Cell Phone for Gloved Hands or Fat Fingers

I have a Sony Ericsson C702 which is a great outdoor / sport-friendly phone. It is waterproof & dustproof and has a built-in GPS.

I use my phone with various GPS applications to record and publish my mountain bike rides on the web in real-time. The C702 keypad has tiny keys which makes it nearly impossible to operate the phone while wearing full-finger gloves. Every time I want to record a waypoint or check my location on the phone, I would have to stop and remove a glove just so that I can press the buttons.

This simple modification will make your cell phone easier to operate with gloves on.
I have even found it makes normal operation without gloves easier, especially if you have large fingers.

This modification is really easy and all you need is a hot-glue gun and a fairly steady hand.

Step 1: Preparation

Plug your glue gun in to heat up.
While you wait for it to get hot, you can prepare your phone to receive its new joystick.

You are gonna be placing a bead of glue on the centre button (a.k.a. the "Select" or "Enter" button).
Wipe this area with a dry cloth or piece of tissue to ensure that there is a clean surface for the glue to stick to.

Step 2: Building the Joystick

Once your glue gun is hot, you are ready to begin.

This entire step should take less than 20 seconds, so work confidently and decisively. If you take too long your glue will most likely run all over the place and make a mess. Then you will have to peal it off and start again:

Carefully touch the tip of the glue gun to the centre of the select button on your phone. You need to take care to get it exactly in the centre.

Gently squeeze the trigger until there is a small blob of glue on the button. The blob must be just big enough to cover the surface of the button, but not too big that it "overflows" and touches the direction keys. As soon as your blob appears you should release the trigger but keep the tip of the gun in contact with the blob. You don't want the glue to begin solidifying just yet.

Now you need to turn the phone upside down while keeping the tip of the glue gun in contact with your blob.

In a smooth and steady motion pull the glue gun away in a vertically downward direction.
A "spider web" strand will stretch from the blob to the glue gun as you do this. Hold the gun about 20cm away for a second or 2 until the strand solidifies.

Snap the spider web and put the gun down. Don't forget to turn it off.

Step 3: Finishing Off

Trim the sharp tip off your blob with a pair of nail-clippers or side cutters.
You will want to get a slightly rounded point to make it comfortable to use.

Congratulations. You are finished, now take it for a test drive.

You will find it much easier to press "Select" without inadvertantly hitting one of the direction keys.
You can also use this as a directional joystick to move up, down, left & right.