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It’s Friday, and the Geekcast is coming up in just a little bit, so I figure we’d end the week on a light note. A month or so back I received a product called Awethumb in the mail. Their PR people hadn’t told me much about it, other than it was a typing device. So I opened up the package and found a couple of pouches which contained little plastic pieces. Apparently, you’re supposed to slip these over your thumbs, and it will make you a faster, more accurate typer. Not only that, but it will reduce the stress created by typing, thereby avoiding BlackBerry Thumb. My brief review after the jump.

When I first opened the package, I thought “yeah, right. Like I’d ever actually put these things on my thumbs to type.” But, since they were for review, I figured I’d give ‘em a whirl. Nothing doing. You know how if you take medicine and you’re not really sick, it can hurt you? Perhaps that’s the case with Awethumb. I’m pretty adept at typing on my BlackBerry, but I was horrible with Awethumb. No accuracy, no speed. Plus, I didn’t have a good time with the trackball.

That doesn’t mean that they’re not for everyone. If you want to carry around a little pouch with two plastic thumb guards, by all means. However, I think the claim that it improves your typing is a bit specious. Take, for example, the ad campaign for Air Jordans. They’ll make you run faster, jump higher, and they won’t hurt your feet. Sound familiar? You’ll type faster, more accurately, and it won’t hurt your thumbs. so I’m not exactly apt to believe the pitch.

Nor can I imagine many people wanting to put these things on every time they type. It’s just impractical. Of course, if you have a speed and accuracy problem, maybe you want to give it a try. But for the hardcore users, you’ll probably want to steer clear of this.

Here’s their sales pitch. Notice the blatant slow tying with the naked fingers vs. the super-speedy typing with the Awethumb.

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