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. =)

[emcee]

What a sad, sad, sad world we live in when people actually have to complain about a high tech gadget that does infinitely more than any computer could 20 years ago and all in the palm of your hand. If we did as much to cars as Apple has to music and car phones, do you think you all would cut your nails to have one? If you have time to generate a story like this based on the length of your nails you are the lowest common denominator in human evolution. Do humanity a favor and get out of the gene pool.

[Mark McDougal]

USE THE SIDE OF YOUR FINGER. Tap on the side of your finger near the corner of the nail. It takes a bit of practice, but you can type accurately and fast on an iPhone with this technique..

[Oz]

Ok, first of all this article is ridiculously irrelevant, if she has a problem with her damn fingernails cut them or simply just dont buy an iPhone, Are you that retarded that you need to write a long article about why they should improve the iPhone. They dont care about you and your damn long fingernails because they will always be making money.

[Short Fingernailed Woman]

The fact that a gadget is more difficult to use because of long fingernails is no more "misogyny" than the fact that a short woman might need a stepstool to change a lightbulb means high ceilings are "misogyny". Erica must have led a pretty sheltered life if she's never actually experienced real sexism or misogyny.

[RandyTB]

I like the idea of allowing for a landscape keyboard so that the keys could be larger. I would like that, not because I have fingernails, but I'm a man with large hands and fingertips.

Whether the way Apple has designed this or not is misogynistic isn't half as startling as the misogynistic responses from other readers of my gender. Get a clue guys! You'd all be throwing a fuss if a major car manufacturer came out with a model which had a gas pedal designed for smaller feet and didn't allow the driver's seat to go back comfortably for anyone over 5'6".

Asking Apple to be tuned into its potential customers a bit better is completely legit. I love my iPod Touch, but it's not beyond improving. E.g. How lame is it that it can access the Internet, but it won't run videos requiring Adobe Flashplayer? I'm amazed at how defensive people get whenever a suggestion is made about how to improve an Apple product, as if you were demanding that Apple products be treated as sacred cows that shouldn't be criticized. It is a commercial product. It was not sent down with the original stone tablets.

[George Kaplan]

Sorry, Randy, but the blatant sense of entitlement coming from Watson-Currie's expectations require rebuke, none of which rises to the level of misogyny. Such ridiculous claims as hers cheapen the woes of women who deal with real sexism and misogyny on a regular basis.

This isn't about men subjugating women with their penis-centric works. It is about being self-centered and expecting the world to meet oneself on one's terms alone. It isn't as if Watson-Currie lacks for options (e.g., cut the nails, use a different phone).

It is about a company designing a product which can be properly used by 90% of the target audience, and someone in the vast minority expecting that the product's specs or features will be changed to accommodate her personal desires. Watson-Currie needs a reality check in the worst way.

[RRaya]

Yes this is the future and back in the early days it was required for women to have longer finger nails to scratch there husbands backs.
But those days are long gone so why are women still growing long finger nails?
Girls cut those nails and start getting those hands dirty the time for change is now.
Plus the iphone is an awesome product.

[the_chris2.0]

"It's the machine's job to accommodate its users, not the other way around," she said.

One of the most ignorant things I have EVER read!

It's the consumers job to purchase the appropriate machine. I didn't read the part where Erica was forced to buy the phone.

What an awful sense of entitlement she has.

[GodOfBiscuits]

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.

What the hell are you talking about? the wheel is a click-wheel. pressing on the "buttons" causes a mechanical key-press. PHYSICAL key press. You know, like a KEYboard?

As for the article, wouldn't she have problems with typing on any small device? by that measure, the iPhone would be the best shot she'd have at getting words correctly typed, given the word-level (NOT character level) smarts in the keyboard.

i'm as liberal as they come, but seriously? Sexist iPhones?

[DBX]

The problem is that long nails simply are inherently incompatible with this kind of touch screen. The only solution for this problem is for Apple to do another smart phone that uses a stylus or something. Such a device presumably could also handle the nails themselves in lieu of a stylus. However it would have to be a pressure-sensitive touch screen as opposed to the electro-sensitive one they have.

