Smart Phones + No Keyboard = Problem for Long Nails or Big Fingers

It is funny sometimes what will never occur to you.  For example, since I have neither long nails nor big fingers it has never crossed my mind that people who have either would find smart phones that have touch-screen keypads to be a problem.

People with long nails have a problem because the phones require an electrical charge, which of course fingernails don’t provide.  People with big fingers have problems because they have trouble hitting just the correct key and avoiding other keys.

In response to someone telling me she would love to have an iPhone but can’t possibly because she can’t use the keyboard, I spent a surprisingly long time looking for a solution.  So, my long-nailed, big fingered readers, here is what I found.

1. If you have never used a touch screen keypad some of the issue could simply be experience.  When I first used an iPhone it took me quite a few days to really get used to it. But once I did I was fine.
   1. Ask a close friend to let you use their phone for a few days if at all possible and see if you can adjust.
2. Type with the sides of your fingers instead of straight on.  A lot of women with long nails do this, apparently successfully.
3. If you really want an iPhone and just can’t do the typing, a new case with a flip-out keyboard is now available for purchase.  It costs about $40 and can be found at ThinkGeek.  I don’t know how well it works.
4. There are styluses available that provide the necessary electrical charge.
   1. The Pogo Stylus seems quite popular.  Here is a Google search for it.
5. For those who want an Android and are drooling over the Evo, look at the Epic. It has both touch and keyboard.

Obviously a stylus or a keyboard can’t provide everything available on a smartphone that is meant to be touch screen. For example the motions necessary to make something bigger or smaller.  But from what I have read these larger motions are less of an issue for those with long nails or big fingers.

On a side note, but given the fact winter is clearly far from over, there are gloves that provide the necessary charge to use a keypad.  Here’s a search on Amazon.