Touchscreens and fingernails, can we ever win?
Posted on 27 November 2009, at 10:36 am, by Amy Zunk
While I am not a “girly” girl, I do like to make myself look nice.  This usually means a semi-regular visit to my favorite nail salon to get a manicure and a pedicure.  Now, I am also a computer engineer for my day job.  This means I am typing on a computer for large parts of the day, when I am not in a datacenter playing with network equipment on a rack.
What does all of this have to do with touchscreens?  Plenty.  Because of my nails, I have the most god-awful time trying to use anything with a touchscreen, whether its the Fluke network meter at the office, or my iPod Touch.  I also cannot upgrade my phone to one of the new touchscreen models because I can’t make it work properly.
The two quick answers I get on this topic are : 1. Get a stylus or 2. Cut your nails down some.
Well, I would use a stylus if I could. Manufacturers of  the new touchscreen devices are using the capacitive touch screen. This means that a finger will work; styli or other devices (even a pencil eraser) will not.  If I want to use an iPhone, a myTouch 3G, a Droid, I have to use my fingertip to make it all work properly.  I miss the days of the older Windows Mobile devices that included styli as input method.
And as for cutting my nails down, they are already short enough so that I can type properly. Â If I cut them any shorter, what is the point?
This is just my minor plea to the manufacturers, or even some of the software developers of devices with touchscreens: Can we please make it so that users can have the choice of using their finger or using a styli or alternative method (keyboards not withstanding)?
Thanks for listening!
If anyone has some other ideas or have encountered this problem themselves, let me know. Â Maybe we all can find a way to solve this major minor problem.
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November 27th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Sister, I feel your pain.
I love it when I am approached by an iPhone evangelist who thinks I (and everyone on earth) should have one. It only takes a second for me to show them how I can’t work it with my nails. They are always stunned, because they usually don’t know a capacitive screen from their arse.
I have used resistive screens for years and they have gotten more responsive, requiring less pressure and have provided a great user experience for this girl. I too am concerned about my next phone. I have a crush on the HTC HD2, but I have to give the screen a try. (I did read that they will be releasing a stylus that works with it soon.)
My cry to all the phone designers has always been to please let some girly-girls test your phones before you send them to market! (I am ready $ willing…)
November 27th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
What about something like the Pogo Stylus? http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadge.....pg=froogle
November 27th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
Long live resistive screens! There are quite a few nice high-end smart phones with resistive screens out there.
Recently I had a long conversation about this problem with a Samsung rep. I was astonished when he immediately understood my requirements for a good touch phone; he took a look at my nails and said “You want resistive, right?”.
Normally you always have to do a show and tell before they get the problem.
BTW, I’m willing to help Aura Mae out if she gets too many phones to test.
November 28th, 2009 at 12:37 am
Carly Z has the right idea. Those Pogo styli – tipped with a conductive material – have been around for a while to deal with gloved hands and the like, but should be the solution to your problem.
November 28th, 2009 at 4:26 am
But it feels really stupid to have to use a stylus when you have your own, built-in tools, i.e your nails – it’s faster to use them and you never risk losing them.
November 28th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Well at least Amy’s problem is solved, since she didn’t know about styli that are capacitive-compatible
Capacitive screen technology requires a conductive surface; nails just don’t provide enough conductive surface. And screen tech isn’t at the point where one can cram both a resistive and capacitive touch system into a phone.
I dislike resistive screens because of a trade-off that has to be made: either you have one with a soft, easily scratched surface, or one that is less responsive.
If using a mass-market product bothers you, you can look into making your own stylus with conductive thread. Making a circle about 1/3 of an inch in diameter should be enough.
November 28th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Yep. I had no idea those type of styli were available. I saw styli that claimed to work, but I didn’t trust it. But, if I can find ones that are capacitive compatible, you just opened up a new world for me. Thanks!
November 29th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
If you want a top of the line smartphone with a resistive touch screen, you might try the Nokia N900 which just came out. While it doesn’t yet have the range of apps that the iPhone has, it is a Linux based OS which means there are a wealth of apps waiting to be ported over.