Developers: Please Give Us More Finger-Touch Apps!

With the recent Apple’s iPhone, the HTC Touch and the LG Prada announcements, the “finger touch” has been the point of discussion all over the Web and evidently, latest surveys also find users are showing strong preference for finger input over a stylus. All that hype makes me wonder what application on PocketPC platform that was designed to use finger instead of stylus. And should software developer create more application using finger interface?

Below are few existing applications designed with Stylusless (or should I say “Finger-Touch” navigation). These apps happen to be my favorites for my daily usage.

I spend most of my working day in my car. Using a PocketPC in that environment is very different from using it from your desk. The GPS navigation application is designed with large buttons suitable to finger use but I find, unfortunately, it is very rare to find a PIM application that takes this requirement in consideration. The Calendar, Contact, etc..are swamped in to the small screen with tiny fonts, very hard to read…And using Microsoft Voice Commend is not reliable due to ambiance noise.

There was one application that was extremely well designed,  Mobimate’s Contacts Pro, which is now has become an “abandonware” for PocketPC. The screenshot is from the Palm version but the look and feel is similar. The buttons are large, the predictive input as well as the capability to search Last, First name or company is very handy. With few finger taps, you can find what you are looking for, another tap, the contact information will display on almost full page…I still use this application throughout the day.

As far as browsing a document or a Web page, Picsel Browser does a great job of using finger to slide the document or Web pages in any directions.

Using Picsel browser, users can pan and zoom each web page, enjoying all the original content, in its original online format, for the first time in the mobile space. And with download time significantly faster than dial-up, users stay engaged - and, therefore, connected - for longer. Picsel’s Browser works across the world’s most popular mobile devices, simply and quickly. This video shows Picsel Browser in action (the reviewer shows with stylus, but it works well with finger too)

 

 The other “Finger friendly” application is SPB Full Keyboard, which is designed for data/text entry. This application is not for car use - It offers full screen mode, you can enter text using large and easy-to-press buttons. 

Spb Full Screen Keyboard 3.0 provides all the features to make typing as simple and fast as possible. The curvy keyboard is very ergonomically designed to suit the thumb position and it offers the feel of the regular keyboard layout.

• Smart misprint correction
• Smart learning algorithm
• New VGA skins
• Portrait and landscape modes
• Windows Mobile 5.0 support
• Ideal input mode for entering large texts
• Full screen layout
• Large, finger-sized keys
• Word completion
• Integration with any Pocket PC applications
• Customizable keypress sounds
• Automatically edits selected text

The free PDAMedia Fullsize Qwerty keyboard is another example of finger input application. It is not as sleak as the commercial Spb keyboard but is is very capable indeed.

Please share if you know more “finger-friendly” application you might know!

VITO Technology is Giving Us Finger Touch Apps EasyPhone: Finger Friendly Contact App (Yes, Another One!) Vito Zoomboard: Touch Keyboard SBSH Chief Interviewed by PDA24/7 iPod Touch Showing 3rd Party Apps

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