MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Are any of these accessible for clumsy users?

bsnick · 03-06-2016, 10:41 PM

I would argue that if you have accidental taps with your finger you'd have the same with a stylus, as the stylus is basically a finger-substitute, just more accurate (meaning, it's easier to hit a target with a stylus because of the fine tip). I suppose it comes down to: can you use a pen as a pointer with less shaking, or more accuracy, than you would have with your finger alone?

One other item to consider with the stylus is that it isn't attached to the device. There is no chain or string that connects to the device, so you'd have to put your pen into a holder of some sort. The new N96 has a holder attached, but for M96 and M92 you need to have a case with a slot for the pen. If your co-ordination issues would make you drop the pen you could perhaps create a home-made wrist-loop for the large pen, but it wouldn't work as well for the small pens as they don't have any holes for a string.

Button-wise, I can comment that the M96 physical buttons aren't overly sensitive. The d-pad directionals seem to be the most sensitive, but the back, menu, page-up, page-down and d-pad press all require a bit of force, enough that if you have shaking hands, for instance, you probably wouldn't accidentally click them.

Can you use the buttons exclusively? I haven't tried, really. I believe there's a video on youtube about using the M96 without the pen. You can probably do a lot since you have the back button and the menu, and the d-pad is basically just a finger tap once you've navigated. Problem is that it's not always easy to tell where the 'cursor' (for lack of a better word) is at the moment. You might have to move back and forth in an attempt to see it move from one area to the next. And with the d-pad's movement being the most sensitive (on the M96) of the buttons you might find yourself frustrated by over-shooting the target.

Having said that it does seem like the M96 is mostly usable with just the buttons. You might be able to find programs (like Xposed Additions) to assign further actions to buttons. ie, long-press of the menu button triggering the recent apps, long-pressing the back button sending you to the home screen.

Zoom on the M96 is only done via third-party apps like Assistive Zoom. So you'd only accidentally zoom if you tapped the floating zoom icon.

03-06-2016, 10:41 PM	#3
bsnick Zealot Posts: 119 Karma: 42 Join Date: Aug 2015 Device: Onyx M96+, T68+, Max2, YP2, HiSense A2 Pro	I would argue that if you have accidental taps with your finger you'd have the same with a stylus, as the stylus is basically a finger-substitute, just more accurate (meaning, it's easier to hit a target with a stylus because of the fine tip). I suppose it comes down to: can you use a pen as a pointer with less shaking, or more accuracy, than you would have with your finger alone? One other item to consider with the stylus is that it isn't attached to the device. There is no chain or string that connects to the device, so you'd have to put your pen into a holder of some sort. The new N96 has a holder attached, but for M96 and M92 you need to have a case with a slot for the pen. If your co-ordination issues would make you drop the pen you could perhaps create a home-made wrist-loop for the large pen, but it wouldn't work as well for the small pens as they don't have any holes for a string. Button-wise, I can comment that the M96 physical buttons aren't overly sensitive. The d-pad directionals seem to be the most sensitive, but the back, menu, page-up, page-down and d-pad press all require a bit of force, enough that if you have shaking hands, for instance, you probably wouldn't accidentally click them. Can you use the buttons exclusively? I haven't tried, really. I believe there's a video on youtube about using the M96 without the pen. You can probably do a lot since you have the back button and the menu, and the d-pad is basically just a finger tap once you've navigated. Problem is that it's not always easy to tell where the 'cursor' (for lack of a better word) is at the moment. You might have to move back and forth in an attempt to see it move from one area to the next. And with the d-pad's movement being the most sensitive (on the M96) of the buttons you might find yourself frustrated by over-shooting the target. Having said that it does seem like the M96 is mostly usable with just the buttons. You might be able to find programs (like Xposed Additions) to assign further actions to buttons. ie, long-press of the menu button triggering the recent apps, long-pressing the back button sending you to the home screen. Zoom on the M96 is only done via third-party apps like Assistive Zoom. So you'd only accidentally zoom if you tapped the floating zoom icon. Last edited by bsnick; 03-07-2016 at 12:51 AM.