Fingerworks iGesture Num Pad

by Fingerworks

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00014WBU2
• Item model number: IGESTURENUMPAD
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: December 3, 2003

Product Description

Manufacturer Description

The iGesture Numeric Keypad combines the functions of a standard mouse and multi-finger gesture in a thin package that's just a little smaller than a mousepad. Mouse operations like point, click, drag, and scroll are combined seamlessly with multi-finger gesture in the same overlapping area of the iGesture NumPad's surface. Switching between mouse and gesture input is effortless and does not require you to input any special commands.

The iGesture Numeric Keypad gives you unprecedented control of graphical objects using gesture shortcuts while providing you with the same functionality as a mouse and number pad. The iGesture NumPad is thin enough to pack along with your laptop computer and it is a perfect mouse or track ball replacement for your desktop system. It works equally well with either hand.

Looking for a programmable keypad? All keys including arrow/editing keys and the numeric keypad itself are fully remappable via the USB port with our MyGesture Editor. The iGesture Numeric Keypad provides portable USB Plug and Play with PCs, Macs, and Linux, no driver installation necessary.

Product Description

FingerWorks iGesture Num Pad replaces computer mouse for input commands. Improves productivity and reduces hand, wrist and finger injuries caused by using a computer mouse. Plug & Play- downloards automatically. This pad has a 31- numeric keypad and is great for those who do a lot of pointing and number input

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Great mouse replacement, April 13, 2005

By 

Dave Justin - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fingerworks iGesture Num Pad (Personal Computers)

I've owned and used this product daily for about nine months. This device replaces your mouse and number pad on the keyboard, which makes it a great accessory for a notebook computer. Actually, it works similarly to the touch pads on many notebooks but is much more versatile.

Mouse movement is accomplished by dragging two fingers across the surface. I believe that many people use the index and middle fingers, but I find the middle and ring fingers more comfortable. Anyhow, single clicks are accomplished by tapping those two fingers. Double clicks are done with a tap of three fingers. Dragging (i.e., click and drag) the mouse is done by moving three fingers across the surface.

The number keys are done by tapping a single finger within the boundaries of a key. Naturally, since the surface is smooth, the user needs to look at the device to make sure his finger hits the target. Dragging a single finger vertically or horizontally across the surface will send a series of up/down or left/right arrow key strokes, respectively.

The cool part is the gestures. Three fingers and a thumb downward will refresh your browser. The same combination left will go back to the previous webpage; right will go forward. Pull those four fingers together, as if scooping something up, and you'll save your document. The same gesture with all five fingers will increase font size in your browser; spread them back out to decrease it. There are plenty of other combinations, and the gestures are all surprisingly intuitive.

I do believe this device has assisted in abating my RSI problems by reducing the number of times my individual fingers need to rise and fall. That is, this device allows you to change your techniques so that you employ mostly "large muscle", whole-arm movements (although some gestures still require use of finger muscles). I do still feel hand fatigue at times, but my fingers don't twitch as they did when I used a mouse heavily.

I'm ranking this a four-star product, as I do see room for improvement. While there appear to be many customization options, the interface for customization is difficult to understand. I'd like to be able to change some gestures from "two-finger" to "single-finger", but as far as I can tell, there is no way to do it--or if it does exist, it is not easy enough. Second, the device lays flat, requiring your hand to be pronated, which is bad ergonomics and can cause RSI. It would be nice to be able to flip a latch down to angle it so that the left side is higher than the surface of the desk (...if you're using it on the right side of the keyboard--if you were using it on the left, you'd want the right side to be raised). Third, once in a while, I'll inadvertently type a number with this device when I set my hand on it or accidentally touch it. But pressing the numlock key will keep that from happening by disabling the keypad. So I don't really count that against it.

All in all, this is a very suitable device. Using my speech recognition software and the iGesture NumPad, I've gone for days at a time without touching my keyboard. Seriously.