The iPhone fingernail problem

UPDATE JUNE 25: For those of you catching up to this just now, here's a new post looking at some of the criticism that our coverage of this fingernail problem has generated.

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Hillary Clinton broke new ground in her race for the White House. Yet some iPhone users complain that when it comes to the hot gadget from Apple, women are still being treated like second-class citizens.

Apple said this week that on July 11 it would upgrade the iPhone software for free with new features for all current owners. On the same day, it will start selling a new version, the iPhone 3G, that runs on a faster data network, includes GPS and costs as little as $199.

But Erica Watson-Currie of Newport Beach was frustrated that the improvements didn't solve the fingernail problem. She and other women who have long nails -- as well as people of all genders with chunky fingers -- have real trouble typing on the iPhone. The 39-year-old consultant and lecturer, who says her fingernails are typically between one-eighth and one-quarter of an inch long, wants the iPhone to include a stylus.

"Considering ergonomics and user studies indicating men and women use their fingers and nails differently, why does Apple persist in this misogyny?" Watson-Currie (whose fingers are pictured at right) wrote in a comment on our post Monday about the iPhone launch.

But many people assert that one of the iPhone's best traits is its ability to function without a stylus, the often-misplaced mini-chopstick required by the Palm Pilot and other earlier hand-held gadgets. Apple created the iPhone with a multi-touch screen, navigated by presses and swipes of the finger. Unlike a BlackBerry or Treo, which has a separate keyboard, the iPhone requires you to type by pressing a virtual keyboard that appears on the screen.

Problem is, the iPhone's touch screen responds to the electrical charge emitted by fingertips. And pretty though they may be, fingernails don't emit one. When the first iPhone came out nearly a year ago, tech journalist Russell Shaw at ZDnet identified the fingernail problem and predicted that Apple might find a tough market with teenage girls (nevertheless, the company has sold 6 million iPhones and remains on track to sell 10 million by the end of this year, a goal that should be helped by the $200 price cut).

The New York Times, citing Nielsen Mobile, reported this week that the number of women using smartphones more than doubled last year, to 10.4 million, growing at a faster pace than men.

Those iPhone users who have chunky fingers might hanker for a stylus too. Some experience problems ...

... typing on the touch screen because their fingers cover too much space, said Gavin Lew, managing director of User Centric Inc., which has studied the iPhone user experience. "There's tight real estate there," he said. "You are asking your finger to hit the letter just right and no others. You may be trying to press the W but you accidentally hit the Q."

Apple's software automatically corrects typing mistakes, a feature that many people like. But it does sometimes guess the wrong letters.

Apple declined to comment about fingernails and the iPhone. In the past, the company has said that it's more natural to use the pointing tool you were born with: the finger.

Adding a stylus would disturb the very essence of the iPhone, said Anthony Andre, founding principal at Interface Analysis Associates, a usability and ergonomics consulting firm. A key feature of the iPhone is that, unlike other devices, it doesn't respond to anything except touch. That lets it tell the difference between a deliberate swipe of the finger and an accidental brush of, say, a pocket lining. "If you put my Treo in my pocket, I'm making phone calls," Andre said.

That's not the only problem our readers found with the iPhone. In the comments, they complained that Apple should have fixed another issue that has caused grumbling since the device hit the market a year ago: Users can't cut and paste text to save time. Other items on the wish list included a video camera and the ability to view Adobe Flash Web pages.

As for the fingernail problem, there have to be solutions, right? A company called Ten One Design sells an aftermarket iPhone stylus for about $20 to $25 apiece. Watson-Currie hasn't been impressed by the reviews and thinks Apple should offer a stylus on principle. Why not just cut her fingernails? "It's the machine's job to accommodate its users, not the other way around," she said.

Those who don't want to choose between fingernails and an iPhone can learn to type using the sides of their fingers. That might be good enough for surfing the Internet or making phone calls. But doing serious e-mailing or text messaging that way can be onerous.

