Like many of you, I'm always chasing after the best possible stylus for working on the iPad. During my queest, I love to read and watch as many reviews as possible. So I found it about time to try and contribute my 5 cents worth of thoughts.
Let's start with my gear overview:
- iPad 3rd gen, 64 GB, iOS 6.1.3
- apps often used: Numbers, Noteshelf, Paper
- no screen protector
- styluses, in order of purchasing:
Arctic Architect ($ 22,95 = 17,50)
Wacom Bamboo Solo ($ 29,95 = 29.90)
Applydea Maglus ($ 32,83 = 24,99)
Lynktec TruGlide Pro ($ 29,95 = 22,82)
Prices are taken from the manufacturer's websites, shipping and handling not included.
I'm in no way affiliated with either of these products nor their makers.
You can find numerous reviews on these tools, and I invite you to read them. Simply because what I'm about to offer doesnt qualify as a complete product review - rather a collection of musings on my everyday use in a production work environment.
Heres a few links that were helpfull to me:
All models:
http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/10/2925937/best-stylus-ipad-review
Arctic Architect:
http://www.pocketables.com/2011/12/architect-stylus-review.html
http://appadvice.com/appnn/2012/04/...t-looking-best-performing-styli-on-the-market
http://www.todaysiphone.com/2012/09/arctic-architect-stylus-review-vid/
http://www.padgadget.com/2012/09/06...t-and-the-emote-from-arctic-ipad-gear-review/
http://www.techhive.com/article/1164863/architect_stylus_builds_something_great.html
Wacom Bamboo:
http://www.imore.com/wacom-bamboo-stylus-review
http://www.trustedreviews.com/wacom-bamboo-stylus-for-ipad_Gadget_review
Applydea Maglus:
http://duggy252.blogspot.be/2013/06/0-0-1-592-3381-duco-28-7-3966-14.html
http://www.coolsmartphone.com/2012/10/27/applydea-maglus-stylus-review/
http://www.electronista.com/article...stylus.opens.up.possibilities.for.ipad.users/
Lynktec TruGlide Pro
http://isource.com/2013/04/30/review-lynktec-truglide-pro-stylus/
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/review/truglide-pro-stylus-smaller-microfiber-magafabulous
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/reviews/entry/lynktec-truglide-pro-precision-stylus/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbNopkA9aiw
So here they are, again in chronological order...
1- the Architect
I'm an architect, no wonder I wanted to draw on my iPad - right?
I'm an architect, so I care about design - right?
These two points of interest soon brought me to purchase my first iPad stylus from Arctic. The Architect is eye catching, unique, very Apple (aluminium) and until today the most stylish euhm... stylus that I know off. Taste, evidently, being a personal matter.
Aside from the looks, the ergonomics are well done. The Architect feels like a writing instrument, having the right dimensions and proportions.
Of course, being on my first stylus, I had no point of comparison. After working it for a while I started to discover a few of it's weaker points:
The tip is narrower than the stylus shaft. While drawing, and looking from above, it's somewhat difficult to see where exactly the nib is going to touch the screen. In the picture below you see the Architect on the left and, as a reference, the Bamboo on the right. While the latter looks more like a pointing device, the view on the Architect tip is a bit misleading, making it harder to work on p.e. detailed drawings.
- The minimalistic cilinder looks really sleek. But as soon as I put it on the table next to my iPad, it will roll away most of the time and eventually drop on the floor. Lamy has a solution for this, check out their Pico.
- I have relatively dry hands. The aluminium, although slightly brushed, is not providing the grip I was expecting. So prior to working, I do need a little handcreme treatment, silly as that may sound.
- I soon got tired of screwing/unscrewing the cap and finally left the tip unprotected all the time. But wait... there's no way to replace the rubber thingie - now thats a bit scary (remember, it likes to roll away).
