Jot Stylus

[Jasonastacio]

Great contribution, Glenn. I find the iFaraday Artist is my favorite, as well. And have the same complaint about the lack of "heft." .

Do you always prefer the artist over the Rx? The Rx is being advertised as the one for heavy note taking. I'm about to purchase one of these, your Input would be appreciated.

Thanks
Jason

 

[jsh1120]

Do you always prefer the artist over the Rx? The Rx is being advertised as the one for heavy note taking. I'm about to purchase one of these, your Input would be appreciated.

Thanks
Jason

I think it's probably the case that the Rx is better for most note taking. Feels more like a pen and less like a "wand." As I and others have noted, I think the Rx would be even better if it had a bit more weight. But that's a minor issue I think. I suspect that if one gets used to the weight a regular pen will feel too heavy. My problem, as noted in the rambling early morning post above, is that as a southpaw I tend to rest the side of my hand on the screen when I write. The "wand-like" shape of the artist model lets me get my hand farther away from the screen. And while it makes it difficult to write small letters, I'm less likely to accidentally trigger unwanted actions in the note taking app I use.

So bottom line, I think if you're choosing a model for note-taking the Rx model is probably the best. And I'd suggest selecting an "extra firm" tip if that is not already the way it's configured.

 

[Heaviside]

Just an update on the Jot and its problem with skipping. Here is a post on the Adonit web site that at least suggests that there might be some hope that the problem will "self heal":

"I actually missed my boat for Jot+ on KickStarters, but luckily I got my Green Jot+ last month and have been using it pretty heavily(?) since. I've got to say that I'm impressed with it

The "skipping" was an issue for me as well. I'm using it on my iPad2 with PowerSupport screen protector, with iAnnotate and Noteshelf apps (wonderful apps!). After using it for a while, I eventually found a sweet spot that allowed me to write smoothly, although I did have to 'calibrate' my writing every now and then due to the rotating nature of the disks. If the skipping becomes too much of a problem, what I did was I popped the disk out and just cleaned the contact between the pen and the disk (nothing special...just blowing on it and swabbing perhaps) and the skipping stopped. I don't know if it was the cleaning or the reattaching of the disk that fixed it, but it worked for me.

The good news here is, it's been about a month since I've had my Jot+ and I think my Jot+'s finally broken in. It's been about a week or less since my Jot+ have started to 'write' without any skipping and smoothly. One thing that's slightly concerning is that my disk seems to have become a bit wobbly, but apart from that, everything is great. I used to use Jot+ in conjunction to my Alupen when I got frustrated over the 'skipping', but (as much as I do love my Alupen as well) my Alupen's been pretty much been resting on my desk for a few weeks now.

I really like the precision factor of the Jot+ compared to other rubbery tip styluses. The rubbery types...well you can get used to it, but in the end, it's always nice to write on your iPad with something that resembles a lot like the ballpoint pen that I've been using for the past couple decades . That said, I was worried that the constant 'poking' with my Jot+ would damage my iPad2 screen but so far it's been fine (knocks on wood). With my Jot+ broken in, I've been applying a lot less pressure to prevent(?) the skipping from occurring, so it should help. Besides, I've seen some clips online about the durability of these iPad glasses and they're pretty sturdy from what I could tell.

One suggestion is, use these styluses with Matte-type screen protectors (if you use screen protectors). I've used Zagg's InvisibleShield ever since my 1st Gen iPhone but swapped over to PowerSupport's matte protector for my iPad2 to help me with taking notes on my iPad. The Jot+ glides smoothly on it, it's great."

 

[jsh1120]

That's interesting, Heaviside. As it happens, I pulled out my Jot Pro to try with 7Notes HD Premium a few days ago and found the missed stroke problem worse than ever. Since 7Notes includes handwriting recognition and word prediction, it makes the app virtually unusable with the Jot's skipping problem. I've changed the disc once (though I couldn't detect any problem with the first disc) and will try cleaning it as noted above. Have to say, though, that at this point the Jot Pro has become more trouble than it's worth. The oddest thing about the entire issue is that the disc itself shows no discernible damage or collection of any kind of "smutz." It simply gets worse, not better, as I use it.

I'm an anti-screen protector guy. (Hate applying them. Hate using them. Hate looking through them.) I'm sure there may be better versions than I've tried over the years but I'm something of a bigot about screen protectors. I just apply all the effort I'd use to dealing with a screen protector to making sure to care for my screen well.

Have to admit that I'm baffled about this entire problem. I have no idea why the Jot would develop an even worse problem over a couple of weeks sitting idle with its cap on. Nor can I figure out why using it would "break it in." I continue to like the look and feel of the Jot Pro but I feel like it's like dating a movie star, just too high maintenance to put up with.

 

[jsh1120]

A poster on another board had a tip about the Jot Pro I thought I'd share. (Haven't tried it yet so YMMV.) He claims that he solved the missed stroke problem on the Jot Pro by washing the disc with dish washing liquid, rinsing, and drying well. He indicated he hesitated to try the fix, fearing it would destroy any coating on the disc. In fact, however, he believes the missed stroke problem results from transferring oils from one's finger to the disc when it's touched. The "finger oil" then interferes with the disc's contact with the screen. It's worth a try.

 

[jsh1120]

Tried the "wash with Palmolive" (or any dish soap, I suppose) trick to make the Jot more responsive. Works very well at least initially. Not sure how often I'll have to do it but it made my Jot Pro usable again.