[KindredMac]

I just showed one of the girls in my office my iPhone and showed her how you are suppose to type on it and she had no problems by the time she was typing her second sentence on it. Guess what, her nails are longer than the girl's nails in the picture.
The iPhone is not for everyone. Here's a list of people who should stay away:
-Blind
-Deaf (for the iPod feature)
-Dumb
-Stupid
-Self Righteous
-Arrogant
-AirHeads
-Ignorant

If you don't like it, then go use a Palm or CrapBerry. She only wants an iPhone because it is the "cool thing" to have right now. Guess what, there are a lot of us out there that actually use every feature on the phone. I for one like to replace what ever I can in my house with the Apple version of it. All my computers are Macs, we have a bunch of iPods for different usages, our WiFi is all Apple and there is an Apple TV sitting in my living room. Apple products work like they should and how you THINK they should.

[fred fasen]

I can't believe with all the real problems we face, someone would have the gall to complain about something this trivial. Different products are made to suit different indiviuals.buy something else! Evidently the iPhone is not the product for you. Time to move on, there is no sympathy card to play.

[Puddy Tat]

What about using her knuckles (the 2nd joint of the fingers)? That seems like a natural reaction of adaptation if the nails are ineffective. The thing with new technology is that people expect it to be perfect. Nothing could be further from the truth.

[N. Courtney]

From what I've seen, just as with the iPod, people who bought the iPhone, tend to be somewhat lacking in self esteem the fact that someone would show off a phone to someone, I mean really it's a communications device.

Being an electrical engineer I've never seen a real need for a touch screen, eventually they scratch (Unless that's a sapphire screen or some other scratch resistance substance, which I doubt the fine little particles that get on your hands will eventually wear down the screen as will the constant friction.), and most eventually with time develop dead spots.

She does have a point that most people are over looking most engineers are men, but sometimes looks win out over long term functionality.

Kind of like dating a really pretty woman with no substance, eventually you will get tire of the outward appearance and long for something with a little more substance, and longevity.

[Dave]

This is more than just a fingernail issue. For more on the 'Touch Barrier' read tis: http://is.gd/xHv

Dave

[Bill]

Conductive fingernails won't solve the problem. The iphone screen also requires a large profile touch. I've experimented and the profile that touches the screen has to be at least the size of an eraser. If you look at the currently markets styli for the iphone, the have large tips. Now making something to fit on a womans (or maybe even some mens) fingernails large enough to be useful, would be downright goofy, and completely self defeating...

[dggraphics]

Who are these morons? Fingernail Problem? WTF?

[Erick Blair]

The fact that this essay was published in a so called reputable newspaper is pathetic. The fact that there are even a couple of people who take it seriously is worse. That woman's worthless opinion and the credulous reaction to it is sad. People like her make life harder and less enjoyable. If she doesn't like her phone that woman should be shamed into putting the Iphone where the sun don't shine, but no, she's given a soapbox in the local paper where, of course, she whines. Figures.

[Seinfeld]

That lady in the picture has man hands anyways. Get a manicure trim or get another phone. Quit griping about something you didn't design and aren't forced to use.

[Mike]

Seriously? This could be the stupidest non-problem I've ever had the misfortune to come across. What's next? Chic accessory-dogs discriminating against their owners because their poop smells?

[mark]

if you dont like it..... DON'T BUY IT

wtf is wrong with these people. These whiny crybabies find ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to complain about

[Tim]

Yes, it doesn't work will for blind people or people who have lost their fingers. It also 'forces' people to hold it with the display facing them.

This was one of the most dumb and selfish articles. Years ago the thought was that Earth was the center of the universe. Now it seems that the individual is the center of the universe. Very sick. Put another way, if when rock climbing the natural shapes of the rock don't fit one's hand, should we redesign it so it fits every one?

Sometimes people have the gift of criticism and much else to bring to the table.

Try to see the good in things and not the limits.

[GjP]

Lol....we are back to the days of suing McDonalds for serving hot coffee.

I could list 50 things that are not compatible with longish finger nails. Lady you're going to have to do what we learned in kindergarten. ADAPT. That is what humans do best. So stop your whining, bitching and complaining. Purchase something else that actually comes with a stylus. Your desire to be with the "In Crowd" obviously clouded your judgement to purchase smart.

Buy a Blackberrry or a Treo. I'm also sure the guy who posted that "everything" he owns in his house is Apple produced..well he's obviously insecure by the mere fact that he needs the world to know what he owns.

