The iFaraday Stylus---A Review

[Heaviside]

Just an update:

Rustle just sent me a stylus which he fabricated to my specs---and, in short, it is marvelous! Here are a couple of shots (click to enlarge):





He has increased the barrel size a bit to accomodate my wishes and wrapped it in some sort of plastic like tubing to help my grip.

If there is a perfect stylus, this seems to be it! I will report more later after using it a bit.

Aside to Rustle: I will take the softer tipped originals apart and use the barrels for my own experiments, though I doubt that I can come up with anything better than the one shown in the above photos!

 

[Heaviside]

Just an update: The special stylus that Rustle put together for me is absolutely great! If your handwriting style is anything like mine, you can't go wrong with one just like it.

The plastic-like tubing around it provides a very comfortable grip. (With those shiny metallic barrels, I keep losing my grip. Of course, I might not have a solid grip on anything!) And the slightly larger barrel size helps in this regard also.

The firmer tip is just great for writing and pressing virtual keys on the keyboard. It serves both functions without any obvious deterioration such as that of the Stylus-R-Us styli.

I would suppose that the softer tips are great for the artists among us, but I think that writers should request the firm tip.

Just my opinion---!

 

[jc0045]

Heaviside, I have a question about the ifaraday stylus I wanted to ask you since you seem to have done a lot of testing. I use my ipad solely as a work and school tool. No silly games or crap like that. I write (script) about 4 hours a day between process documentation review for my company and also lots of notes as a grad student.

I have several stylus-r-us styli which I find extremely comfortable and VERY smooth to write with (I use note taker HD), but like you, I have a really hard time using no pressure and tend to crush the tips after a few minutes of straight writing, it becomes difficult to maintain that zero pressure.

I also find that stylus-r-us are too wide of a tip for detailed handwriting without making the letters look huge and awkward.

It seems like the ifaraday took care of the issue of crushing the tip, but how about the responsiveness for quick fluid writing and comfort for lots of notes? How is the width of the tip?

Thanks for any info!

 

[iFaraday]

My recommendation.

Best thing to do is try it, and return it if you don't like it. It's very difficult to describe the way something 'feels'. Add to that, each person has different writing styles. I understand this which is why I offer a money-back guarantee.

Try the Art Dome - Firm. This is good for people who press hard.

-Rustle Laidman ([email protected])

 

[Heaviside]

Heaviside, I have a question about the ifaraday stylus I wanted to ask you since you seem to have done a lot of testing. I use my ipad solely as a work and school tool. No silly games or crap like that. I write (script) about 4 hours a day between process documentation review for my company and also lots of notes as a grad student.

I have several stylus-r-us styli which I find extremely comfortable and VERY smooth to write with (I use note taker HD), but like you, I have a really hard time using no pressure and tend to crush the tips after a few minutes of straight writing, it becomes difficult to maintain that zero pressure.

I also find that stylus-r-us are too wide of a tip for detailed handwriting without making the letters look huge and awkward.

It seems like the ifaraday took care of the issue of crushing the tip, but how about the responsiveness for quick fluid writing and comfort for lots of notes? How is the width of the tip?

Thanks for any info!

You are asking great questions, and clearly you do a lot of handwriting.

As I understand things, the somewhat large tip on iPad styli (styluses?) is necessary because of the way the touch screen functions:it uses the capacitance between the screen and stylus tip to sense the point being touched. Capacitance is proportional to area, and at least so much is required to work. I have tried making my own stylus and have tried hard to get the smallest tip. In my opinion, the iFaraday tip is about the smallest that will work reliably. It is about the same size as the Targus and others.

The responsiveness of the virtual ink is, I believe, a function of the software rather than the stylus. Note Taker HD and some others allow you to control this to some degree, but they could all be faster with profit.

The softer versions of the iFaraday feel good for writing, but as I noted earlier I tend to press a bit too hard and they yield under the pressure so that I get a click from the metal barrel. The firm tip does not do this, so I can write with more assurrance. It sounds like your writing style is very much like mine, so I reccomend that you give the firm tip version a try.

I have disassembled one of the iFaraday wands, and Rustle is using an ingenious technique for fabricating the points. It seems highly flexible in the sense that it could accomodate many different user requirements.

P.S. to iFaraday: If you would be so kind as to send me replacement substrates for those two that leave smudges, I will replace the old ones with them. I did try just rubbing the substrates on my iPad screen, and you are right---that was the problem!

 

[jc0045]

Best thing to do is try it, and return it if you don't like it. It's very difficult to describe the way something 'feels'. Add to that, each person has different writing styles. I understand this which is why I offer a money-back guarantee.

Try the Art Dome - Firm. This is good for people who press hard.

-Rustle Laidman ([email protected])

Rustle, I sent you an email from my work account (Motorola) the other day with a few questions. Please respond when you get a chance.

