.....but I left my black-rubber-finger-mittens in my other trousers

I suppose that if Apple have gone out of their way to highlight a large group of "mug punters" for you, you might as well help yourself to a bit of the gravy.

I think I'll market the "iWipe". These handy 5cm squares of lint-free cotton will remove the smudge marks from your iToy (sorry, iPhone) and you won't have to wear condoms on your digits to use 'em.

Also available in packs of 25 for 7 euro-washers. Cost me bugger all as I'll just cut up an old sheet (maybe wash it first and possibly avoid the stains) and stick 'em in an envelope.......

Programmers should get these for safe hex.

I think you'll find that a box of surgical rubber gloves from SuperDrug works out considerably less than these and, as an an extra benefit, improves general grip. If, however, you are a heavy user, half a pair of Marigold brand kitchen gloves would do the trick - and last longer too.

These things have been in use in the manufacturing industry for years, used in microprocessor plants, optical assembly work, basically anywhere that requires dexterity and cleanliness. And they sure cost a lot less that €7 for 25!!

Yes it looks great as long as you don't use it, touch it... Or look at it too hard!

A bit like Vista really!

..a handy way to confirm that iPhone buyers really ARE complete pricks?

They are 5USD for 5 gross if you buy 25 gross at a time.

This would ensure that anyone not laughing and pointing at the twit with the £909 phone, can laugh and point at the idiot with a pair of rubbers on his fingers.

. . . are used for all sorts of things, and they are readily available and cheap. Try wikipedia or Google for more.

Lets hope he takes the credulous iPhone idiots for a fortune.

These things are called Finger Cots and are used in clean rooms.

I have a large bag of them currently in my clean room at work (We build IT parts in there) and they cost me a lot less than this "Inventor" is selling them for.

When ever I have a visitor to the room who sees them for the first time I have to await the inevitable giggle from them when they see what looks like a large bag of tiny condoms.

Have a search on the web for RS online or Farnell and search for "Finger cots"

Seems obvious to me - save yourself some cash, go out n buy some rubber sewing thimbles (if you think wearing anything on your fingers is worthwhile in the first place).

They'll look a lot less kinky to be going on with, and you wont look like a total freak spending five minutes trying to get the buggers on and off in the first place.

.

These people are just mental.

TeeCee is on the right track with the "iWipe." I keep my iPhone in my pocket next to a folded microfiber cloth, the kind you use to clean eyeglasses. Most of the time, the screen is rubbing against the cloth and cleaning itself. I carry the cloth to clean my glasses anyway, works great on the iPhone screen too.

Okay, so that will stop fingerprints and the like, but do they sell them for your ear if you need to make a phone call? Don't want ear marks on your iTool now..

I mean, who would want to soil their fingers on an ipod phone?

They don't interface properly with a real Windows computer because they are stuffed full of DRM that ties them to a single network. The only way you can get a signal is by paying Apple a huge non-refundable sum for a five year contract.

Give me a break.

And what makes this thing so cool? You can use your finger and thumb to send a message apparently.

Well you can see how I use my thumb to send a message.

And I'm sure you can imagine how I use my finger too.

Not only will iPhone owners look like kn0bs for being suckered by the money grabbing b@stards called Apple, they will also look twice as stupid trying to keep their out of date featureless phone unmarked!

rubbers in the "Hardware" section?

A great resentment towards the spirit of free enterprise here.

Regardless of where similar devices are used and regardless of how few shekels per million they cost elsewhere, here we have a guy just trying to make a buck by finding a niche market and exploiting it.

After all, do we really need fluffy covers for our toilet seats, phones that double as entertainment centers or global positioning systems on an island the size of a large amusement park?

As it happens, I have just invented a device that prevents those oily smears on the iPhone screen when you make or receive calls. It's called 'iSoap' and you apply it to your face, with water, twice a day. It comes in 'iBars' which cost seven Euros each.