Fat-Fingered Sumo Wrestlers to Get iPads in Place of Tiny Phones

Someone get this man an iPad! CREDIT: © Bonfils Fabien | Dreamstime.com View full size image

Typing out messages on miniature keyboards can be tricky for anyone, and if you happen to be a 400-pound (181-kilogram) sumo wrestler with giant hands, darn near impossible.

To keep these massive wrestlers in the communications loop, Japan's Sumo Association has announced plans to distribute Apple's iPad to all 51 "stables," or sumo clubs, according to Reuters.

"We will hand out the newest iPads to all the sumo stables to swiftly communicate what we need to," said association vice chairman Hiroyoshi Murayama.

Stables often do not have computers, Reuters reported, and many resident tubby combatants had been missing out on information otherwise sent via fax and telephone.

Enter the iPad. With its 9.7 inch (24.6 centimeter) screen, the tablet computer offers a far larger virtual keyboard for the large-handed than other email- and communications-enabling devices, such as smartphones.

While the iPad does not natively make its own calls or text messages, a little app-buying and tech know-how can turn these devices into just a bigger, heavier iPhone, essentially. Sounds like a perfect fit for a super-sized sumo master.

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