[Hiram]

When paying for groceries, and I have a cashier with ridiculously long fingernails, I like to lay the coins on the counter. Now THAT'S entertainment!

[Matthias Billingsworth]

I'm sorry, I don't understand...

Why would you need an iPhone in the kitchen?

[AK]

Erica Watson-Currie is what's wrong with America.

[Anonymous]

This is all about the type of touch screen that Apple chose to use. It's based on capacitance as opposed to resistance, and they most likely chose it for a number of reasons, including reliability, accuracy, and the use of multi-touch. Read http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/iphone1.htm and it's pretty easy to understand.

What the writer of this article fails to understand is that Apple chose this type of touch screen for good reason and calling for them to fix it would be a complete redesign of the product including using a less reliable touch screen technolgy. And quoting someone calling it misogyny is ridiculous. This isn't an issue of sexism.

Saying that "It's the machine's job to accommodate its users, not the other way around," is silly. Everyone make accommodations to use technology. Every technology has shortcomings and everyone has to deal with it.

People also make accommodations for fashion as well. Heels are not exactly comfortable to wear, but a lot of people wear them just the same...

[N/A]

This is all about the type of touch screen that Apple chose to use. It's based on capacitance as opposed to resistance, and they most likely chose it for a number of reasons, including reliability, accuracy, and the use of multi-touch. Read http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/iphone1.htm and it's pretty easy to understand.

What the writer of this article fails to understand is that Apple chose this type of touch screen for good reason and calling for them to fix it would be a complete redesign of the product including using a less reliable touch screen technolgy. And quoting someone calling it misogyny is ridiculous. This isn't an issue of sexism.

Saying that "It's the machine's job to accommodate its users, not the other way around," is silly. Everyone make accommodations to use technology. Every technology has shortcomings and everyone has to deal with it.

People also make accommodations for fashion as well. Heels are not exactly comfortable to wear, but a lot of people wear them just the same...

[GIVE ME A BREAK.]

Boohoo... I bought an over-priced gadget without considering all aspects of its use. GET OVER IT! Anyone with these "problems" obviously has too much money and not enough brains. Donate the money to charity, then it is atleast doing some good.

[Christian Millar]

i find it funny that all people focus on is being politically correct. being politically correct is bull. stop whining and find something that works for you, rather than monologue and whine about it before looking around for a stylus that can work (5 min. on Google found me an iPhone Stylus, but I won't tell you where to go; you should be able to find it yourself)

[Greg]

Good lord. I don't know who should be more ashamed — someone who complains about the "misogyny" inherent to the design of a capacitative touchscreen, or someone who decided this actually qualifies as news.

Go back to griping about Obama's lapel pin, or possibly finding footage of funny animals to pad a local news broadcast.

[MiamiHigh]

Women have been a great source of entertainment since... well that whole Eve thing but after that it's been a blast.

[So-krates]

Zero sympathy. Zero. If you are too common to cut your nails, I seriously doubt you're smart enough to use an iPhone!

[Dan Oblak - MacBigot.com]

"Considering ergonomics and user studies indicating men and women use their fingers and nails differently, why does Apple persist in this misogyny?"

Ma'am, if I had a man tell me that he wanted to type with his knuckles, and I told him that we're sorry, you'll have to train to a new behavior in order to enjoy our device to it's fullest potential -- do you think we would be having the same conversation? Methinks the misogyny is YOUR crime, not Apple's.

I am a user interface junkie, and I do a lot of 'last mile' training, so I interact with a lot of users with a rather diverse set of skills, expectations, and handicaps.

From what I know of those who use a keyboard, play the piano, or depend on touch screens (iPhone or not), no one uses the tips of their fingers successfully -- no matter how short (or long) their fingernails are.

Touch-typing is correctly done mostly on the pads of the fingers; though there are some 80's throw-back types (a la 'Secret of My Success') that somehow manage to click away on the ends of their fingernails all day long (contributing to the insanity of their coworkers much more then to their own RCI (Repetitive Clicking Injuries).

These whiners are in the same league with people who complain that the steering wheel is chafing their tongue (because their hands are too busy texting while driving), or that they're suing because their thong (see the recent news) snapped up and nearly tore out their cornea.

