Question for iPhone owners in the frozen north

[psingh01]

I heard that the touch screen is only sensitive to skin. Is this true or does it work with anything else? (i.e. pen, glove, mitten etc) My concern is that the iPhone is great now...but what about in winter when it's 10 below outside? I don't really want to be removing my gloves to make a call. This is of greatest concern to me when using the phone in an emergency such as being stuck on a snowed in road during a blizzard.

Of course most of the time I will use it from inside a building....but I want to know it's features won't get in the way of its primary function in an extreme case that is not so uncommon in Minnesota

 

[iStrat]

OK. Who has a walk-in freezer? This reminds me of the rain test.

 

[Derald Lary]

Her is a try

OK. Who has a walk-in freezer? This reminds me of the rain test.

As I live in deep south Texas, I really don't have a ready supply of gloves. I did find an old pair of my Air Force flying gloves and gave them a try. On the bottom side of the fingers is leather and on the top and sides are nomex for fire protection. Some, but not all, of the leather side of the fingers worked. I think the best results were the dirty ones. The nomex side upside down with the nomex on the bottom did not work at all. I then put my hand inside a clean cotton sock and that did not work either. A thin pair of dress socks worked somewhat but i think that my skin was in close proximity to the screen. How is this for a super scientific test? Your results may vary.

 

[adrianblaine]

I don't know about you, but when I lived in Michigan, even my "regular" phone was impossible to dial with gloves on. If you are stuck in the snow, I'm assuming you are in a car. Even if it is cold, taking your gloves off to use the iPhone wouldn't be too bad inside. It's the wind that kills...

 

[Sobe]

I heard that the touch screen is only sensitive to skin. Is this true or does it work with anything else? (i.e. pen, glove, mitten etc) My concern is that the iPhone is great now...but what about in winter when it's 10 below outside? I don't really want to be removing my gloves to make a call. This is of greatest concern to me when using the phone in an emergency such as being stuck on a snowed in road during a blizzard.

Of course most of the time I will use it from inside a building....but I want to know it's features won't get in the way of its primary function in an extreme case that is not so uncommon in Minnesota

If it's an emergency, I think taking off your gloves for the duration of a 9-11 call will be the least of your concerns.

 

[gr8tfly]

I don't think you'll be wearing any gloves that would be thin enough, even if you could find some that would work. ::: brrrrrr :::

The "problem" is the iPhone's touch surface is works by sensing electrical fields, whereas something like a Palm T|X is pressure sensitive. So, it really does need close proximity to skin.

 

[boss1]

I've live up north through and have seen a ton of winters. Taking off a glove to work a digital device is almost always necessary. Actually come to think of it, in the winter with gloves on, you can't really do much.

I've always had to take at least one glove off to dial a number on a small nokia or motorola phone. (it could be done but the thicker the gloves the more prone to errors)

It's difficult to distinguish between keys, change, and whatever else is in my pocket. I have to take a glove off

I used to smoke cigs. I couldn't really function a Bic lighter properly without taking a glove off. Unless the glove was leather...those have more grip.

The few times I've had to tote a laptop around, I had to take the gloves off (for typing).

I'm sure there are a dozen other everyday instances I'm forgetting. My point is while the iPhone is one of those items that can prove to be difficult to operate with gloves on....it's no exception to many items or situations.


You know fingerless gloves aren't that bad unless your outside for prolong periods of time in freezing temperatures. I use pairs similar to the ones below for the gym. Except my pair doesn't have the flashy yellow logo on them. They're just plain black.