ThumbType scores a thumbs up
There are many ways to enter characters into your Palm device, some easier than others. The GoType keyboard, for instance, works well. Graffiti is pretty good, too, because it’s readily available with no extra equipment. Sometimes, however, you just get tired of writing. In this article, Fredlet reviews ThumbType, a new way to enter characters into your Palm device that’s sure to leave you feeling like you’re not all thumbs.
There are many ways to input characters into your Palm unit, some easier than others. I have a GoType keyboard, and while I really like it, I just can’t put it in my pocket. I get too many snide remarks about all the gadgets I carry as it is. Graffiti is pretty good, too, since it’s readily available with no extra equipment. Sometimes, however, I just get tired of writing. Yes, it actually does happen. Fortunately, though, there is now an alternative.
Introducing ThumbType
ThumbType is a tiny little piece of plastic film that attaches to your Palm unit’s silkscreen Graffiti area, as shown in Figure A. Luckily for me, it doesn’t permanently attach to my Palm device. I still have commitment issues. The back of the ThumbType has what OKAYA SYSTEMWARE Co. calls a “Post-it Note” sort of adhesive. As long as you don’t get crunchy things all over the back of it, you can move it off the Graffiti area and back to the plastic storage device.
FIGURE A
The ThumbType Keyboard attaches to your Palm unit’s silkscreen Graffiti area.
I’d say the ThumbType actually has something more akin to the plastic magnetic quality of those little stickers you get from your oil change company. You know, the ones they place on your windshield to remind you to come give them lots of money after 3,000 miles. Oh, yeah, that reminds me…
Anyway, I was a little worried the first time I used it that there would be residue left on the silkscreen area. However, my fears were unfounded and my Graffiti area is unblemished.
What is it?
The ThumbType itself is basically a plastic sheet with a set of plastic points on the bottom that press a certain area on your Palm unit’s silkscreen area. The software driver reads the pressure that the plastic points exert and translates it into characters on the screen. I think it’s rather clever, actually.
To type on the keyboard, you position your thumbs parallel to each other and use the ball of your thumb to choose the letter, as shown in Figure B. I was all prepared to have it be an absolute mess when I typed, since it’s obvious that the ball of my thumb covers more than one letter, but they thought of that, too. The first area you actually hit is registered as the letter you want, and the driver ignores the surrounding keys.
FIGURE B
This is how OKAYA SYSTEMWARE Co. suggests positioning your hands to type with the ThumbType.
You can also disable the ThumbType driver temporarily when you remove the keyboard strip, shown in Figure C, by tapping the “St” button on the ThumbType keyboard. You’ll be returned to the normal function of your Palm unit after doing this. ThumbType does cover up the navigation buttons, but don’t panic. You can access these with a software version that the software driver allows you to see when you have the ThumbType in place. There’s really no need to bring up the software version of the silk-screened area, though. The “Fn” (function) button, when combined with a letter, will access the Home screen, the Menus, the Find function, and the calculator. You can keep your thumbs in position the entire time.
FIGURE C
Here’s the ThumbType Keyboard up close and personal.
The software allows you to navigate from field to field using the navigation shortcuts and the “Fn” key. Without leaving the keyboard, you can also access your extended characters, set the caps lock and numeral lock, and do lots of other things you take for granted while you’re navigating with your stylus. After it learned what I normally access, I was able to pretty much leave my thumbs in place. A word of warning, though: you really look like you’re playing video games while doing this. I’m waiting for someone to accuse me of playing Tetris instead of listening to the meeting.
I did find the learning feature very handy. I just couldn’t seem to type one particular key properly due to the fact that I’d been at the Joe Bob Fan Club picnic and broke my thumbnail off during a particularly violent seven-legged race. ThumbType will recognize when you hit that wrong key several times in rapid succession. After you’ve done that, press the correct key and you can fix your mistake.
Because this was originally a Japanese product, there’s a feature-rich Japanese version available. There’s also a HackMaster driver for those of you with many, many hacks running on your Palm OS. I haven’t tested that driver, so I can’t vouch for its quality. However, judging by the attention to detail, I have a feeling it’s a pretty decent bunch of 1s and 0s.
Wrap up
For me, Graffiti is still the fastest way to enter text on my Palm device. However, I imagine that with a little more practice using this keyboard, I could write the great American novel on my Palm organizer. In fact, true to the spirit of pioneering and all that stuff, I wrote part of this article with the ThumbType. Perhaps it’s just a by-product of me being so crotchety and set in my ways after years of using Graffiti, but it took a little too long to get used to. As a result, I’ll drop a few points and give this little gizmo only three kookaburras on the infamous Fredlet Kookaburra Meter.