Thanks!

 

[jc0045]

Heaviside, I have a question about the ifaraday stylus I wanted to ask you since you seem to have done a lot of testing. I use my ipad solely as a work and school tool. No silly games or crap like that. I write (script) about 4 hours a day between process documentation review for my company and also lots of notes as a grad student.

I have several stylus-r-us styli which I find extremely comfortable and VERY smooth to write with (I use note taker HD), but like you, I have a really hard time using no pressure and tend to crush the tips after a few minutes of straight writing, it becomes difficult to maintain that zero pressure.

I also find that stylus-r-us are too wide of a tip for detailed handwriting without making the letters look huge and awkward.

It seems like the ifaraday took care of the issue of crushing the tip, but how about the responsiveness for quick fluid writing and comfort for lots of notes? How is the width of the tip?

Thanks for any info!

You are asking great questions, and clearly you do a lot of handwriting.

As I understand things, the somewhat large tip on iPad styli (styluses?) is necessary because of the way the touch screen functions:it uses the capacitance between the screen and stylus tip to sense the point being touched. Capacitance is proportional to area, and at least so much is required to work. I have tried making my own stylus and have tried hard to get the smallest tip. In my opinion, the iFaraday tip is about the smallest that will work reliably. It is about the same size as the Targus and others.

The responsiveness of the virtual ink is, I believe, a function of the software rather than the stylus. Note Taker HD and some others allow you to control this to some degree, but they could all be faster with profit.

The softer versions of the iFaraday feel good for writing, but as I noted earlier I tend to press a bit too hard and they yield under the pressure so that I get a click from the metal barrel. The firm tip does not do this, so I can write with more assurrance. It sounds like your writing style is very much like mine, so I reccomend that you give the firm tip version a try.

I have disassembled one of the iFaraday wands, and Rustle is using an ingenious technique for fabricating the points. It seems highly flexible in the sense that it could accomodate many different user requirements.

P.S. to iFaraday: If you would be so kind as to send me replacement substrates for those two that leave smudges, I will replace the old ones with them. I did try just rubbing the substrates on my iPad screen, and you are right---that was the problem!

Question for you. What did Rustle due to this new pen to cover the metal barrel so that the metal wont hit the glass? I too write on an angle and I also do it on occasional when I write long words, as I tend to press harder the farther my hand moves from the edge of the screen.

Also, how does the pen glide that you have (the latest one he made for you)? I dont need silk like fluidity, but note taker HD will register every jagged angle while writing in script. Ipad already takes handwriting down a notch, but mine is ok to begin with so its not too bad, but if I have lots ot stutters or stop and starts, it will look horrible.

Last question. I tend to like bigger barreled pens when I write. For whatever reason they help me write neater and my hand gets less fatigued. How is the width of the stylus?

Thanks!

 

[Heaviside]

Heaviside, I have a question about the ifaraday stylus I wanted to ask you since you seem to have done a lot of testing. I use my ipad solely as a work and school tool. No silly games or crap like that. I write (script) about 4 hours a day between process documentation review for my company and also lots of notes as a grad student.

I have several stylus-r-us styli which I find extremely comfortable and VERY smooth to write with (I use note taker HD), but like you, I have a really hard time using no pressure and tend to crush the tips after a few minutes of straight writing, it becomes difficult to maintain that zero pressure.

I also find that stylus-r-us are too wide of a tip for detailed handwriting without making the letters look huge and awkward.

It seems like the ifaraday took care of the issue of crushing the tip, but how about the responsiveness for quick fluid writing and comfort for lots of notes? How is the width of the tip?

Thanks for any info!

You are asking great questions, and clearly you do a lot of handwriting.

As I understand things, the somewhat large tip on iPad styli (styluses?) is necessary because of the way the touch screen functions:it uses the capacitance between the screen and stylus tip to sense the point being touched. Capacitance is proportional to area, and at least so much is required to work. I have tried making my own stylus and have tried hard to get the smallest tip. In my opinion, the iFaraday tip is about the smallest that will work reliably. It is about the same size as the Targus and others.

The responsiveness of the virtual ink is, I believe, a function of the software rather than the stylus. Note Taker HD and some others allow you to control this to some degree, but they could all be faster with profit.

The softer versions of the iFaraday feel good for writing, but as I noted earlier I tend to press a bit too hard and they yield under the pressure so that I get a click from the metal barrel. The firm tip does not do this, so I can write with more assurrance. It sounds like your writing style is very much like mine, so I reccomend that you give the firm tip version a try.

I have disassembled one of the iFaraday wands, and Rustle is using an ingenious technique for fabricating the points. It seems highly flexible in the sense that it could accomodate many different user requirements.

P.S. to iFaraday: If you would be so kind as to send me replacement substrates for those two that leave smudges, I will replace the old ones with them. I did try just rubbing the substrates on my iPad screen, and you are right---that was the problem!

