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It's amazing the difference a stylus makes

aircanman

aircanman

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 2, 2011
398
93
UK
Just got two cheap stylus from eBay and it makes the iPad feel like a different device. Easier to use on your lap/in hand, and typing is quicker. (when holding one handed)

I will be buying a better quality stylus because this is ok but not amazing, but I would recommend one, such a difference.
 
I felt the same when I got one but two weeks later it was collecting dust.

Using the iPad with a stylus is like eating a hamburger with fork and knife.
 
I generally agree with OP, but only use a stylus in certain scenarios. Marking up PDFs, signing docs, drawing sketches, playing Draw Something (lol).
 
aircanman said:
Just got two cheap stylus from eBay and it makes the iPad feel like a different device. Easier to use on your lap/in hand, and typing is quicker. (when holding one handed)

I will be buying a better quality stylus because this is ok but not amazing, but I would recommend one, such a difference.
Click to expand...

I do not mean to hijack this thread, but what makes a stylus work, I thought all of the touch screens on a iPhone and iPad were heat sensitive and not just touch sensitive. I have tried with my old palm stylus and it does not work.

Thanks,
HiddenPuppy
 
thelookingglass said:
Marking up PDFs
Click to expand...

These were the only uses where I found a stylus to be beneficial. Highlighting PDFs is easier as the stylus is smaller than and blocks less text in use than my finger, making it easier to highlight just the text I wanted to highlight. I imagine drawing may be easier for similar reasons.

For general use, easiest to just use one of the ten styli already attached to my hands. I never have to rummage around on my desk to find one.
 
I disagree - I use a stylus for everything. Why?
1. more accurate, esp when editing text
2. screen stays far cleaner, eliminating need for films

However after buying many over the last year,there is a huge diff in stylii, many with the sponge ball are clumsy and drag....the best are the ones from ifarady.com - really work well - esp the "artist" model..
 
HiddenPuppy said:
I do not mean to hijack this thread, but what makes a stylus work, I thought all of the touch screens on a iPhone and iPad were heat sensitive and not just touch sensitive.
Click to expand...

No, not heat sensitive.

They're capacitive touchscreens. Basically they detect when touched by something electrically conductive such as your finger. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitive_touchscreen#Capacitive and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitive_sensing

Styli for capacitive touchscreens are built to electrically mimic/extend your finger. If you hold a stylus while wearing a glove, it won't work since the glove insulates it from your hand.
 
Recently had to sign an iPad with a stylus. Hated it.

My finger is my stylus.
 
I bought an iPad stylus for grins, and giggles, and it has been collecting dust since day one.
Steve Jobs said:
So let's not use a stylus. We're going to use the best pointing device in the world. We're going to use a pointing device that we're all born with - born with ten of them. We're going to use our fingers. We're going to touch this with our fingers...
Click to expand...
No need for a stylus with the iPad!
 
homeboy said:
I felt the same when I got one but two weeks later it was collecting dust.
This and ...
Using the iPad with a stylus is like eating a hamburger with fork and knife.
Click to expand...
This.

I really appreciate how well the iPad takes to my fingers (TWSS) in every situation. For drawing though, I really appreciate having a stylus. I wouldn't want to be tied to having to use it so it's nice that there is a choice.
 
While I fully understand the vision of Jobs and Co when they opted to not include native support for a Stylus, this is one instance where I think the App community has really blown their vision sideways to include some very useful features.

Stylus input, by itself, isn't that big of a deal for me on the iPad. I'll agree with the OP that I find it easier to type one handed when using a stylus. And given my specific use cases (I'm on construction sites and board rooms all day...literally back and forth between the two), I use a stylus for all my screen input to try and keep my screen as clean as possible. But that alone isn't 'superior' to me to simple finger input. Its just more conducive to keeping the screen clean.

What really amazes me is how far apps like Noteability and several of the drawing/stenciling apps have gone to make stylus input more usable. For example, trying to keep your hand off the screen is difficult when using a stlyus, and holding it above the screen feels awkward to me. So apps invented "dead zones" and "zoom" functions with auto-advance of the input window to allow you to input via stylus while resting your hand on a zone of the screen that doesn't accept any input. Marvelous, highly innovative (not sure which app developer invented this first) and turns a bolt-on experience via stylus into a MADE FOR STYLUS user experience.

I'm hoping Apple see's fit at some point in the future to allow for stylus input as an integrated option via Bluetooth. They allow for printing from the iPad and that feature is totally unobtrusive unless you are looking for it. No reason they can't allow for native stylus input as well, just for those that want it.

glen e said:
However after buying many over the last year,there is a huge diff in stylii, many with the sponge ball are clumsy and drag....the best are the ones from ifarady.com - really work well - esp the "artist" model..
Click to expand...

After the lengthy threads on "Which Stylus?" in the Accessories section, I finally ordered an iFaraday after seeing so many positive comments on them. Personally....I hate the thing. Not enough surface grip for me so my handwriting looks terrible. Maybe that's the selling feature of the tip but mine is going back. To each their own and thank goodness we have such a large selection to choose from eh?
 
eawmp1 said:
Recently had to sign an iPad with a stylus. Hated it.

My finger is my stylus.
Click to expand...
Many 3 yr olds agree.
ChrisTX said:
So let's not use a stylus. We're going to use the best pointing device in the world. We're going to use a pointing device that we're all born with - born with ten of them. We're going to use our fingers. We're going to touch this with our fingers...~ Steve Jobs

No need for a stylus with the iPad!
Click to expand...
It's a shame that Jobs made a comment on the stylus because so many people have shut themselves off from even considering one based solely on his opinion at that moment. while fingers are convenient, the use of a stylus as an OPTION is something that shouldnt be rejected so quickly because precision pen based input fits into both the evolution of the tablet and the evolution of human beings.
 
deeddawg said:
No, not heat sensitive.
Click to expand...

Nope, but interestingly, fingers sometimes don't work as well in the cold, because the surface blood vessels constrict. See below.

They're capacitive touchscreens. Basically they detect when touched by something electrically conductive such as your finger.
Click to expand...

More importantly, our finger is attached to our body, which is the capacitor in this case:

To a capacitive screen, we're the equivalent of a six foot diameter balloon filled with water. Our skin is the surface of the balloon and our blood is the water.

Btw, a primary reason we can't use a smaller stylus on Apple devices, is because their touchscreen controller code is specifically programmed to ignore non-finger sized touches. This is detailed in their patent applications where they discuss how they calculate the center of a touch patch.

urkel said:
It's a shame that Jobs made a comment on the stylus because so many people have shut themselves off from even considering one based solely on his opinion at that moment.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately some people are unable to see sales pitches for what they are.

While fingers are convenient, the use of a stylus as an OPTION is something that shouldnt be rejected so quickly because pen based input fits into both the evolution of the tablet and the evolution of human beings.
Click to expand...

Indeed. Touch, writing instrument, voice, facial expressions, gestures... all are normal human ways of communicating, and all will eventually be considered normal for a smart device to understand.
 
glen e said:
I disagree - I use a stylus for everything. Why?
1. more accurate, esp when editing text
2. screen stays far cleaner, eliminating need for films

However after buying many over the last year,there is a huge diff in stylii, many with the sponge ball are clumsy and drag....the best are the ones from ifarady.com - really work well - esp the "artist" model..
Click to expand...


I currently have the Bamboo stylus and I hate the sponge tip. You can't really put any kind of pressure because it just collapses. The one you recommended has a hard tip?
 
urkel said:
Many 3 yr olds agree.
Click to expand...

You seem to imply that holding the same opinion as a 3 yr old is wrong? Guess we better all give up chocolate... :D

It's a shame that Jobs made a comment on the stylus because so many people have shut themselves off from even considering one based solely on his opinion at that moment.
Click to expand...

I agree, but see it as a quote taken out of context and misinterpreted.

The intent, I believe, was that if a stylus is required then the designers screwed up the user interface. I don't believe he intended to imply they should never be used, only that they shouldn't be required in order to use the device.
 
I bought one a year or so ago when they first started popping up. I wanted to see how well they worked. Mine pretty much sat after I had some fun with various sketching apps.

Like others have said, it makes Draw Something much more fun.

Amato27 if anyone wants to play/laugh at my artistic ability :)
 
Case in point.

I'm surfing this forum right now from my iPad. To go to page 2 of the posts in this forum I have to hit a teeny tiny little underlined numeral 2 that is about 1/4 the size of my fingertip.

So much easier with a stylus than having to use two fingers to first zoom the screen then choose the right page number.
 
ReallyBigFeet said:
Case in point.

I'm surfing this forum right now from my iPad. To go to page 2 of the posts in this forum I have to hit a teeny tiny little underlined numeral 2 that is about 1/4 the size of my fingertip.

So much easier with a stylus than having to use two fingers to first zoom the screen then choose the right page number.
Click to expand...

I've thought for a while now that these numbers should be much larger or that there should be a bigger "Next" button - even on the Mac these can be pain to select in some situations...
 
I use my stylus extensively, especially for annotating documents and for note taking (mainly Notability). Whatever Steve Jobs said, from my perspective it's a very welcome addition to my device.
 
I have the cosmonaut from a kickstarter campaign. It feels a bit more like using a magic marker then using a pen which makes more sense because there is little friction on the iPad display. So as long as you can zoom in on your drawing app and you use the iPad like a marker board then I don't mind using a stylus.

But drawing is pretty much the only situation where I will use it.
 
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