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FatFinger
March 24, 2003
FatFinger is an alternative text entry system that lets you either use your stylus or let your finger do all the walking. It’s a replacement for the popup keyboard that you already access on your Palm OS device through the little “ABC” and “123” areas at the bottom of the Graffiti area. When you’re in a text field, simply tap the “ABC” to bring up FatFinger, and away you go. It’s ideal for devices such as the new Kyocera 7135 SmartPhone, as it still feels a little strange to be using Graffiti on a phone. Depending on the device you use, you’ll install one of two different versions of FatFinger— on devices using up to 4.1 you’ll need the “hack” version of FatFinger, and if you are lucky enough to have an OS5 device, such as the Tungsten T, then you’ll need to install the standalone version of FatFinger. They both work equally well on their respective devices. Once installed, you can easily configure either version to exactly suit your preferences— do you want tapered keys or square ones? What color would you like to use? Would you like a QWERTY layout, or would you rather everything were laid out in rows in alphabetical order? It’s your choice.
FatFinger can really help new users get things entered into their handhelds more quickly by removing the “Graffiti intimidation factor” that prevents some people from getting proficient with the Graffiti system. And of course there is also the “fewer hand cramps” factor, one that cannot be easily dismissed. The standard stylus on most handheld devices is far too small to be used for long periods of time without fatigue. Sure, you can use a full-size stylus or pen/stylus combo, but then you have to keep up with it somehow, since it doesn’t fit in your device. It’s much easier and more comfortable to use your finger instead, but you can’t do that with the standard Palm OS popup keyboard— the keys are way too small, and too close together to be able to “type” accurately with your finder. And besides, if you happen to lose your stylus you won’t be completely stuck until you’re able to get another one.
Perhaps one of the best features of FatFinger is that everything is all right there, ready to use. There’s nothing more annoying that needing to enter a number sign, a quote mark, an asterisk, or an underscore and simply not being able to remember the right Graffiti stroke. If you’ll look at the top right hand corner of the screenshot, you’ll see that there are four different keyboards to choose from— alpha, numeric, punctuation, and international/accented characters. Instead of having to try and figure out the right Graffti stroke, you can simply tap on the desired character and have instant gratification.
One caveat is that you can’t really use it with word completion software like TextPlus. That really isn’t FatFinger’s fault, but it is something that you should be aware of. I’ve grown very dependent on TextPlus in the last few months, in some ways because Graffiti can be such a pain sometimes— especially if you’re trying to enter a long journal entry or compose a detailed email on the fly. Since FatFinger’s “keyboard” layout takes up almost the entire screen, the small popup window of TextPlus almost invariably covers up the letter I need to use next. There’s really no way around that issue aside from having to choose whether you want to use TextPlus or FatFinger, as they really don’t work well together.
FatFinger is a very handy alternative text entry utility that just might change the way you think about entering data onto your handheld device. You can get a free trial of FatFinger at the FatFinger web site, and you can also purchase it for $14.95.
PocketGoddess rating for FatFinger: 