Question for you. What did Rustle due to this new pen to cover the metal barrel so that the metal wont hit the glass? I too write on an angle and I also do it on occasional when I write long words, as I tend to press harder the farther my hand moves from the edge of the screen.

Also, how does the pen glide that you have (the latest one he made for you)? I dont need silk like fluidity, but note taker HD will register every jagged angle while writing in script. Ipad already takes handwriting down a notch, but mine is ok to begin with so its not too bad, but if I have lots ot stutters or stop and starts, it will look horrible.

Last question. I tend to like bigger barreled pens when I write. For whatever reason they help me write neater and my hand gets less fatigued. How is the width of the stylus?

Thanks!

I think you will like the iFaraday version that I have. It has a fairly large barrel to begin with. Then he apparently shrink wrapped a vinyl looking material over it. This has three beneficial effects: it increases the barrel diameter even more for improved grip, it has enough elasticity that your fingers do not tend to slip or slide as they do on a smooth metallic or plastic barrel, and it provides a softer surface that contacts the glass when you press hard enough to compress the tip and contact the glass. I am impressed by the way he solved what I perceived to be a problem.

The tip glides very well and does not require a lot of pressure to activate. It isn't so slick that you will feel that you are writing on an oiled surface or anything like that, though. For me, there is just the right amount of "tooth" for writing purposes.

I think the key ingredients are the tip substrate and the conductive fiber clothing the tip. I have tried a number myself, and this combination seems to be about optimum for handwriting apps. Don't know about artistic applications or for simply punching virtual keys---though this one does the latter just fine.

Good luck.

 

[jc0045]

You are asking great questions, and clearly you do a lot of handwriting.

As I understand things, the somewhat large tip on iPad styli (styluses?) is necessary because of the way the touch screen functions:it uses the capacitance between the screen and stylus tip to sense the point being touched. Capacitance is proportional to area, and at least so much is required to work. I have tried making my own stylus and have tried hard to get the smallest tip. In my opinion, the iFaraday tip is about the smallest that will work reliably. It is about the same size as the Targus and others.

The responsiveness of the virtual ink is, I believe, a function of the software rather than the stylus. Note Taker HD and some others allow you to control this to some degree, but they could all be faster with profit.

The softer versions of the iFaraday feel good for writing, but as I noted earlier I tend to press a bit too hard and they yield under the pressure so that I get a click from the metal barrel. The firm tip does not do this, so I can write with more assurrance. It sounds like your writing style is very much like mine, so I reccomend that you give the firm tip version a try.

I have disassembled one of the iFaraday wands, and Rustle is using an ingenious technique for fabricating the points. It seems highly flexible in the sense that it could accomodate many different user requirements.

P.S. to iFaraday: If you would be so kind as to send me replacement substrates for those two that leave smudges, I will replace the old ones with them. I did try just rubbing the substrates on my iPad screen, and you are right---that was the problem!

Question for you. What did Rustle due to this new pen to cover the metal barrel so that the metal wont hit the glass? I too write on an angle and I also do it on occasional when I write long words, as I tend to press harder the farther my hand moves from the edge of the screen.

Also, how does the pen glide that you have (the latest one he made for you)? I dont need silk like fluidity, but note taker HD will register every jagged angle while writing in script. Ipad already takes handwriting down a notch, but mine is ok to begin with so its not too bad, but if I have lots ot stutters or stop and starts, it will look horrible.

Last question. I tend to like bigger barreled pens when I write. For whatever reason they help me write neater and my hand gets less fatigued. How is the width of the stylus?

Thanks!

I think you will like the iFaraday version that I have. It has a fairly large barrel to begin with. Then he apparently shrink wrapped a vinyl looking material over it. This has three beneficial effects: it increases the barrel diameter even more for improved grip, it has enough elasticity that your fingers do not tend to slip or slide as they do on a smooth metallic or plastic barrel, and it provides a softer surface that contacts the glass when you press hard enough to compress the tip and contact the glass. I am impressed by the way he solved what I perceived to be a problem.

The tip glides very well and does not require a lot of pressure to activate. It isn't so slick that you will feel that you are writing on an oiled surface or anything like that, though. For me, there is just the right amount of "tooth" for writing purposes.

I think the key ingredients are the tip substrate and the conductive fiber clothing the tip. I have tried a number myself, and this combination seems to be about optimum for handwriting apps. Don't know about artistic applications or for simply punching virtual keys---though this one does the latter just fine.

Good luck.

The only thing that Id really like outside of what you have is a cap. Id definitely buy 2, possibly 3 if that would be possible.

 

[Heaviside]

Question for you. What did Rustle due to this new pen to cover the metal barrel so that the metal wont hit the glass? I too write on an angle and I also do it on occasional when I write long words, as I tend to press harder the farther my hand moves from the edge of the screen.

