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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Wacom today released a smaller version of its popular Bamboo Stylus, the Bamboo Stylus mini, which offers up a thicker barrel with a much shorter 1.85-inch size.

The portable stylus comes equipped with a handy plastic mini-jack plug that allows it to attach to the headphone port of the iPhone or the iPad, preventing it from being misplaced.

bamboo.jpg
Available in six bright colors, Wacom's Bamboo Stylus mini is brass-plated with a soft-touch rubber coating and nibs that can be replaced with firm or soft touch options. Priced at $19, the Bamboo Stylus mini has a relatively high price tag compared to similar stylus options from other companies.

The Bamboo Stylus mini should be available for purchase shortly from Wacom's eStore and it will also be offered for sale from other retailers later this month.

Article Link: Wacom Releases New 1.85-Inch Bamboo Stylus Mini
 

ckurt25

macrumors 65816
Mar 25, 2009
1,133
500
Michigan, USA
They don't... This is not made for iPhones.

Well I don't think they say it's only made for iPads but at the same time I can say I've never witnessed anyone use a stylus with an iPhone.

That said, I do like the small size and ability to keep it connected to an iPad.
 

LimeiBook86

macrumors G3
May 4, 2002
8,001
45
Go Vegan
Unfortunately there is little improvement to be had with a stylus like this. By which I mean those that have a large round nub at the end.

I've tried many different versions and sadly they never seem precise enough. When I read 'Wacom' I thought they had created some fancy Bluetooth stylus with pressure sensitivity that would mimic a Wacom tablet. Oh well... keep dreaming :)
 

definitive

macrumors 68020
Aug 4, 2008
2,049
893
lol $20 for a stylus that sells for under a dollar on ebay. their pricing is just as ridiculous as apple's.
 

nagromme

macrumors G5
May 2, 2002
12,546
1,196
If you want a phone with a stylus get a Galaxy Note II. Then you get proper pressure sensitivity, much better accuracy and also a place to store it!

Agreed! Thats a very nice stylus.

As long as you rank the stylus above all the problems of Android. (Malware, lower selection of top-quality apps, lack of automatic/complete restore-from-backup, lack of software updates, and Samsung-specific features being tacked on in limited ways rather than integrated into the core OS.)

Those are dealbreakers for me, so I'll take a pressure-sensitive Jot Touch or the like if I want a more precise stylus. And I'll have access to pressure-sensitive tablet art apps like Procreate that are better than any existing for Android tablets!
 

bushido

Suspended
Mar 26, 2008
8,070
2,755
Germany
Unfortunately there is little improvement to be had with a stylus like this. By which I mean those that have a large round nub at the end.

I've tried many different versions and sadly they never seem precise enough. When I read 'Wacom' I thought they had created some fancy Bluetooth stylus with pressure sensitivity that would mimic a Wacom tablet. Oh well... keep dreaming :)

thats mostly an issue with the touchscreen on the iPad if im not mistaken. the samsung galaxy note works more precise with a stylus
 

APlotdevice

macrumors 68040
Sep 3, 2011
3,145
3,861
All the pressure sensitive iPad stylii on the market now, and Wacom just releases another rubber tipped piece of metal?
 

jm001

macrumors 6502a
Sep 19, 2011
596
123
Well I don't think they say it's only made for iPads but at the same time I can say I've never witnessed anyone use a stylus with an iPhone.

I bought a regular sized Bamboo stylus for my wife's iPad 2 a couple of years ago but she never used it much. I "liberated" it from her and use it quite often on my iPhone 5... not for everyday use but for specific tasks ie. signature, SketchBook, other drawing apps, Moleskine, MyScript Calculator. It's quite accurate imho and I've had no problems using it. I keep it at my desk at work many times, but also in my shirt pocket when needed for the day.
 
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tekboi

macrumors 6502a
Aug 9, 2006
731
145
EasŦcoast
What if I wanted to listen to some music while drawing? Besides, these iPad stylus things are absolutely useless. Writing on the iPad is plain annoying. But it's not meant to be written on, so maybe that's why...
 

Porco

macrumors 68040
Mar 28, 2005
3,314
6,908
What if I wanted to listen to some music while drawing? Besides, these iPad stylus things are absolutely useless. Writing on the iPad is plain annoying. But it's not meant to be written on, so maybe that's why...

