Thumbnail track pad

Touch your inner ring finger with your thumb.<p>That&#x27;s the place to put it, and it could be sold as, you know... a ring, instead of a giant fake fingernail that makes it look like you had your thumb surgically replaced with a big toe.<p>What I&#x27;d really like to see is a novel mobile method of text entry. The first company to sell something that lets you efficiently type on the go without involving a tiny QWERTY keyboard is going to really make a difference in how we use tiny devices.<p>I&#x27;ve always wondered if it would be effective to try and determine virtual letter presses based on subtle &quot;air typing&quot; finger movements tracked with accelerometers or something. I might be willing to don goofy bluetooth fingernails for that kind of functionality...

I think calling it a track pad is probably the wrong angle - It makes it seem like you should be able to use it with the same fidelity as a regular trackpad.<p>Consider it as a completely new input device. Time for the UX designers of the world to make it something special. I like it a lot.

&quot;Let&#x27;s say that today I wanna very subtly change the color of an accessory that I&#x27;m wearing when I enter or exist a certain social scenario&quot;<p>This puts a smile on my face... but come on, there must be better uses. Surely touching the accessory is easier. Also, the lettuce stirring while scrolling seems like a problem that is most easily solved by speech recognition. It&#x27;s not that I don&#x27;t like the idea but if it is that hard to come up with a situation where it is the one and only, superior interface... Perhaps someone will think of it...

I can feel the RSI already. I was excited that this might have been a weird hybrid between a mouse and a trackpad where the tracking surface goes on your fingertip, and everything becomes a trackpad.

Interesting, love the idea of small track pads. One issue that I immediately thought of though with it on your thumb is damage to the nail bed. As far as I understand it, pressure on the nail and the part of the thumb behind the nail can lead to nail deformities. Might be a bad place for repetitive use.

This is obviously very cool. My one thought is that it would be very hard for children to use. It&#x27;s important to consider adoption from a wide audience.

just tried putting my index finger on the far side of my thumbnail; not at all &quot;unobtrusive&quot; from a comfort perspective, imo.

I suspect people would end up getting a lot of repetitive stress injuries from such a device if used with one hand as pictured.

I&#x27;m really interested in this type of tech but don&#x27;t have any experience with electronics. Could a project like this realistically be completed by an amateur enthusiast?

Wow, that&#x27;s a great idea - but why not use the opposite side of the thumb - as if you are putting salt on things - imagine if you were having it there.