Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
In early 2005, even after the launch of the Nintendo DS, Switched On critiqued pen computing, noting that it was too cumbersome and unnatural to become a mainstream input method. That column was validated by the launch of the iPhone, which banished the stylus to "blown it" status and popularized "finger-friendly" handset designs from all major s
