Suggesting a proper iPad handwriting user interface for lefties
January 26, 2012 11 Comments
Since about the first moment I bought my iPad for project management purposes, I have been looking for a perfect solution to utilize the device in a way that will get me rid of any paper-work. Since there’s quite a lot of handwriting note-taking apps out there, as well as a whole range of various styli (styluses), I have been going through a few of them and trying them out in the field.
The solutions out there are fairly satisfying… but only for the right-handed users. The specifics of wrist positioning with left-handed writing did not allow me personally to find piece with any of the available apps.
The image below represents a suggestion I have sent to the guys at Ginger Labs, authors of Notability app for iPad. The application offers a great option to combine a zoom-box with a wrist-zone (inactive grey zone that does not register any strokes or input). However, the wrist position of left-handed writing still does not allow to use these interface capabilities for a perfect handwriting experience.
My suggestion was the following:
It essentially suggests an option to reverse the position of zoom-box and wrist-zone to be positioned top-down, thus allowing the left hand to slide across the top of the device, never touching the screen or staying constantly in a wrist-zone.
I am looking forward to the reply from Ginger Labs. Hopefully, this offer will be registered somehow and will make the Notability app a perfect iPad handwriting solution, even for lefties.
UPDATE: I have communicated yet another concept for the lefty hand-writing interface, which involves an active wrist-zone. The latter will constantly become bigger as the writing progresses. See the concept below:
do you get any positive feedback from developers that they are working on this? Ii am also a lefthanded person and thusfar not really used the ipad for writing. My wrist is above and to the left of my pen.
penultimate seems to do it okay, though no zoom. noteshelf unfortunately no left handed support, though good zoom. perhaps notetaker hd, but haven’t tried that one yet.
etienne
Yes, they wrote me back that they’re looking into improving the interface for lefties. I’ve tried Penultimate as well, but the “wrist protection” isn’t working out too well for me: if you touch the screen with your wrist before the stylus/finger does, then it is not that helpful. We’ll see if they add the zoom-box.
Haven’t tried any others. BTW I’m using Jot Pro by Adonit stylus.
This is interesting for Lefties. However, the hand position looks awkward and can lead to the traditional “Lefty Hook” as you see President Obama has plus a cramped up hand.
This IPad User interface will not help Lefties if it does not display the proper hand position for ease and clarity of handwriting.
If they want to be successful I suggest they see page 22 of my book for the position a left-hand should be in to write legibly and with ease. Annie Thomassen, author of “Left-Handed But Not Left Behind, A Positive Approach for the Left-handed Student”
Thank you for your comment, Annie! I suppose that the creators of such applications would really be interested in a consultancy on left-handed writing, unless of course they already have considered a professional opinion. My concepts were based only on my personal hand-writing experience, but in reality there are tons of other left-handed writing styles. Perhaps you could share some of the findings from your book with the developers from Ginger Labs?
I got a styles from dealextreme.com for 2 usd. Took a couple if weeks ti arrive in europe though.
Refound Notes Plus. This is the one with a zoom box for lefties. Penultimate is already gone
Stylus is central to your writing experience, so far I’ve used Pogo Stylus and Jot Pro from Adonit. The last one is really great and accurate, but will set you back around $30. I havents tried Noes Plus. How is it for lefties?
I wil have a look at that stylus, as most of them need/have a thick rubber point, and i write small as a lefty.
Notes olus is great i think for lefties. I purchased it last year but it didn’t work then, but tried a newer version this weekend and it is good.
There is a lefty function on it and you can olace the zoom box halve way the screen zo there is enough place above to rest your wrist on
Notes Plus is quite expensive – EUR 5,99. Seems quite a lot for an app of this type. Anyways, I’ll wait and see what improvements Notability app will make in the upcoming update(s). Thanks for pointing out the alternative, though.
Regarding the stylus, Jot and Jot Pro from Adonit use a transparent disc on the end of the pen, so it really helps in precision writing. There were some concerns as to the breakability of that disc, as well as traction on some screen protector surfaces, but none of those have been of any concern in my case – durable and smooth. Check it out here: http://adonit.net/product/jot-pro/
Okay, so I got really curous and downloaded the Notes Plus app. It really does the job for lefties like a charm. Whole lot of handy settings there as well. The app lacks the sexy interface appearance of Notability or Penultimate, but functionality-wise it kicks them both to the curb. I’ll keep waiting for what the other competitors will bring on the table in their upcoming updates. Especially interesting is whether there is a work-around for disabling the multitasking gestures which I really really love.
PS Notes Plus could also work a bit more on their app icon.
I looked at the jot pro. It looks nice. How often have you broken that disc?
Including shipping it to the Netherlands, it would set me back $45 I see.
Let’s see if I can find a Chinese look a like
I am unfamiliar with Notability, but will wait until a new release with lefties support.
Got it for a month and have never broken the disc so far. It is quite pricy, so maybe go for a standard non-pro version, the magnetic feature is useless IMO, and anyone can do without the rubber grip. It does leave quite a lot of scratches on your screen protector (visible only when the screen is turned off under certain light angles), but its the most accurate stylus out there. Also a pocket clip would’ve been a nice addition.