Well presumably you'd only insert the headphone connector for the stylus when you're not using it, and remove it when you are using it.

Having said that I don't like that you'd be adding wear and tear to the socket just to attach it to the device.

And I agree with the earlier post that it looks like a feminine hygiene product, which I think is kind of comical, but may harm its sales if people are put off by that.
 

cppguy

macrumors 6502a
Apr 6, 2009
600
907
SF Bay Area, California
If you want a phone with a stylus get a Galaxy Note II. Then you get proper pressure sensitivity, much better accuracy and also a place to store it!

And you can properly rest your palm on the Samsung's display. S-Pen is a rebranded Wacom device. Be careful with this Bamboo stylus. Unlike its name may suggest, this isn't an active Wacom digitizer, just a rudimentary capacitive stick.
 

youknome

macrumors 6502a
Nov 22, 2010
547
19
I've seen exact same stylus on amazon for £1, there's absolutely no differences between that and this stylus except the extortionate cost.
 

Jessica Lares

macrumors G3
Oct 31, 2009
9,612
1,055
Near Dallas, Texas, USA
I would not like to hang a Bamboo stylus from my headphone jack. It's really heavy and I already freak out every time I accidentally drop it on my screen because of the noise it makes.

lol $20 for a stylus that sells for under a dollar on ebay. their pricing is just as ridiculous as apple's.

You get what you pay for. And believe me, you REALLY do.

The $0.99 styluses on eBay are garbage. You can make it last you for a few days, months, or a year, but they were not made by people who understand typical stylus usage, or that really care whether they last or not. They just want that $0.99 from gullible people. Sorta like the people who buy $50-100 phones and tablets.

I got my Bamboo open boxed at Best Buy for $10. It was a great deal. My brother accidentally broke the nib, but it's easily replaceable. I also have a Rocketfish. It's not as great, but it's still a solid build quality and has a much smaller nib.

Now I have a $30 Adonit Jot Pro, it is the BEST stylus I have used. It feels GREAT in your fingers. And I alternate between all three now depending on what I'm trying to do.

A cheapo stylus is only good for navigation and not much else. And they're usually cloth based, which doesn't work very well for the most part because it gets dull faster.
 

Mrg02d

macrumors 65816
Jan 27, 2012
1,102
2
If they want it to attach to the iPhone, they shouldn't have made it out of a material that would scratch the hell out of the iPhone if placed in your pocket.

Glass is harder than aluminium = won't scratch it.

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I would not like to hang a Bamboo stylus from my headphone jack. It's really heavy and I already freak out every time I accidentally drop it on my screen because of the noise it makes.



You get what you pay for. And believe me, you REALLY do.

The $0.99 styluses on eBay are garbage. You can make it last you for a few days, months, or a year, but they were not made by people who understand typical stylus usage, or that really care whether they last or not. They just want that $0.99 from gullible people. Sorta like the people who buy $50-100 phones and tablets.

I got my Bamboo open boxed at Best Buy for $10. It was a great deal. My brother accidentally broke the nib, but it's easily replaceable. I also have a Rocketfish. It's not as great, but it's still a solid build quality and has a much smaller nib.

Now I have a $30 Adonit Jot Pro, it is the BEST stylus I have used. It feels GREAT in your fingers. And I alternate between all three now depending on what I'm trying to do.

A cheapo stylus is only good for navigation and not much else. And they're usually cloth based, which doesn't work very well for the most part because it gets dull faster.

Soooooo true! I've got the regular sized bamboo stylus and use it for electrical engineering note taking in class...that's how good it is!

----------

What if I wanted to listen to some music while drawing? Besides, these iPad stylus things are absolutely useless. Writing on the iPad is plain annoying. But it's not meant to be written on, so maybe that's why...

Care to see my class notes?i left paper behind a year ago because it is so good at it.
 

thekev

macrumors 604
Aug 5, 2010
7,005
3,343
lol $20 for a stylus that sells for under a dollar on ebay. their pricing is just as ridiculous as apple's.

Have you compared the two or looked at Wacom's pricing on other things? I am highly skeptical regarding < $1 styluses, but even if it was true, Wacom would never make such a thing.
 

uwbadger

macrumors member
May 20, 2009
69
21
Glass is harder than aluminium = won't scratch it.

Depends on the coating or plating, but bare aluminum will have a surface layer of aluminum oxide, which is significantly harder than glass (including Gorilla glass).
 
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