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Multi-Touch and Fingernails

S

ShellyFM

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 1, 2006
156
0
Florida
I've been really eager to replace my T-Mobile MDA with an iPhone.

However....I just watched the guided tour, and now I'm worried. I have long fingernails. They have never been a problem with my MDA. Actually, they have often been my stylus of choice making things much easier on my MDA. The guided tour made it look like you must use the tip of your finger with its multi-touch interface.

Does anyone know if the pad of the finger or more preferrably if the tip of a fingernail would work?
 
Hi,

Our experience making casino systems was that long fingernails don't work very well (if at all) on capacitive screens. Nails are pretty good insulators.

Many people had to flatten their touch down to their fingerpads just like when typing on a real keyboard.

A lot will depend on how strong they've made the field, how long your nails are, etc.

The only thing you can do is try it before buying. Excellent question, though.

Luck!
Kev
 
I thought about this the other day alot of girls are going to be pissed. lol I'm a guitar player so my nails are almost always short.
 
Wow! A lot of anti-fingernail people here. :confused:

Let me guess, most are from guys?

Well, I don't think the nails are going to change, I guess I just have to hope that the iPhone is responsive to the tip of my nails or the pads of my fingers.

The touchscreen of my MDA is able to.

I wonder how much iPhone testing was done by females?

Another female-specific concern is make-up on the screen, which is a problem with some other devices.
 
Long finger nails on either men or women are simply GROSS.

Longer finger nails = ideal place for growth of bacteria and germs.

Nasty.

Men and women should keep their nails short and clean.
 
You know... females have a hard enough time being the minority in the tech world. Give a girl a break! :p
 
ShellyFM said:
I wonder how much iPhone testing was done by females?

Another female-specific concern is make-up on the screen, which is a problem with some other devices.
Click to expand...

You've got a good point. Maybe you'll need to carry a pencil around that has an eraser? I'm sure there are limitations to how sensitive the screen is, make it too sensitive and you'll have errors galore.

With a flat screen, you'll be able to wipe the makeup off. I can imagine that regular phone buttons can get pretty clogged up.
 
zgh1999 said:
Long finger nails on either men or women are simply GROSS.

Longer finger nails = ideal place for growth of bacteria and germs.

Nasty.

Men and women should keep their nails short and clean.
Click to expand...

Having a little length for a female is quite elegant. I'm not talking ridiculously long or anything. I'm petite and my nails elegantly match my body type. They are definitely not stubs, though. I'm a programmer, so they can't be too long to type, right! I'm known as being one of the fastest typists at my company.
 
Seriously, if you can't live without long nails then the iPhone might not be for you.
Sometimes you need to sacrifice style in order to be practical. But then again, that's something Apple has a hard time doing so perhaps they will be sympathetic about your concern :)

Anyhow. There are lots of phones out there. Just pick one that works for you.
 
It always puzzles me why some folks think long finger nails are good to look at -- some even going as far as grow nails to lengths that render their fingers like those of a eagle's claws -- completely gross.

Finger nails should not protrude more than 1 mm from the finger.
 
ShellyFM said:
Let me guess, most are from guys?
Click to expand...
No. Long fingernails are rather nasty.
ShellyFM said:
Having a little length for a female is quite elegant. I'm not talking ridiculously long or anything. I'm petite and my nails elegantly match my body type. They are definitely not stubs, though. I'm a programmer, so they can't be too long to type, right! I'm known as being one of the fastest typists at my company.
Click to expand...
I don't think they're very elegant. I play piano and type a lot, and fingernails just get in the way. They also make a pretty annoying sound on the keys of both pianos and keyboards, so...dunno how you can stand that.

However, I'm fairly sure if you don't have an issue typing on a keyboard, that multitouch with fingernails isn't going to be much of a problem either.

Also about makeup..just wipe it off with a tissue or something. Can't imagine that would be a problem either. If it is, use a bluetooth headset. How are you managing with your current phone if you think makeup on the iPhone is going to be an issue?
 
zgh1999 said:
It always puzzles me why some folks think long finger nails are good to look at -- some even going as far as grow nails to lengths that render their fingers like those of a eagle's claws -- completely gross.

Finger nails should not protrude more than 1 mm from the finger.
Click to expand...

I don't think long finger nails are attractive or good looking either. But we all have different taste. I've always had alternative styles in a lot of things, so I don't judge anyone for such things, no matter how unappealing I find it.

But sometimes you can't do things because of your chosen life style, then you have to question yourself if it's worth giving in to the mainstream way of doing things.
 
TheBusDriver said:
I thought about this the other day alot of girls are going to be pissed. lol I'm a guitar player so my nails are almost always short.
Click to expand...

I'm a guitar player too... but I play fingerstyle so my right hand has long nails. My fretting hand is always kept short though. I hope this won't interfere with my ability to operate the iPhone.

Most people in this thread seem to think of long fingernails as a fahsion statement. They're practical, in some cases, too. Let's try to think before we make generalized statements.
 
Capt Underpants said:
I'm a guitar player too... but I play fingerstyle so my right hand has long nails. My fretting hand is always kept short though. I hope this won't interfere with my ability to operate the iPhone.

Most people in this thread seem to think of long fingernails as a fahsion statement. They're practical, in some cases, too. Let's try to think before we make generalized statements.
Click to expand...

Well said! Thank you! :)

I happen to like my fingernails, which are 2-4mm long. More importantly, my husband likes them.

So, enough said about that.

The post was not about whether or not everyone thought fingernails were good, attractive, etc. It was simply a probe as to people's opinions about if the iPhone would be able to accept user input from fingers that have a tip.
 
The multi-touch design uses a static charge from the hand to read inpots to the iPhone. It is true, long fingernails will make using the phone difficult. You also cannot use it with gloves.
 
from david pogue's iphone frequently asked questions, taken in january:

“Will the iPhone touch surface work if you’re wearing gloves? Be unpleasant to use the phone in the dead of winter otherwise.” –No, it responds ONLY to skin touch. I couldn’t use my fingernail, for example. And you certainly can’t use a stylus. (On the other hand, I doubt there’s ANY smartphone you can operate with gloves on.)
Click to expand...
 
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