How to use touch-screen on cell phone after removing glass

Question

My friend gave me a really old Metro PCS ZTE Phone with a destroyed glass screen. Surprisingly, the phone still powers on and I was able to fully charge the battery. I removed the broken glass screen - but now I'm wondering how I can still use the touch functionality on the actual LCD screen (as opposed to touching the glass like a normal cell phone).

I can't seem to press the Start button to get the phone going. Is this even possible? Should I disconnect that little ribbon that attaches the glass to the circuit board (enabling touch) so I can just touch the LCD screen? I'm hoping to get the phone in a mode where I can install the drivers (which are on the phone) and extract data from it.

Any suggestions?

I've attached a photo below of what I've done:

Answer 1

The Glass that you have referred to as having removed is infact a Digitizer.

To sense the position of your fingertips, the touch screen employs a digitizer, a component that turns the screen into a set of coordinates on a grid. The digitizer tracks the movement of your fingers in real time, to control actions such as tapping out a text message, shooting a target in a game or bringing up the latest weather report.

You will need to replace the Digitizer to use this device as the LCD will not pick up gestures, this is available on Ebay (other outlets available) at the moment for £16.89:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Touch-Screen-Digitizer-Glass-For-ZTE-Avid-4G-Metro-PCS-MetroPCS-N9120-Black-/161082947718?pt=UK_iPad_Tablet_Accessories&hash=item25814ab886

A video on dismantling the device and putting back together is also available here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lJvMxDhaes