What we need are leper colonies for Professional Victims. Institute a 3-strike system, and when they've exceeded their quota for stupid complaints, they get put in a 'home', like http://MacIndy.net/SiliconPines/

Oh, darnit... I just tore my left thigh-high on the little tab at the end of my ethernet cable. Can't someone make that little wire a little less DANGEROUS?

To Ms. Watson-Currie -- we admit it, the Apple iPhone just wasn't designed with your 'problem' as a priority. So we'll let YOU pick the solution... either hand over your iPhone to someone who doesn't mind using the device like a normal person, or *trim your nails*. On either count, there are probably dozens of readers on this page who are willing to help. I don't have an iPhone yet, myself -- and I'm pretty sure that I have a little hatchet out amongst the camping gear in our garage.

[David]

The keyboard doesn't swap to landscape? It does on the iPod Touch... I always assumed it did on the phone too.

[Rodez]

To claim that Apple is mysoginistic due to a users inability to use the touchpad due to long fingernails is a stretch. By that logic, all men with long fingernails and an inability to use the iphone would also make Apple guilty of misandry as well. I'm sure as mentioned above, there are a lot of people who can't ever use the iphone/pod due to any number of disabilities. I guess Apple is discriminating against those people aswell.
So when your trimming your nails to a touch interface compatible length, think of the people who can't and will never use such a device, or be capable of many other daily activities like walking, feeding themselves, bathing themselves, moving, seeing, and count your blessings... Less hate-more love

[Michael Pitogo]

Why don't you give up the iPhone and get a krackberry? I hope your nails don't get in the way. Oh and bb doesn't have a stylus either.

[Kevin Vanstone]

It blows me away that someone who can drop $400-$600 on a device wouldnt try one out in a store or investigate these types of things. I bought a used $200 Tytn and made sure I could handle the smaller slide-out keyboard. Ignorance is no excuse to start a crusade against apple for "discriminating" against women. If your dumb enough to put that much money down and not investigate the functionality of a device, your just plain stupid. As for her excuse "It's the machine's job to accommodate its users, not the other way around," I just wish I could use that line on every product I ever bought. "My car is supposed to accomodate me, not the other way around" My mechanic would die laughing. It blows me away how far women will go when they blame a simple problem on discrimination based on gender - totally rediculous.

[Ronnie]

It's not misogyny. Men can have long fingernails just as readily as woman can.

Apple may of may not have a group of unsatisfied users but to position this article as one which attempts to accuse Apple of sexism is ludicrous.

[Jacques]

Okay, this is a joke, right? Cut one of your bloody fingernails ya nitwit.

[joey]

For the environment, California should just be proactive and ban fake fingernails and fingernail polish. How many tons of ozone-depleting varnish are slathered on women's finger and toenails each day? How many nail technicians have to inhale second hand fumes when working in a salon? How many children have to develop childhood asthma because their mommy wants purple toenails?

Thank you Steve Jobs for seeing the problem and taking a stand by rewarding women who eschew the toxic and environmentally damaging lifestyle that Erica Watson-Currie flaunts. Thank you Steve Jobs for caring about ... the children.

[Cletus]

The woman is a chauvinist pure and simple.

[Gekkobear]

I want an i-phone that works if you tap it with a fingernail, then it would work if tapped with your keys, or the change in your pocket, or any other object.

Who knows what it'll do in your purse while you're walking down the street. You'll have 200 hours of wrong number calls to China by the end of the month...

Oh, maybe that's why they wanted to make it more restricted? But that means that those complaining are hysterical whiny and unwilling to even think about the situation and the ramifications of their requested solution before b*tching.

And, dare I say it, supporting and reinforcing those stereotypes in this fashion with pointless b*tching is definitely sexist.

[Erica Watson-Currie, MCM, PhD]

For the record, I'd intended to ally with others who find the iPhone's keypad frustrating, & also wish they'd offer a stylus or at least have all applications work in landscape mode (which at least increases size of keys). Fingernails were my personal example.

But, hey, maybe all those glove-wearing complainers should just winter in warmer climates!

BTW: Just to clarify, most cellphones have a "lock" feature so that they won't be set off in pockets or handbags. If the iPhone doesn't, couldn't that be considered as another flaw?

