IPhone just not cutting it for those with manicures, fat fingers
Apple Inc. has seen some wild complaints, from iFires
to widespread
outrage over its locking policies. But complaints
about manicures and chubby fingers? This is truly new territory to
Apple.
The Cupertino based corporation is poised to sell the vastly
improved 3G version of its popular smartphone for only $199, starting July
11. Apple also announced it will give all iPhone owners a new software
upgrade with improved functionality. The new 3G phone in particular looks
very attractive with GPS, a faster network, a simulated method for running
multiple programs, lower cost, and more.
Unsurprisingly, the new iPhone is generating some complaints. Some are
upset about the lack of video, which is common among most camera phones.
Others are angry that Apple isn't offering a means of memory expansion, such as
miniSD cards. Still others complain that Apple is just being lazy by not
offering what seems like a simple functionality -- copy and paste for text.
The LA Times reported on a much stranger line of issues
encountered largely by the fairer sex. The iPhone responds to electrical
charges from fingertips, allowing its touch functionality to work. It
won't respond to fingernails.
Erica Watson-Currie of Newport Beach, Calif., a consultant and lecturer, is
among the women up in arms that the iPhone won't respond to their long
fingernails. She states, "Considering ergonomics and user studies
indicating men and women use their fingers and nails differently, why does Apple
persist in this misogyny?"
Watson-Currie pegs her average fingernail length for those curious between an
eighth and a quarter of an inch. She yearns for a stylus to save her from her
iPhone woes. Unfortunately many have praised the iPhone for not using a
stylus, which many feel is a burden and easy to lose.
Jennifer Aaker, professor of marketing at the Haas School of Business at the
University of California, Berkeley says that by trying to fill many shoes --
web machine, music player, and cell phone -- it is bound to run into these kind
of complaints. She states, "Any time you fulfill multiple roles,
there are going to be gripes."
There have also reportedly been gripes by users with "fat fingers"
having trouble getting the phone to respond. This problem affects both
genders equally.
Despite the dissatisfaction, iPhone sales among women and in general are
up. Since June 2007, Apple has sold 6 million iPhones. In October
only one in four iPhones bought was by a woman; that number has now jumped to
one in three, based on information from Nielsen Mobile.
Many people have complained about Apple's virtual keyboard and its lack of
tactile feedback. According to Gavin Lew, managing director of User
Centric Inc., which studies the iPhone's reception among users, some users
don't like the autocorrect feature, which attempts to guess at words typed
wrong. Many users like the feature though he adds.
Some women are learning ways to live with the iPhone and have pretty
fingernails. Heidi Roizen, a prominent Silicon Valley investor and
entrepreneur and long fingernail aficionado, only uses her thumbs on the
screen. She says, "My thumbnail does not hit it" thanks to a
shorter thumbnail.
While those with long fingernails or larger fingers may be incensed at Apple's
lack of compassion, they seem unlikely to be able to do much to slow down the
iPhone juggernaut. They'll do their best to voice their complaints,
though, if the latest reports are any indication. Windows
7, from Apple rival Microsoft, might be in trouble too, as it looks to
implement extensive finger driven capabilities as well.
"I want people to see my movies in the best formats possible. For [Paramount] to deny people who have Blu-ray sucks!" -- Movie Director Michael Bay
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