FIGURE C

Here's the ThumbType Keyboard up close and personal. Click picture for a larger image.

The software allows you to navigate from field to field using the navigation shortcuts and the "Fn" key. Without leaving the keyboard, you can also access your extended characters, set the caps lock and numeral lock, and do lots of other things you take for granted while you're navigating with your stylus. After it learned what I normally access, I was able to pretty much leave my thumbs in place. A word of warning, though: you really look like you're playing video games while doing this. I'm waiting for someone to accuse me of playing Tetris instead of listening to the meeting.

I did find the learning feature very handy. I just couldn't seem to type one particular key properly due to the fact that I'd been at the Joe Bob Briggs Fan Club picnic and broke my thumbnail off during a particularly violent seven-legged race. ThumbType will recognize when you hit that wrong key several times in rapid succession. After you've done that, press the correct key and you can fix your mistake.

Because this was originally a Japanese product, there's a feature-rich Japanese version available. There's also a HackMaster driver for those of you with many, many hacks running on your Palm OS. I haven't tested that driver, so I can't vouch for its quality. However, judging by the attention to detail, I have a feeling it's a pretty decent bunch of 1s and 0s.

Wrap up
For me, Graffiti is still the fastest way to enter text on my Palm device. However, I imagine that with a little more practice using this keyboard, I could write the great American novel on my Palm organizer. In fact, true to the spirit of pioneering and all that stuff, I wrote part of this article with the ThumbType. Perhaps it's just a by-product of me being so crotchety and set in my ways after years of using Graffiti, but it took a little too long to get used to. As a result, I'll drop a few points and give this little gizmo only three kookaburras on the infamous Fredlet Kookaburra Meter.

Product availability and resources For more information on the ThumbType, check out http://www.osw.co.jp/english/products/mobile/thumb.htm. Bulk reprints Bulk reprints of this article (in quantities of 100 or more) are available for a fee from Reprint Services, a ZATZ business partner. Contact them at reprints@zatz.com or by calling 1-800-217-7874.

S. Fred Green, a.k.a. Fredlet, is a graphic designer with a serious gadget fixation. To support her habits she designs Web sites and tests Internet software at Macromedia. You can mail her at pilot@fredlet.com and visit her infamous Palm-related site at http://www.fredlet.com/pilot.