My wife is having this same problem. She can't add a contact due to this and she can not click the "clear" button in the notification drop down. However the same top of the screen is responsive in other apps or on web pages. It doesn't appear to be software. i was considering a factory reset, and also Wiping cache and Dalvik and recovery. Any one experience this and have a known fix. I have read a ton of articles and forum threads and its still unclear on what is the fix... Obviously a factory reset is a PITA, especially when your wife will not be happy with setting everything back up again. Any help would be appreciated...