"Why are they still discriminating against those of us with fingernails?" another woman posted on our earlier story. "Guess it's a Blackberry for me :("

Speaking of the BlackBerry, what about typing with your thumbs on the iPhone? Heidi Roizen, a prominent Silicon Valley investor and entrepreneur, says she gets around the fingernail problem that way. "My thumbnail does not hit it," she said. But she adds that the approach doesn't entirely solve the problem because there's barely enough room on the iPhone screen when held vertically (see big finger issue above). On Roizen's iPhone wish list: that the virtual keyboard would switch into "landscape mode," or spread out horizontally as it does in displaying photographs, when she types e-mail so that the keys are wider across the screen. 

Andre, the ergonomic consultant, says he has a win-win solution: Fingernail polish with a material that activates the iPhone touch screen.

Brilliant! VC firm Kleiner Perkins is offering a $100-million iFund for iPhone-related businesses, so maybe someone should get cracking. Might we suggest a few names for the nail polish hues: iPhone Indigo, Oscillator Ocher or Touch Screen Taupe.

-- Michelle Quinn

Photo: Erica Watson-Currie

Comments

[Jocelyn Wildenstein]

If you don't lke that the iphone doesn't recognize your long nails on it's touch screen then you should buy another device that's more accomodating, or invent an after-market product specifically suited for your problem.

[Des]

I do think it's ridiculous that IPhone expects women with finger nails to change the way they wear their nails for a product that they bought for any where between $ 400 and $ 600. And yes, what about people with chunky fingers??? Mine fingers aren't overly chunky and yet I still have a problem with the IPhone key pad. All these brilliant minds at Apple and no one thought that it would be easier to type with the key board on landscape? After a year, this problem should have been fixed with the 2.0 upgrade, but then we're talking about a company who thought it would be easier to scroll in your contacts list instead of searching for a name and is just now coming out with software to fix that problem. For the most part the IPhone is a wonderful product, but not real conducive to doing business quickly and efficiently.

[Vic Arpeggio]

The big issue that wasn't resolved in this iteration of the iPhone is that there still isn't voce-activated dialing-- something you would expect given that California is being forced to go hands-free in about 3 weeks.

[Kelly Watkins]

Why don't they just make voice activated everything? Then you can really be in control of the world you live in.

[iPhone user]

Who cares??? Someone's ALWAYS going to have a gripe with SOMETHING! You can't be all things to all people so leave it the way it is. Don't like it? Go get a Blackberry, don't turn my iPhone into your blackberry

[aries marso]

Maybe if the user could adjust the setting of the keyboard layout it would be a lot easier, The default layout is meant to be used with over four fingers, therefore it is impractical for such a small device to have the qwerty layout.

[Monica]

Finger nail problems aside, the iPhone as it is is useless for the blind, I would think.

[dan]

while we're going after the iPhone, let's not miss all the musical instruments w/ fretboards that are incompatible w/ long nails. they should have to change also to provide equal opportunity to those having long nails. after all, those having long nails are genetically coded that way and couldn't possibly change, could they?

[Mary Pipes]

You have got to be kidding me!!! First of all, its a product for people to use. If you don't like it, there are many other products to fill the void. I love my iPhone and my short fingernails! There are a lot of things you can't do with long fingernails. The next generation of women gets that. I get grief from my daughter if my nails have the slightest length to them. To her it is not only not very functional, but also looks "disgusting". I am talking about nails shorter than what are in the photo. It makes me happy to know that what's "in" now values the need for women to use their hands.

[Iphone probs]

I have little fingers and I still have trouble typing on the Iphone. It is the main reason I won't buy one. I like the idea of the keyboard turning landscape to make the buttons wider. Excellent suggestion.

[Perspective]

But Des, "iPhone" doesn't "expect" anyone to do anything. In fact, neither the device nor Apple expect anyone to do anything but buy and use the device should they so desire. Of course, if an alteration was made to the product, the people that like it as is would complain, and that group would likely include many women. It's simply not for everyone.

[BB user]

Uum, that's YOUR problem and not Apple's. Cut your fingernails or buy something else. They don't have to design it for everyone, and just because some women CHOOSE to have long nails and can't use it does not make Apple misogynistic. A man with long nails would have the same problem. For the fat-fingered, same thing, buy something else and quit your griping!

[Steve]

Try before you buy?.....

[Roysan]

Wheres Adobe flash? Also, if we were able to flip the email on its side, it would be easier to type.

[Dan M.]