2- the Bamboo
Based upon my issues above, I went on a search for another stylus. And I discovered the Wacom package:
- Bamboo Paper. This app is beautiful, stylish, minimalistic in the best way possible, direct and responsive and free! I can imagine it covering the needs of a vast majority of note-taking doodlers.
- Bamboo stylus. There is a reason why I couldn't find a negative comment about this stylus: it's a superb tool. From a design point of view, it's not exceptional - but that is not a necessity, is it? The Bamboo is, at the same time, a classic and classy looking writing device. The shape is right, so is the weight, the balance, the thickness, just everything about it.
I soon came to feel the difference with my Architect: the Bamboo tip is a lot softer. That means smoother movement, strokes being registered much faster, less pressure needed, better confort all together, lighter to handle.
Uh-oh
One day I started hearing little ticks while working with my Bamboo. As it turns out, the tip is so soft and mushy, that sometimes the metal tapered cilinder just above it touches the glass screen - given the right angle and pressure.
I've tried to capture two specific cases in the pictures below:
Paper by 53 not offering wrist protection, I often find myself resting my hand on the edge of my iPad for stability, and at the same time sticking out my stylus to draw something in the center of my screen. Well, this angle plus the amount of pressure needed, will cause the metal nib holder to touch the screen. Ready to draw a line? Hm, guess not.
Noteshelf is my allround favorite app that I use the most. Here you see me using the zoom box in the bottom area of the screen in what I would call a normal writing position. I made some dots when taking the photo, each time causing a light tick.
As you may have noticed, my review doesn't hold Adonit Jot, Jaja nor GoSmart styluses. Why? I'm still not convinced these tips won't scratch my screen. Ill admit I may be wrong about this, but I can't help fearing the day I draw a strong stroke with a 45° tilted Bamboo stylus, let alone the ones mentioned above. In brief: I want a soft touch at all times.
In the meantime, I found out that Wacom offers firm replacement tips as an alternative for the defaults. Perhaps I need to test those, in order to remove my one and only minus point on the Bamboo stylus so far.
One more thing I notice is that the screwed on tip sometimes gets a little loose, probably from the movements. Sometimes, I need to tighten it up.
After I made the switch to the Bamboo, my wife started to use the Architect. Precision work left aside, the Architect is a perfect tool to do the usual surfing, e-mailing etc. Like I do myself, my wife types with her left index finger combined with the stylus in her right hand. This may sound silly, but it's a very handy technique in case you occasionally need to tap a small button that your index finger might miss.
On rare occasions when I go back to the Architect, it sure proves to be a rather sticky fellow compared to the Bamboo. Seems like soft nibs equal smooth movements and firm nibs equal more dragging?
3- the Maglus
Although I didn't really need another stylus at this point, I couldn't help but notice many positive comments about the Maglus, especially its tip being soft enough and yet smooth at the same time.
Because I did a lot of reading and viewing, my expectations were peeked like they hadn't been before. And during the first months of use, I was quite happy with this specific stylus.
Inspite of the awkward shape, I got a good grip on it early on. The higher weight meant I had to put in less effort (pressure) while writing. "Writing" being the keyword here indeed - because it didn't seem to do that well in trying to draw. Depending on what you do and how you do it, pencil sketching may need a somewhat subtle touch. And there's nothing subtle about the Maglus, is there?
I used to compare it with my all time favorite Lamy Scribble, but neh... there seems to be a difference between the physical and digital world of drawing. And this is where the Maglus came to bite me in the butt. I ended up still writing with the Maglus but drawing with the Bamboo. Not yet a perfect solution...
And then recently, my Maglus began to show some shortcomings:
- The tip began to need a lot more pressure to register at all. While writing in Noteshelf, at least 50% of my strokes were left unregistered. Very frustrating and time consuming, not to mention the crappy looking notes.
- The rubber flaps that cover the shaft magnets started to slide up and down, causing the glue underneath to cover the whole shaft. Also, they get caught by other stuff on my desk (like sheets of paper).
Since I didn't have much to lose, I pulled off the rubber protections and cleaned both the shaft and the rubber tip with White Spirit and Cillit Bang. Writing became marginally better for a short period of time, but now I'm afraid my rubber tip needs replacing - much sooner than I expected. My Bamboo sure did a lot more work and is still going like a whistle.
I contacted Applydea, and they proved to be quite helpfull. In fact, I'm promised a set of replacement rubber covers (self-adhesive) because they seem to have had some glue problems. They also provided me with two extra replacement tips.
And for now, I work a naked Maglus - not too bad since I never keep it hanging on my iPad anyway.
But in the end of the day, I still haven't got used to the rather bulky, edged shape and the heavy weight of the Applydea stylus. I may hold on to it as a writing stylus in emergency cases. But I'm afraid it will never qualify as "my stylus" like the Lamy Scribble is and always will be "my pencil".
Things however can change... Applydea is close to releasing a microfiber tip.
Find out more here: The Applydea Maglus stylus | an extended review. | Louis Dyer
4- the TruGlide Pro
So far with the rubber tips. What else is new?
Wait, I already told you about my phobias for the Adonit Jot, Jaja, GoSmart. Sexy as they all may look, I'm still to be convinced of their scratch free behaviour.
Time to go through some stylus reviews again! Strange how, only now and after so long, I finally payed attention to this exceptional alternative: the microfiber tip. The Lynktec description as well as some user reviews seemed to sum up all of the issues I had in the past year or so, going through using my styluses. Since I was still hunting for my one-and-only, I saw no other way than to take the plunge and order the TruGlide Pro at Lynktecs.
Again, expectations were high. And the stylus arrived, sooner than expected!
Style-wise, I think it's fair to compare it to the Bamboo: classic and classy at the same time (I went with the matte black with silver tip).
Perhaps a little thin and too light to feel like a real writing instrument. On the other hand, for drawing I do prefer this more subtle feel of the tool. Either way, it won't take much time to get used to this stylus, it feels very natural and smooth in my hand.
I do need to comment about the clip: Lynktec has given this part a lot of thought. As a result, it's a perfect solution - that makes the TruGlide score even a tad better than the Bamboo, at least in my book of good design.
So, the tip that isn't rubber
The microfiber tip glides like no other, that much became clear from the first stroke onward. It performs as advertised. The TruGlide surely needs a certain amount of pressure before its strokes are registered, but theres no resistance at all while working. Therefor, the overall effort isnt noticeable.
I'll need to wait so see just how long this tip holds on to it's smooth feel. They say it's many times better than the rubber ones?
The actual shape of the tip is different from the average rubber one.
While the Maglus tip (among others) is shaped as an extension of the shaft / tip holder, the TruGlide tip is looking more like a little round ball that has been mounted at the end of a stick. Actually, it's less streamlined and not a thing of beauty if I may say so.
But on the positive side, this ball shaped tip allows the stylus to be used at almost any angle without the risk of touching the screen with the stylus metal parts (think Bamboo).
The rounded shape garantees a maximum contact surface, which explains the relatively small diameter.
Heres me drawing a line in Paper, at an almost horizontal position!
To be honest, and based upon the website pictures, I was expecting a sleek silver coloured tip - which BTW is why I went with my specific colour combination. But in reality, eew, the tip looks a bit yellowish and brassy. Im a bit disappointed in this detail. As far as the microfiber does allow, the tip should be real shiny and real silver in my opinion.
TruGlide Pro is a name that completely covers the product. And admitted it's now my "new kid on the block", my obvious enthousiasm isnt solely about that I'm sure.
Conclusion
For what its worth, Ill throw in a little comparison table.
On three criteria, each contestant gets a score from 1 (worst in the line-up) to 4 (best in the line-up). This means that the winner isnt the best stylus around - only the best of this bunch of four in my opinion. And the worst stylus in the table isnt a bad one at all, it just doesnt live up to the other three. Hope were clear on that.
Like I said at the beginning, this article wasnt set out to be a real professional product review. Ive done my best to give some comments on positive and negative experiences that only become clear after a certain period of use. Actually, some of this stuff cant be found in the unpacking / reviewing phase.
Either way, I sincerely hope youve found it worth reading. Please, dont hesitate to comment and ask questions. Ill do my best to follow up.
Thanks for bearing with me so long.
Let's start with my gear overview:
- iPad 3rd gen, 64 GB, iOS 6.1.3
- apps often used: Numbers, Noteshelf, Paper
- no screen protector
- styluses, in order of purchasing:
Arctic Architect ($ 22,95 = 17,50)
Wacom Bamboo Solo ($ 29,95 = 29.90)
Applydea Maglus ($ 32,83 = 24,99)
Lynktec TruGlide Pro ($ 29,95 = 22,82)
Prices are taken from the manufacturer's websites, shipping and handling not included.
I'm in no way affiliated with either of these products nor their makers.
You can find numerous reviews on these tools, and I invite you to read them. Simply because what I'm about to offer doesnt qualify as a complete product review - rather a collection of musings on my everyday use in a production work environment.
Heres a few links that were helpfull to me:
All models:
http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/10/2925937/best-stylus-ipad-review
Arctic Architect:
http://www.pocketables.com/2011/12/architect-stylus-review.html
http://appadvice.com/appnn/2012/04/...t-looking-best-performing-styli-on-the-market
http://www.todaysiphone.com/2012/09/arctic-architect-stylus-review-vid/
http://www.padgadget.com/2012/09/06...t-and-the-emote-from-arctic-ipad-gear-review/
http://www.techhive.com/article/1164863/architect_stylus_builds_something_great.html
Wacom Bamboo:
http://www.imore.com/wacom-bamboo-stylus-review
http://www.trustedreviews.com/wacom-bamboo-stylus-for-ipad_Gadget_review
Applydea Maglus:
http://duggy252.blogspot.be/2013/06/0-0-1-592-3381-duco-28-7-3966-14.html
http://www.coolsmartphone.com/2012/10/27/applydea-maglus-stylus-review/
http://www.electronista.com/article...stylus.opens.up.possibilities.for.ipad.users/
Lynktec TruGlide Pro
http://isource.com/2013/04/30/review-lynktec-truglide-pro-stylus/
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/review/truglide-pro-stylus-smaller-microfiber-magafabulous
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/reviews/entry/lynktec-truglide-pro-precision-stylus/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbNopkA9aiw
So here they are, again in chronological order...
1- the Architect
I'm an architect, no wonder I wanted to draw on my iPad - right?
I'm an architect, so I care about design - right?
These two points of interest soon brought me to purchase my first iPad stylus from Arctic. The Architect is eye catching, unique, very Apple (aluminium) and until today the most stylish euhm... stylus that I know off. Taste, evidently, being a personal matter.
Aside from the looks, the ergonomics are well done. The Architect feels like a writing instrument, having the right dimensions and proportions.
Of course, being on my first stylus, I had no point of comparison. After working it for a while I started to discover a few of it's weaker points:
The tip is narrower than the stylus shaft. While drawing, and looking from above, it's somewhat difficult to see where exactly the nib is going to touch the screen. In the picture below you see the Architect on the left and, as a reference, the Bamboo on the right. While the latter looks more like a pointing device, the view on the Architect tip is a bit misleading, making it harder to work on p.e. detailed drawings.
- The minimalistic cilinder looks really sleek. But as soon as I put it on the table next to my iPad, it will roll away most of the time and eventually drop on the floor. Lamy has a solution for this, check out their Pico.
- I have relatively dry hands. The aluminium, although slightly brushed, is not providing the grip I was expecting. So prior to working, I do need a little handcreme treatment, silly as that may sound.