Oh, NO! I forgot my place, again! Apple is All-Good: They never make mistakes: eWorld was brilliant; loved that Newton; and why would anyone complain about AT&T's monopoly on iPhone providership, when they could just get that fabulous Motorola ROKR?

Yes, we should all just bow down to KindredMac, with his enviable list of products. Maybe if I apologize now he'll let me come to his house & watch his AppleTV! Nevermind the fact the critics say the reasons that device failed in the marketplace "were its inability display television feeds in desktop window and mediocre graphical performance."

[Sandy]

Thanks to Hillary, women all over America think that if something doesn't suit them personally it goes against women in general. Sure, it might be inconvenient for you to use an iPhone with long fingernails. What's easier- cutting your fingernails once in a while or asking a multibillion dollar company to develop a solution on behalf of a handful of disgruntled customers? If you don't like the technology on the iPhone for whatever reason, thanks to free-market capitalism, tons of other more viable and practical options exist. You can't always have it both ways. The immature, crybaby nature of this complaint is only further compounded by the trumped-up charges of sexism attached to it, which downright embarrasses me on behalf of our society.

[ICJ]

Unbelieveable. I wish that the author of this article would actually do research. The iPhone does have a lock feature.

[HYOGA]

carajo ps que se corte las cochinas uñas se supone que es tactil no uñiatil...

Saludos

[Kaly]

Dear joey: How many? When you actually have answers to your own questions your suggestion might be worth listening to. To this point you've only given baseless and ignorant accusations. You need to actually learn about the issue before you spout this nonsense.

The article states a common problem and offers a possible solution for it. At most it request that the company seek to provide a solution. The ensuing ridicule is disproportionate.

[Zoltar]

I have a solution for you, and its really simple: Cut your nails!!!!!
(That, or shut up and get a phone more suitable for nails that long.)

This is all like britney spears or any other thing that starts to get popular. you point out all these flaws. just tilt the phone back people so your nails don't friggin touch it. don't hold it straight at you. duhh. chunky fingered people???? just don't by the phone or try not to type like its a lap top. it is a phone. turn it sideways on the internet and it spreads them out farther. I know a lot of people who are chunky who work that phone like a pro. sooo don't complain. You can do it.

[michele]

I am a big Apple fan and have all their products and am about to buy an iPhone. That is if I can find one, since Apple chooses a tremendously user unfriendly distribution channel.
I have long nails. hmmmmmmm. what to do. Since I have adapted to every other touch screen, including the iPod, I am sure I can figure out how to use this device. What surprises me is the vitriolic nature of the responses. A few have identified real solutions, other than to buy another product or cut your nails. I am typing away one my wireless Apple keyboard with my long nails with no problem. Will some nice long nailed person respond? My Treo is touch screen and I have no problem. I understand the thing about the skin to screen contact. Will some person give me practical advice, without judgements about nails vs intelligence?

Misogyny?!?!?!?!
That word is actually being used??

How can someone be so out of touch to make such a grandiose claim that by not catering to the minority of women with gaudy nails it somehow equates to the hatred of women.

Does she even know what this word means, or is it just heavy word to use when you don't get your way?

I'm a male btw, with long nails. I don't expect other people to compensate for it.

[Todd]

I will send you a pair of fingermail clippers. That should solve your problem.

[Steve Smith]

Seriously...who cares about some people with fingernails and dont want to learn how to type on the iphone. A blackberry has a 2 week learning curve reguardless and people moan and gripe about it until they get used to it. Really, you should just look at what you are doing, if you want an iphone, great, if you don't want to cut your nails because they are too long to work with the most advanced touch screen out there, then don't get one. It's like saying you want a Porsche, but couldnt fit due to height (too tall) well I can guarantee you that porsche would laugh in your face if you asked them to make a sports car longer for people of high stature. A friend of mine has thumbs that are easily 3/4 of an inch wide, and can type on the iphone flat fingered perfectly. This is all about getting used to a device, for, if the iphone had a stylus, I am pretty sure I speak for almost any iphone user and devotee, that we would not have bought one, because they are a thing of the past, clunky, annoying, and easy to lose.

All that said, get over yourselves, cut your nails, learn how to have better hand eye coordination so your big chunky fingers can hit the right keys, or get yourself a jitterbug phone and shutup about it!