Heaviside
iPF Novice
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2010
- Messages
- 340
- Reaction score
- 17
I have been putting three iPad stylii to the test: the Targus (which I think is representative of a whole class of stylus), the Roger iWand, and the Dagi.
I am evaluating primarily from a handwriting perspective because that is what I primarily use a stylus to do. I am comparing them using Note Taker HD, which, in my opinion, is the best a available.
1. Targus: I think this is a good stylus. It features a soft rubber tip, which requires some force to use properly. In my opinion, just a wee bit too much, but not excessive. It is a good all around stylus, being useful for web browsing and such like that requires one to tap to activate. There is no issue with tapping too hard, but sometimes I find that I do it too softly to get a response.
2. Dagi: I really liked the idea of the Dagi, which has a see-through firm plastic tip with a dot for positioning the "point". However, the point does not always track the virtual ink on the screen---which often lags behind the writing motion. Furthermore, the angle of the somewhat flat tip is wrong for me---considering my favored way of holding a pen or pencil. Then, too, the hard plastic tip doesn't feel quite right in giving tactile feedback from its contact with the screen. I think it might be useful for drawing, but would still require a great deal of learning to use.
3. Roger iWand: This stylus has a fiber tip of some sort that touches the screen. The end is basically a ball of fuzz, something like a tribble if you know about the original Star Trek series. This has interesting positive and negative consequences. Since it is the ends of the fiber whiskers which activate the screen, the user must use an extremely light touch. If you do not develop such a touch, the fibers will eventually compact and the stylus will become very insensitive or not operate at all. The effect is reversible: one simply rolls the tip along a (supplied) strip of velcro to fluff the fibers. But I have found that---with a very light touch---I can achieve much more precise handwriting than with the other two. I still tend to compact the fibers if I use this stylus for browsing, so I have started using my fingers for such operations.
Summary: All things taken into account, the Roger iWand is my clear choice for a handwriting stylus. I am still working on developing a light touch, and I hope that the velcro treatment will continue to revive the tip when needed.
All in all, I heartily recommend the Roger iWand, and would be happy to respond to any questions anyone might have. I also hope that others will post their own comparisons here or somewhere else on the forum, for I think anecdotal stories alone about experiences with a single device are not as useful as are comparisons of several.
I am evaluating primarily from a handwriting perspective because that is what I primarily use a stylus to do. I am comparing them using Note Taker HD, which, in my opinion, is the best a available.
1. Targus: I think this is a good stylus. It features a soft rubber tip, which requires some force to use properly. In my opinion, just a wee bit too much, but not excessive. It is a good all around stylus, being useful for web browsing and such like that requires one to tap to activate. There is no issue with tapping too hard, but sometimes I find that I do it too softly to get a response.
2. Dagi: I really liked the idea of the Dagi, which has a see-through firm plastic tip with a dot for positioning the "point". However, the point does not always track the virtual ink on the screen---which often lags behind the writing motion. Furthermore, the angle of the somewhat flat tip is wrong for me---considering my favored way of holding a pen or pencil. Then, too, the hard plastic tip doesn't feel quite right in giving tactile feedback from its contact with the screen. I think it might be useful for drawing, but would still require a great deal of learning to use.
3. Roger iWand: This stylus has a fiber tip of some sort that touches the screen. The end is basically a ball of fuzz, something like a tribble if you know about the original Star Trek series. This has interesting positive and negative consequences. Since it is the ends of the fiber whiskers which activate the screen, the user must use an extremely light touch. If you do not develop such a touch, the fibers will eventually compact and the stylus will become very insensitive or not operate at all. The effect is reversible: one simply rolls the tip along a (supplied) strip of velcro to fluff the fibers. But I have found that---with a very light touch---I can achieve much more precise handwriting than with the other two. I still tend to compact the fibers if I use this stylus for browsing, so I have started using my fingers for such operations.
Summary: All things taken into account, the Roger iWand is my clear choice for a handwriting stylus. I am still working on developing a light touch, and I hope that the velcro treatment will continue to revive the tip when needed.
All in all, I heartily recommend the Roger iWand, and would be happy to respond to any questions anyone might have. I also hope that others will post their own comparisons here or somewhere else on the forum, for I think anecdotal stories alone about experiences with a single device are not as useful as are comparisons of several.
