Much discussion of various styluses on another forum. The insights of some of the Jot and iFaraday users there may be of some interest in this context.
It appears that the "missed strokes" problem reported by some users but not by others may stem from handwriting style rather than variation in the styluses, themselves.
Those who "write" (cursive handwriting) seem to have fewer problems with both the "noise" issue and the "missed stroke" problem than those who "print" individual letters when they write. (My own handwriting is a hodgepodge of cursive and child-like block letters developed over decades of note taking.)
The reason the noise issue is less intrusive for those who "write" notes is obvious. Less lifting and tapping going on. The "missed stroke" issue is a bit more subtle. The Jot appears to be a bit less sensitive to the beginning of a stroke than other styluses (e.g. iFaraday.) If your stroke is short, as it may be as a result of the greater "precision" the Jot allows (i.e. smaller letters), the Jot may not register at all before you lift the stylus.
A previous post on this thread illustrates the problem of writing the letter "H" with three strokes. I suspect if that letter is written cursively without lifting the Jot, the problem would not exist since the screen eventually recognizes that a single (long) stroke has been entered to create the entire letter "H."
Another somewhat confusing issue is whether the Jot enables a writer to write "thinner" strokes than other styluses. It doesn't. The width of a stroke is set by the app the writer is using, not the stylus, itself. It does, however, enable a writer to "see" the contact point of the stylus more easily and to write more accurately (at least at first) in smaller letters. That may be an advantage for the Jot but I suspect that extended use of most styluses enables a user to identify its precise "contact point." So the Jot advantage may be short-lived.
Bottom line? It appears that those who use a cursive style (as we were taught in the third grade back in the stone age) when they write may be more satisfied with the Jot than those who "block print" individual letters. (Like a first grader. And more like me.)
Likewise, if you're using a stylus to write very small annotations or notes (and you don't use the "magnifier" available with some apps like Notes Plus and Note Taker HD), the Jot may be a better choice than other styluses. Or at least it's likely to require less practice to identify a precise contact point.
Having said that, however, don't think the tiny nib on the Jot enables a "thinner" mark on the iPad. That's an attribute of the note taking/sketching app, not the stylus.
Finally, I can't speak to the manufacturing/quality assurance issues of the Jot. My Jot Pro appears to have a perfect disc and I still have the "missed stroke" problem. Based on others' experience, I've requested a replacement disc from Adonit but I strongly suspect it won't solve my problem with the Jot. I'm simply not the best user for the Jot. My handwriting is more suitable for the iFaraday models.
The missing strokes are definitely a disk issue. I have replacement disks in hand, and I can tell you that unused disks do not have that problem. After a couple days though, the "new" disk will start to develop the same issue again.
I can accept the fact that a disk like that will eventually wear out, but not this quick. I started a new disk in a class last week and it was already worn out before the class ended.