Also, how does the pen glide that you have (the latest one he made for you)? I dont need silk like fluidity, but note taker HD will register every jagged angle while writing in script. Ipad already takes handwriting down a notch, but mine is ok to begin with so its not too bad, but if I have lots ot stutters or stop and starts, it will look horrible.

Last question. I tend to like bigger barreled pens when I write. For whatever reason they help me write neater and my hand gets less fatigued. How is the width of the stylus?

Thanks!

I think you will like the iFaraday version that I have. It has a fairly large barrel to begin with. Then he apparently shrink wrapped a vinyl looking material over it. This has three beneficial effects: it increases the barrel diameter even more for improved grip, it has enough elasticity that your fingers do not tend to slip or slide as they do on a smooth metallic or plastic barrel, and it provides a softer surface that contacts the glass when you press hard enough to compress the tip and contact the glass. I am impressed by the way he solved what I perceived to be a problem.

The tip glides very well and does not require a lot of pressure to activate. It isn't so slick that you will feel that you are writing on an oiled surface or anything like that, though. For me, there is just the right amount of "tooth" for writing purposes.

I think the key ingredients are the tip substrate and the conductive fiber clothing the tip. I have tried a number myself, and this combination seems to be about optimum for handwriting apps. Don't know about artistic applications or for simply punching virtual keys---though this one does the latter just fine.

Good luck.

The only thing that Id really like outside of what you have is a cap. Id definitely buy 2, possibly 3 if that would be possible.

That is something you will have to take up with iFaraday. Why not have a .ook at the website. I think it is iFaraday.com, but I didn't double check that.

P. S. Just checked, and that is the correct url. I noticed that there is a version labeled "coming soon" that has a cap. Whether he can supply you with one that has the features I discribed is something only he can tell you! Good luck.

 

[jc0045]

I think you will like the iFaraday version that I have. It has a fairly large barrel to begin with. Then he apparently shrink wrapped a vinyl looking material over it. This has three beneficial effects: it increases the barrel diameter even more for improved grip, it has enough elasticity that your fingers do not tend to slip or slide as they do on a smooth metallic or plastic barrel, and it provides a softer surface that contacts the glass when you press hard enough to compress the tip and contact the glass. I am impressed by the way he solved what I perceived to be a problem.

The tip glides very well and does not require a lot of pressure to activate. It isn't so slick that you will feel that you are writing on an oiled surface or anything like that, though. For me, there is just the right amount of "tooth" for writing purposes.

I think the key ingredients are the tip substrate and the conductive fiber clothing the tip. I have tried a number myself, and this combination seems to be about optimum for handwriting apps. Don't know about artistic applications or for simply punching virtual keys---though this one does the latter just fine.

Good luck.

The only thing that Id really like outside of what you have is a cap. Id definitely buy 2, possibly 3 if that would be possible.

That is something you will have to take up with iFaraday. Why not have a .ook at the website. I think it is iFaraday.com, but I didn't double check that.

P. S. Just checked, and that is the correct url. I noticed that there is a version labeled "coming soon" that has a cap. Whether he can supply you with one that has the features I discribed is something only he can tell you! Good luck.

Thanks. I saw that executive model on the website as well. I emailed Rustle earlier in the week, but Im assuming he is very busy and has not had a chance to read or respond yet. If he can incorporate the changes he made for you into the executive model, I'll definitely pick up a few. I'll PM him here when I have enough posts as well.

Thanks for the help.

 

[SusanR]

I received my iFaraday Stylus yesterday. I am loving it! It is very smooth and effortless. If I were to design the perfect stylus for my hand and style, I would make it a wee bit heavier, a little longer, and a bit wider.

Does anyone know if these improvements are found on the upcoming Executive? When will that be released?

 

[info]

I received my iFaraday Stylus yesterday. I am loving it! It is very smooth and effortless. If I were to design the perfect stylus for my hand and style, I would make it a wee bit heavier, a little longer, and a bit wider.

Does anyone know if these improvements are found on the upcoming Executive? When will that be released?

Which one of them did you get, or did you get the whole set? Do you have the Alupen or the Wacom?

 

[SusanR]

I got the basic model in green.

 

[Heaviside]

I received my iFaraday Stylus yesterday. I am loving it! It is very smooth and effortless. If I were to design the perfect stylus for my hand and style, I would make it a wee bit heavier, a little longer, and a bit wider.

Does anyone know if these improvements are found on the upcoming Executive? When will that be released?

Susan,

You might try the version Rustle made up for me. I think he calls it the Art Dome. I wanted exactly the same things as you, and it provides them all.

In response to info, I have the Alupen. It is a good one, but too short for me. I ordered the Wacom, but the backorder was too long so I canceled.