you can pay even less if you buy in quantity (2 for $4.99, 6 for $12.99, all the way up to 100 for $189.99). I see on the website that if you buy a 4 or 6 pack right now, you get an extra one for free. John Hartigan, the owner of the company, sent me two and I like having one at my desk at work and one in my study at home.
My only wish is that it also came in a smaller version that had a carrying case so that I could more easily carry one around with me. The size and thickness of the MOBiLE CLOTH make it a little too large to toss into a pocket, plus it seems that you would want to cover the cloth in some sort of case to keep it clean. The next time I travel, I’ll probably place one into a Ziploc bag and put it in my briefcase. [UPDATE: John Hartigan tells me that a smaller version is in the works for later this year.]
This is by far the best cleaning cloth that I have ever used. It keeps my iPhone and iPad clean, and also works great with my eyeglasses, computer screen, and other similar surfaces. If keeping your iPhone or iPad looking great is a priority for you, I think that you’ll really like MOBiLE CLOTH. You can purchase this item directly from the manufacturer at the MOBiLE CLOTH website.
Do you use iKlear or water or any other liquid with the cloth, especially if the iPad or iPhone is really dusty?
[Jeff responds: You can, but in my tests you usually don’t need to, at least not very often. The cloth does a great job of cleaning without anything extra because of the super-strong microfiber. Having said that, I do use iKlear and I did try it with the MOBiLE CLOTH and it seemed to work just fine. I suppose that iKlear could be useful with this cloth in some instances.]
I was so impressed with your review that I ordered it! I have microfiber towels at home that I’ve used to clean the screens of my iPhone, but they’re 1) too big to pack and 2) this one sounds even more effective.
Thanks!
Walter
I’ll have to order a pack of these; thanks, Jeff.
“J.R.”
Thanks for the tip. Received mine today and works great.
I ordered a half dozen the day I read your review and they arrived today with one extra included. They work just as Jeff describes. No liquid is needed. They instantly cleaned my very smudgy iPhone and iPad. I have lost count of all the cleaning cloths I have tried. None work like this. Thank you for your review. They are thicker than a normal lens cloth but still pretty compact. They also are in my opinion very economical. I ended up with 7 cleaning clothsfor $15.98, including shipping.
I am a loyal reader of your site and have followed your “buy” recommendations in several instances. I ordered a Mobile Cloth assortment on your say so. Half the order arrived eventually, and I was told the balance of the order would come later. It never did, and the company denies I am owed anything. Based on my experience, I can’t recommend dealing with these people.
[Jeff responds: I’m very sorry to hear about your situation, Alexander. I have had nothing but good dealings with the company, and this is still my favorite cloth for cleaning the iPad or iPhone screen.]
I loved your review and ordered the mobile cloth immediately. It will be nice to have a smudge free iPhone!