You have to be freaking kidding me. A touch screen format is misogynistic? Get a grip lady. Another example of spoiled American women not EVEN knowing how good they have it. Ever heard of Pakistan? Or any other country ending in 'stan'??? No doubt Mrs. Watson-Currie considers herself one of the self assigned Illuminati.

My own large MASCULINE fingers and the trouble I have using an IPhone or any other miniaturized device notwthstanding, I would not even consider accusing Apple of discriminating against me.

[lizriz]

I've not tried the iPhone, but I will say that the keyboard that came with my new iMac has a major fingernail problem. I wear my nails natural and relatively short, but I now keep a fingernail clipper next to my computer because right when my nails start looking nice, I have to clip them to use my iMac keyboard. It's such an absurd and obvious problem that it's clear they didn't have any women with fingernails test that keyboard.

One might say that I traded in my old iMac paperclip for nail clippers. ;)

Seriously though, I love my iMac, but it kinda sucks that both the mouse and the keyboard have functionality issues for me. The one-button mouse went right into a drawer, and I suffer with the keyboard only because I don't know of a good, small footprint substitute that would have all the same Mac info. on the function keys.

you are not supposed to type with your fingernail, you use the fatty part of your thumb and use your index finger. also you are not supposed to type everything exact, the iPhone auto corrects for you. Once you figure these little things out you will be fine.

[Jenn]

If a touchscreen doesn't work for you, don't buy the damn phone.

[George Kaplan]

I guess this makes it official: We've arrived at a time when each person expects the world to adapt itself to meet his or her needs.

I'm 6'4" and I don't fit easily into a Porsche. I fully expect Porsche to change its design to allow someone of my height easy access.

I would be shocked if anyone used Watson-Currie's professional services for anything short of driving directions to Fashion Island after her statement regarding the iPhone's soft keyboard constituting "misogyny". Perhaps she hasn't received enough advanced degrees to figure this out, but long fingernails on EITHER sex is a fashion choice, not a sexual trait. If the iPhone somehow discriminated against breast size, she might have an argument with her claim of "misogyny", but it is the ultimate in self-involved navel-gazing to believe that a multi-billion dollar company needs to adapt the design of its product to fit her personal fashion choices.

BTW, a stylus is the worst form of compromise when working with a keyboard.

It will be a shame if I am the first, but Apple Inc and the world in general owe Watson-Currie absolutely nothing. She can cut her damn nails, or she can buy a Blackberry. It is called freedom of choice.

[Dr. GLK]

I guess this only goes to show that people with claws should not buy iPhones.
My cats had the same issue, until I trimmed their claws...

[hypewagon]

"The Women's fingernail problem"

In this day and age having long fingernails is a sign that one does not have to work with their hands. Long painted nails are a symbol that means "I'm special".

Women who work hard don't have the luxury of long painted nails. So much love and respect to all the women out there who have short nails and use the iPhone just fine.

[Cengiz Tekin]

I guess we really have come very far in this society if the i phone being unfriendly to those with fingernails is what we now classify as misogyny. What this lady needs a very heavy dose of PERSPECTIVE. Furthermore, I think the real joke with this I Phone is that Steve Jobs thinks that he should tell me which company to get my cell service from. AT&T happens to be a very crappy network where I live and work, so I have no interest in this phone as long as it is carrier exclusive. Really, I think it is an ok phone, but I think it is really over-hyped. Sign of the times I guess.

[Xtopher]

Useless for the blind! Yes. And useless for people without any hands! What was iPhone thinking? And the deaf! They can't use it. iPhone should fix that. And the stupid! Oh, well, it seems they can use it, but they complain.

[Bill]

I tried to use an iPod once or twice, a total exercise in frustration. Whatever happened to stop, play-pause, last track, next track and other simple controls that click when you push them? iPhones must be just as weird. Who needs it, NOT ME.

[HappyiPhoneUser]

Use your thumbs. Simple. This whole post/argument is off - anyone with 10 fingers can easily use the iPhone.

I'm 6-2, and have fingers that are proportionally big. I've found that the best and fastest way to type is using my thumbs - you just keep your thumbs parallel to the surface, and you could have 1-inch nails and type just fine. This is actually the most ergonomic way. The problem is that people have learned bad habits from bad devices. Don't cramp up your fingers - relax them, and type away. =)