Finger v. Stylus

[AndrewP]

Does anyone know whether a stylus will work on the Pre's screen?

Andrew

[ProfJonathan]

Looks like the Pre, unlike all previous Palm handhelds, uses capacitive touch technology for its screen (like the iPhone). Traditional styli won't work. There is, however, at least one maker of styli out there for the iPhone, Ten One Design, and those probably would work on the Pre as well:

http://www.tenonedesign.com/home.php

{ProfJonathan}

[JavaJiveJump]

what is the advantage of the stylus?

[ejtbatchelor]

If there is no graffiti what purpose would the stylus serve?
I assume no notepad app with Web OS

[tonyreynolds]

I assume no notepad app with Web OS

Why would you assume there would be no notepad app? Why would a notepad app need to use graffiti?

The iPod Phone/Touch has a very nice notepad app. A dedicated QWERTY keyboard would be a great addition over a screen-only keyboard.

Tony

[cms]

no I think he means a palm Notepad not Memos aka use a stylus to draw reminders

I'm sure palm will find a way to make this work maybe a hybrid touchscreen that can be set to also indicate preasure

[tonyreynolds]

no I think he means a palm Notepad not Memos aka use a stylus to draw reminders

I'm sure palm will find a way to make this work maybe a hybrid touchscreen that can be set to also indicate preasure

Ahhh, good point; gotcha...

[ProfJonathan]

Styli are also useful for drawing, playing fine-touch games like Scrabble, ease of navigation without getting finger oils on the screen, and let's not forget (please, please, somebody port Graffiti 1 to the Pre) actual handwriting recognition, which has its place for simple and 1-handed (on a desk) notetaking. {ProfJonathan}

[ProfJonathan]

I'm sure palm will find a way to make this work maybe a hybrid touchscreen that can be set to also indicate preasure

Don't bet on this; I'm fairly sure that, at least in the near-term, touchscreen tech is either one or the other, and I suspect multitouch probably requires the iPhone/Pre-type of screen, meaning no standard styli. Blah. {ProfJonathan}

[cms]

well thinking about it... I never use notepad on my palm anyways other than to check the digitizer...

[tonyreynolds]

Styli are also useful for drawing, playing fine-touch games like Scrabble...

Although I have to tell you that I have Scrabble for my Touch and it is very intuitive and easy to play, even with just a finger.

Still, as one who has used Graffiti for 10 years (and gotten VERY good at it), it is one of the features I miss the most with the Touch, as well as all of the WM devices, as Block Recognizer just isn't the same...

Tony

[tonyreynolds]

well thinking about it... I never use notepad on my palm anyways other than to check the digitizer...

I *occasionally* would use this feature on my Clie when I needed to jot a quick note from a friend in conversation or a reminder, for instance a hand-written note in the Calendar app, but only once in awhile...

Tony

[AndrewP]

what is the advantage of the stylus?
Because it gives you much better granularity when trying to select or click into things.
Best example is working with cells in a spreadsheet - they have to be huge to tap into them with your finger, whereas with a stylus they can still be quite small.

Andrew

[cms]

well I guess now were going to be zooming in and out alot

[JavaJiveJump]

Because it gives you much better granularity when trying to select or click into things.
Best example is working with cells in a spreadsheet - they have to be huge to tap into them with your finger, whereas with a stylus they can still be quite small.

AndrewGood Point! Thanks!

Haha! iPhone doesn't edit Excel so I guess that is one reason why they didn't pursue it.

[jwsp]

Anyone know what a 'gesture' is?

[philpalm]

well thinking about it... I never use notepad on my palm anyways other than to check the digitizer...The reason I want the more advanced Palm desktop is the ability to have the note pad visible on my PC. Unfortunately the basic Palm desktop lacks this and is only possible when installing the installation CD of a TE2 or TX...

However when I check my Clie Organizer desktop it is there as Free notes...
-------------------------
What is gesture? When using a IPod or ITouch or IPhone a gesture is a touch stroke that can when using a pinch motion on the screen condenseshrink an image. Another gesture is a sweeping motion that will move down a list of items.

[bigdog]

One of the most-used programs on my Palms has always been Diddlebug, a free drawing type program that allows for quick scribbled notes, diagrams etc that can be set with alarms. It is a vast improvement over Palm's Notepad program and to not have it on WebOS would be a major negative for me.

Another major issue with not having a stylus is the fact that the market for phones is growing fastest--and is already the biggest--in Asia, where character based alphabets are used, a stylus and/or handwriting recognition are necessary for real work.

Hopefully Palm and other companies resolve this problem quickly.

[Greek]

There are third party stylus that work on the iPhone, and they should work on the Pre as it uses the same kind of screen. There are also special gloves so you can operate the iPhone on winter. :D

Regards,

[madmaxmedia]

Although there are styluses available that work with a capacitance touchscreen, software designers are going to always assume people using their fingers and design the interface accordingly.

For selecting small cells in a spreadsheet it probably isn't a big problem, the Apple method of using a small 'magnifying glass' to precisely pick a cursor position can be used there.

The main difference is in UI controls. The toolbar buttons in Docs To Go would have to be bigger for example, but selecting text doesn't have to be too difficult with a finger.

[jwsp]

The smart thing is to take a nail file to your little finger. Filing the nail so it's slightly pointed can be unobtrusive and gives an accurate, sensitive and 100% portable stylus replacement!

[JavaJiveJump]

The smart thing is to take a nail file to your little finger. Filing the nail so it's slightly pointed can be unobtrusive and gives an accurate, sensitive and 100% portable stylus replacement!
LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL!