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Ipen Due in Today

Great updates. Looking forward to hearing how well it does as you go along b/c this could be something I'd be interested in in a few months possibly.

What kind of battery drain is the attachment?

Also, are you getting the iPad 3rd gen? I'd be interested to see its performance on the new retina screen.
 
The vendor's site says that the pen doesn't have to be in contact with the screen in order to be tracked. However most of us have grown up with pens / pencils on paper, not above it :). How did you actually do your writing sample (thanks for posting that, btw) - pen on or above surface, or didn't it matter?

Did you have a screen protector installed? If so, which one?

Thanks,
Chris
 
MadDog31 said:
Great updates. Looking forward to hearing how well it does as you go along b/c this could be something I'd be interested in in a few months possibly.

What kind of battery drain is the attachment?

Also, are you getting the iPad 3rd gen? I'd be interested to see its performance on the new retina screen.
Click to expand...

Presently I am unable to ascertain the battery drain (it uses 2 button-type batteries in the pen barrel) and I do have an iPad 3rd gen on the way and am also anxious to see how the iPen performs on it.

----------
chrisesposito said:
The vendor's site says that the pen doesn't have to be in contact with the screen in order to be tracked. However most of us have grown up with pens / pencils on paper, not above it :). How did you actually do your writing sample (thanks for posting that, btw) - pen on or above surface, or didn't it matter?

Did you have a screen protector installed? If so, which one?

Thanks,
Chris
Click to expand...

Hmmm... it appears to me that the tip MUST be touching to be activated ... the stylus shaft telescopes a bit into the barrel in order to make the pen active when pressed against the screen (this is how it turns on - in order to conserve the batteries in the pen) in other words the iPen is not "alive" unless the point is depressed. And the writing samples were done in that mode.

I do not have a screen protector installed (I never liked them on any of my phones or iPads).
 
Another update

Once you learn to work with the tracking dot the writing stays more uniform (my handwriting is terrible so overlook that) :G
 

Attachments

  • ipen4.jpg
    ipen4.jpg
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thelead said:
is the tip a hard plastic? any chance of scratching the screen?
Click to expand...

The tip does appear very firm but not abrasive, I see no scratches on my screen after having played around with writing with it for a few hours. It seems very slick and they enclosed two extra tips with the pen (plus the batteries [2 sets] and a drawstring case to keep it all in).
 
I ordered it yesterday but never got a tracking number. Is this normal?

I got an email saying it is shipped...?

How long does it take to arrive?
 
MortalDays said:
I ordered it yesterday but never got a tracking number. Is this normal?

I got an email saying it is shipped...?

How long does it take to arrive?
Click to expand...

Mine came by First Class snail-mail and took about 4 days. They did email me a tracking number however.
 
gamecube117 said:
I was deciding if I should buy a pen for when I take notes in class. Also, what App is that?
Click to expand...

The app is "Ghostwriter" ... there are other upcoming apps that will utilize iPen ... but for note taking (that's also what I was after) the iPen should do well. It eliminates the need of the popup writing box that many note apps use in order to get smaller writing on the note page.
 
moxier said:
I ordered the Cregle iPen .. it is due in today. I hope it works with the New iPad. :confused:

http://www.cregle.com/
Click to expand...

A few quick questions (two of which you may not have answers for yet):

1) Is your screen bare glass, or do you have a protect invisibleshield style protector of any kind on it?

2) Is the tracking/lag issues strictly the pen? Or is it possible that the experience might be tighter on another app?

3) Is the "palm accidentally turning page" issue because of the apps turn slider at the bottom? So it wouldn't exist in a different app?

Thanks for testing and sharing!

-->iDv.
 
That is my review with my iPen on and iPad1 with a screen protector on it.

I agree with all the OP said with the addition that the lag is really bad on the iPad1.

I posted this in a different thread already.

**************************************
yep,

got my Cregle iPen today. The only app that works with it at this time is Ghostwriter.

I have an iPad1. The pen/stylus itself feels like a $2 fine tip Sharpie. It works as shown on their videos. However there are two issues with it:

One is hardware. You calibrate the pen by pointing on a fine button. You need to hold the pen for this at the same angle as if you were writing. If you change this angle then the tip of the pen is not where the ink appears. This is because the infrared sensors detect the position of the pen a bit away from the screen and if you hold the pen diagonal to the screen the detection point is a bit offset from the pen tip.

The other much more severe issue is (hopefully) software and the slowness of the iPad1. There is a half second lag between moving the pen and the ink appearing. This makes hand writing next to impossible. the lag is twice as much as when using a finger to write in ghostwriter. So there is already a lag on the iPad1 in Ghostwriter under iOS5.1 and the iPen software slows down even more. I hope that software updates or other note taking apps make this lag go away or get at least much less.

Aside of that the iPen feels a bit awkward because the ink appears at the LCD and that is separated by a tenth of an inch from the Pen tip because of the glass touch panel. No stylus will ever overcome this.

