Alexander Jones

Mobile technology affecting thumbs

1

2. Thanko Thumb Extender
Summary: The I-phone 6 plus has a very wide screen which makes it hard to reach the furthest
parts of the phone from a thumb. The Thanko Thumb Extender was invented for people with
small stubby thumbs that cannot reach the edge of the screen. Originally invented for the
Samsung Galaxy Note tab, the Thanko Thumb Extender extends the reach of your thumb by a
whooping 15mm (Blain 2014). The Thanko Thumb Extender is only worth 1,480 yen in Japan
and $13.56 in the U.S. (Blain 2014)
3.
The search engines that I used were Google and Bing. Both of them got me the same results but I
believe that Google is more straightforward than Bing. Perhaps it is because I use Google much
more than I use Bing.
4. TRAPP IBT
Time: September 24, 2014 at 8:15 AM. The article has not updated.
Relevance: This article does relate to my topic of Mobile Technology. The Thanko Thumb
Extender is an app for smart phones and thus is mobile technology.
Authority: The author is Vittorio Hernandez and he as the authority to write this article because
he is the market editor of the Australian IBT.
Accuracy: The article is accurate and features data not as much as the gizmag.com article but
still some data. The article does mention some of the information they have received like 15mm
length of the thumb. The article has not been tested for accuracy.
Purpose: The article was made to inform people of the weird creations that Japanese companies
make today. There is no bias or material objective.
5. Articles
Key Words: Thumbs and Cell Phones
The database that I used is science direct because that database is the only one that had the word
technology in the description.
6. Comparison
The IBT article and the Science weekly were both fairly easy to access, though the journal article
from Science weekly was much quicker to load. I would trust the Science weekly article more
than the IBT article because the Science weekly article actually has an expert at the helm writing
the article. The IBT article editor would have a much harder time explaining his work because he
is not an expert on cell phones and its technology.
Alexander Jones
Mobile technology affecting thumbs
2

References
Blain, L. (2014, September 24). thanko thumb extender phablet. Retrieved from gizmag.com:
http://www.gizmag.com/thanko-thumb-extender-phablet/33967/
Forgays, D. K., Hyman, I., & Schreiber, J. (2013). Texting everywhere for everything: Gender
and age differences in cell phone etiquette and use. Computers in Human Behavior, 314-
321.
Gustaffson, E., Johnson, P. W., & Hagberg, M. (2008). Thumb postures and physical loads
during mobile phone use A comparison of young adults with and without
musculoskeletal symptoms. Journal of Electromyography and Kinessiology, 127-135.
Hernandez, V. (2014, September 25). Japanese Firm Thanko Creates Thumb Extension For
Large Devices Like iPhone 6 Plus. Retrieved from International Business Times:
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/567474/20140925/japanese-firm-thanko-creates-thumb-
extension-large.htm#.VCXLBvldWSo
O'Callaghan, J. (2014, September 24). Is your iPhone 6 Plus TOO big? There's an app(endage)
for that! Thumb extender helps you reach the whole screen with one hand. Retrieved
from dailymail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2768236/Is-iPhone-6-
Plus-TOO-big-There-s-app-endage-Thumb-extender-helps-reach-screen-one-hand.html