 

[Heaviside]

Tried the "wash with Palmolive" (or any dish soap, I suppose) trick to make the Jot more responsive. Works very well at least initially. Not sure how often I'll have to do it but it made my Jot Pro usable again.

Thanks for the update JSH. I was a bit dubious, but since it works for you I will try it.

 

[Heaviside]

Well I tried Ivory and, uhhh, no soap! Maybe it takes Palmolive to do the trick?

I do have a screen protector to protect it from the ravages of my grandson's slobbery little mitts, and I think maybe that is a big part of my problem. It is a Moshe iVisor, which apparently leaves a small air gap underneath. But it is easy to take off and reapply, so I will try it and see---.

 

[jsh1120]

I am Adonit's Customer Service Director. I've read through this thread a couple of times, and found it very useful. I'd like to make myself available to you for any questions or concerns you may have.

Welcome to the board. It's always good to see a vendor pay attention to sites discussing their products. As you can see from this thread, those of us who have purchased the Jot (Pro in my case) are generally impressed with its construction and feel. Now that I've tried the dish soap treatment, I've found I can use the Jot again after giving it up several weeks ago. I would recommend you consider including the "trick" on your website.

 

[saphire]

My jot looks like it has developed a very fine crack in the disk close to the center, I asked my husband to use a magnifying glass to see, it's still working okay but for how long I don't know.

 

[jsh1120]

My jot looks like it has developed a very fine crack in the disk close to the center, I asked my husband to use a magnifying glass to see, it's still working okay but for how long I don't know.

The folks at Adonit are quite liberal in replacing the discs, at least here in the US. I sent an inquiry and received two replacement discs in about a week.

 

[saphire]

Please send an email to help @ adonit.net, so we can arrange for a replacement disc to be sent to you.

Thank you for the reply and the offer of replacement, I will send an email, I use my jot extensively on fine detail which I find difficult to see and love it. I must say that the jot is a brilliant well thought out design and is well engineered.

 

[jsh1120]

Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately our engineers are very wary of us posting workarounds or hacks which they haven't tested extensively, in case we end up encouraging users to do something which voids their warranty. The engineers also prefer we focus on identifying what the actual problem may be.

I understand. The engineers in my firm have a similar attitude. In this case, however, it's apparent that (a) the problem of "missed strokes" is widespread and (b) at least in my case (and the case of the poster who originally suggested washing the disc with dish soap) the problem was clearly associated with the disc accumulating some sort of coating from use. Hopefully, the engineers can come up with a solution.

 

[Heaviside]

I understand. The engineers in my firm have a similar attitude. In this case, however, it's apparent that (a) the problem of "missed strokes" is widespread and (b) at least in my case (and the case of the poster who originally suggested washing the disc with dish soap) the problem was clearly associated with the disc accumulating some sort of coating from use. Hopefully, the engineers can come up with a solution.

Just an update: I did take off the screen protector and the skipping was still too pronounced for me to use the Jot, alas.

How about a bit more detail of how you cleaned it? I used the dishwashing liquid with only my fingers, then used a paper towel to pat it dry. Probably was still damp in the socket. Thought about using my wife's hair dryer on low, but was too lazy and didn't want to incur any wrath from my wife! (Just kidding. She's usually pretty tolerant about such didoes.)

 

[jsh1120]

Just an update: I did take off the screen protector and the skipping was still too pronounced for me to use the Jot, alas.

How about a bit more detail of how you cleaned it? I used the dishwashing liquid with only my fingers, then used a paper towel to pat it dry. Probably was still damp in the socket. Thought about using my wife's hair dryer on low, but was too lazy and didn't want to incur any wrath from my wife! (Just kidding. She's usually pretty tolerant about such didoes.)

I put a little puddle of the Palmolive on in the sink and submerged the point and disc in the puddle. Swished it around a bit and then rinsed off the Jot. Very carefully patted the disc/point and then let it air dry for a little while. I should mention that this was one of the replacement discs that Adonit sent me so it hadn't been used very much. (The skipping problem was so frustrating that I stopped using it shortly after replacing the disc.) So perhaps you should try the treatment several times and see if that makes a difference.

Frankly, this entire issue just mystifies me. It's not as if I'd rubbed the point of the Jot while eating a peanut butter sandwich. I can't understand how it managed to pick up enough 'stuff' on the disc to cause the problem. So I was surprised when the fix seemed to work.

What is clear (I think) is that the Jot can work well only if its disc is fully in contact with the iPad screen. So it follows that a warped disc would result in the same missed stroke problem as anything on the disk that prevents such contact. Perhaps your disc is warped or as Fortigum points out, perhaps "delaminated." In any event, I suggest you try with a different disc from the nice folks at Adonit.

None of this would be worth it if the Jot Pro were not such a "nice" stylus. I find the iFaraday Artist model to be work very well. But the Jot Pro just feels so good and looks so good that I've kept at it.

P.S. As Fortigurn notes above, it appears a number of people are on the same track. The variables seem to be the disc, the screen, and the "stuff" dirt/grease etc on each. I just tried the Jot Pro again for the first time in a few days and find it's still working perfectly with the 7Notes Premium note taking app. So in my case, at least, it appears the "fix" has remained viable.

P.P.S. Heaviside, is there a possibility that your screen has residue left over from the screen protector you removed? If you haven't already done so, try a thorough cleaning of the iPad screen with a commercial glass cleaner or a homemade version that includes alcohol, vinegar, and water.