lifehacker/gawker had posts recently about how sand scratches screens still, better to put on a protector and forget about it. I put one on my tp2 and it's still good, havent been replaced yet and since it looks good, I'm assumine screen does too
I don't remove it to check lol. Plus online you can get protecters for $1 or less, or a little more, not that expensive since you paid more in taxes to own the phone