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Ergonomic Texting Phones at Verizon?
Black Ice
Charlotte, NCRegistered User regular
Charlotte, NCRegistered User regular
Not sure why my thumbs hurt, but I can't grip a bowling ball without pain where my thumb grabs the ball. The joints in my thumbs have always cracked; I just went several months without much texting or playing any video games, yet they still hurt. Basically, my thumbs are where they are, and I don't want them to get any worse. I wonder if it's from t9 predictive texting.
If so, I'm guessing I should switch to a phone with a keyboard, but wow those keys look small! It looks like carpal tunnel waiting to happen. I did some googling but nothing that great turned up in the results. I did read that touchscreen phones are easier on the thumbs, but I'm not sure if I believe that after my thumbs feeling cramped using an iTouch keyboard. I've heard the Droid has some cool predictive texting that just involves dragging your finger across the keyboard, but I don't really want to pay hundreds of dollars for that one feature.
I'll be going to Verizon to get my new phone (Switching from AT&T).
tl;dr: Are there any ergonomic texting phones, or do some cause less stress on thumbs than others for texting (ie T9 vs keyboard vs touch screen)? I want to take care of my precious opposable thumbs.
If so, I'm guessing I should switch to a phone with a keyboard, but wow those keys look small! It looks like carpal tunnel waiting to happen. I did some googling but nothing that great turned up in the results. I did read that touchscreen phones are easier on the thumbs, but I'm not sure if I believe that after my thumbs feeling cramped using an iTouch keyboard. I've heard the Droid has some cool predictive texting that just involves dragging your finger across the keyboard, but I don't really want to pay hundreds of dollars for that one feature.
I'll be going to Verizon to get my new phone (Switching from AT&T).
tl;dr: Are there any ergonomic texting phones, or do some cause less stress on thumbs than others for texting (ie T9 vs keyboard vs touch screen)? I want to take care of my precious opposable thumbs.
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If you want to go the smart phone route, I'd recommend looking at the Droid 2 or the Droid X. With the Droid 2, you've got your choice of physical keyboard, normal virtual keyboard and Swype virtual keyboard. With the Droid X, subtract the physical keyboard. My wife swears by Swype on her DX, I much prefer the physical on my D2. YMMV.
If you're just looking for a regular phone that's going to be solid for texting and calls... as much as this pains me to say, I'd have a look at the recently re-launched Kin 2. Good physical keyboard and handles messaging in general quite well.
Definitely go into a store though and play with the phones and see what feels most comfortable to you. Those are just a couple places to start.
***Disclosure: I work for Verizon Wireless doing tech support***
Yeah, I tend to use Swype with my index finger. It sounds awkward, but it's usually slightly faster than tapping away.
With a touch keyboard (similar to the iPhone) I use two thumbs at once. The impact is less because you don't need to apply a lot of force, but you're still making similar movements. If the cause of your pain is RSI-like, this may not help. Then again, by using two thumbs you effectively halve the impact on your main hand.
edit: I haven't used a non-touch keyboard, but I would be surprised if that would be any better for your thumbs than most cell phone pads.