As you can see in Figure A, FatFinger allows you to display a keyboard on the Palm handheld screen as a way to improve data entry.

FIGURE A

FatFinger provides finger-sized buttons for easier data entry.

The concept is simple. You use your finger to tap out the text you want right on the screen. The software responds to the touch by visually and audibly clicking.

This review is intended to determine whether or not FatFinger could improve the Palm OS user experience. I decided that the best way to answer this question was to do a benchmark comparison of FatFinger against other popular methods for entering data into the Palm handheld. Primarily, I wanted to understand the difference between data entry using Graffiti, FatFinger, and a PC keyboard.

The first thing I had to do was find a test subject who had enough Graffiti experience to make a comparison worth while. In fact, the subject I selected had two years of Palm OS Graffiti experience. What I realized after the test is how it took two years for her to acquire the skill to accomplish what FatFinger allowed her to achieve in just two minutes.

My point, backed up by hard data in the following sections, is that Graffiti stinks. Said another way, the same data was entered more quickly by the beginner FatFinger user than by the same two-year-experienced Graffiti user. I remember a game when I was a lot younger called Othello. Its catch phrase was, "A few minutes to learn and a lifetime to master." I have often referred to Graffiti in that way, and now I have evidence (and FatFinger) to support such a statement.

Test methodology
The test was conducted with the "average" Graffiti user (defined as someone who has owned a Palm handheld for a number of years and knows most Graffiti strokes) who had just been introduced to FatFinger (with just a few instructions on how to activate the application). To counter the learning and memorizing of the test phrase, we executed the timing in forward order (starting with FatFinger Block Style) and then backward order (starting with the full size PC keyboard). 100% accuracy was required, so corrections were made while entering data and were included in the times. The phrase was entered into the Palm OS Memo Pad using each method two times. The times were then averaged.