All in all I still have hope for this iPen. If they fix the lag or if the iPad 3 is fast enough to make it irrelevant then I would recommend this as a solution for note taking.
 
iDvisic said:
A few quick questions (two of which you may not have answers for yet):

1) Is your screen bare glass, or do you have a protect invisibleshield style protector of any kind on it?

2) Is the tracking/lag issues strictly the pen? Or is it possible that the experience might be tighter on another app?

3) Is the "palm accidentally turning page" issue because of the apps turn slider at the bottom? So it wouldn't exist in a different app?

Thanks for testing and sharing!

-->iDv.
Click to expand...

My iPen shipped yesterday so I'll also report back when I've tested it with the new iPad. I've been following the Cregle Kickstarter page where some people have started giving their feedback. It seems as if some of the tracking issues could be do to the fact that Ghostwriter Notes only has one calibration point. Other apps previewed have given more.

As for the palm turning the page, some people have said that turning off multi-touch contact in the settings menu has helped. Seems like the palm rejection is working, but it will still pick up motions like turning the page.
 
RAWphenom said:
Already answered this one.
Click to expand...

Oops...missed that. Must've been half asleep skimming through last night. Thanks for pointing it out.

-->iDv.

----------
s-o-teric said:
My iPen shipped yesterday so I'll also report back when I've tested it with the new iPad. I've been following the Cregle Kickstarter page where some people have started giving their feedback. It seems as if some of the tracking issues could be do to the fact that Ghostwriter Notes only has one calibration point. Other apps previewed have given more.

As for the palm turning the page, some people have said that turning off multi-touch contact in the settings menu has helped. Seems like the palm rejection is working, but it will still pick up motions like turning the page.
Click to expand...

Oh, so it isn't an "in app" page turn? It's the "between apps" turn?

-->iDv.
 
andiwm2003 said:
That is my review with my iPen on and iPad1 with a screen protector on it.

I agree with all the OP said with the addition that the lag is really bad on the iPad1.

I posted this in a different thread already.

**************************************
yep,

got my Cregle iPen today. The only app that works with it at this time is Ghostwriter.

I have an iPad1. The pen/stylus itself feels like a $2 fine tip Sharpie. It works as shown on their videos. However there are two issues with it:

One is hardware. You calibrate the pen by pointing on a fine button. You need to hold the pen for this at the same angle as if you were writing. If you change this angle then the tip of the pen is not where the ink appears. This is because the infrared sensors detect the position of the pen a bit away from the screen and if you hold the pen diagonal to the screen the detection point is a bit offset from the pen tip.

The other much more severe issue is (hopefully) software and the slowness of the iPad1. There is a half second lag between moving the pen and the ink appearing. This makes hand writing next to impossible. the lag is twice as much as when using a finger to write in ghostwriter. So there is already a lag on the iPad1 in Ghostwriter under iOS5.1 and the iPen software slows down even more. I hope that software updates or other note taking apps make this lag go away or get at least much less.

Aside of that the iPen feels a bit awkward because the ink appears at the LCD and that is separated by a tenth of an inch from the Pen tip because of the glass touch panel. No stylus will ever overcome this.

All in all I still have hope for this iPen. If they fix the lag or if the iPad 3 is fast enough to make it irrelevant then I would recommend this as a solution for note taking.
Click to expand...

The lag is not that pronounced on the iPad2 ... but there is a small lag. And you are correct the calibration is not all it should be on Ghostwriter.
 
Cregle uploaded a video of the iPen being used with Noteshelf last night to its Youtube channel: iPen in Noteshelf

Looks like when Noteshelf goes live it will have 9 calibration points. Hopefully that will make a big difference.
 
s-o-teric said:
Cregle uploaded a video of the iPen being used with Noteshelf last night to its Youtube channel: iPen in Noteshelf

Looks like when Noteshelf goes live it will have 9 calibration points. Hopefully that will make a big difference.
Click to expand...

WOW... that was impressive! Having all those calibration points no doubt helps things enormously.
 
So you would say the iPen is good for me if i want to take notes into my University Skripts ?
 
RowdyYates said:
All in all, are you pleased with the pen? Would you make the purchase again today?
Click to expand...

Overall... mixed emotions.... but yes, I probably would because I sense that in time they will continue to tweak the unit and the apps until it performs far better -- but presently I would have no problem using it as a note taker.
 
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I read good notes does work with it? My ipen should arrive in a few days
 
moxier said:
Overall... mixed emotions.... but yes, I probably would because I sense that in time they will continue to tweak the unit and the apps until it performs far better -- but presently I would have no problem using it as a note taker.
Click to expand...

Moxier, thanks for taking the time to post a "learning curve" review. So many times I see end-user reviews that either are from someone who really hasn't yet mastered the gadget or doesn't put it through enough paces to reach a defensible position on their opinion of same. You've done a good job on both.

Thanks!
 
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