- I soon got tired of screwing/unscrewing the cap and finally left the tip unprotected all the time. But wait... there's no way to replace the rubber thingie - now thats a bit scary (remember, it likes to roll away).
2- the Bamboo
Based upon my issues above, I went on a search for another stylus. And I discovered the Wacom package:
- Bamboo Paper. This app is beautiful, stylish, minimalistic in the best way possible, direct and responsive and free! I can imagine it covering the needs of a vast majority of note-taking doodlers.
- Bamboo stylus. There is a reason why I couldn't find a negative comment about this stylus: it's a superb tool. From a design point of view, it's not exceptional - but that is not a necessity, is it? The Bamboo is, at the same time, a classic and classy looking writing device. The shape is right, so is the weight, the balance, the thickness, just everything about it.
I soon came to feel the difference with my Architect: the Bamboo tip is a lot softer. That means smoother movement, strokes being registered much faster, less pressure needed, better confort all together, lighter to handle.
Uh-oh
One day I started hearing little ticks while working with my Bamboo. As it turns out, the tip is so soft and mushy, that sometimes the metal tapered cilinder just above it touches the glass screen - given the right angle and pressure.
I've tried to capture two specific cases in the pictures below:
Paper by 53 not offering wrist protection, I often find myself resting my hand on the edge of my iPad for stability, and at the same time sticking out my stylus to draw something in the center of my screen. Well, this angle plus the amount of pressure needed, will cause the metal nib holder to touch the screen. Ready to draw a line? Hm, guess not.
Noteshelf is my allround favorite app that I use the most. Here you see me using the zoom box in the bottom area of the screen in what I would call a normal writing position. I made some dots when taking the photo, each time causing a light tick.
As you may have noticed, my review doesn't hold Adonit Jot, Jaja nor GoSmart styluses. Why? I'm still not convinced these tips won't scratch my screen. Ill admit I may be wrong about this, but I can't help fearing the day I draw a strong stroke with a 45° tilted Bamboo stylus, let alone the ones mentioned above. In brief: I want a soft touch at all times.
In the meantime, I found out that Wacom offers firm replacement tips as an alternative for the defaults. Perhaps I need to test those, in order to remove my one and only minus point on the Bamboo stylus so far.
One more thing I notice is that the screwed on tip sometimes gets a little loose, probably from the movements. Sometimes, I need to tighten it up.
After I made the switch to the Bamboo, my wife started to use the Architect. Precision work left aside, the Architect is a perfect tool to do the usual surfing, e-mailing etc. Like I do myself, my wife types with her left index finger combined with the stylus in her right hand. This may sound silly, but it's a very handy technique in case you occasionally need to tap a small button that your index finger might miss.
On rare occasions when I go back to the Architect, it sure proves to be a rather sticky fellow compared to the Bamboo. Seems like soft nibs equal smooth movements and firm nibs equal more dragging?
3- the Maglus
Although I didn't really need another stylus at this point, I couldn't help but notice many positive comments about the Maglus, especially its tip being soft enough and yet smooth at the same time.
Because I did a lot of reading and viewing, my expectations were peeked like they hadn't been before. And during the first months of use, I was quite happy with this specific stylus.
Inspite of the awkward shape, I got a good grip on it early on. The higher weight meant I had to put in less effort (pressure) while writing. "Writing" being the keyword here indeed - because it didn't seem to do that well in trying to draw. Depending on what you do and how you do it, pencil sketching may need a somewhat subtle touch. And there's nothing subtle about the Maglus, is there?
I used to compare it with my all time favorite Lamy Scribble, but neh... there seems to be a difference between the physical and digital world of drawing. And this is where the Maglus came to bite me in the butt. I ended up still writing with the Maglus but drawing with the Bamboo. Not yet a perfect solution...
And then recently, my Maglus began to show some shortcomings:
- The tip began to need a lot more pressure to register at all. While writing in Noteshelf, at least 50% of my strokes were left unregistered. Very frustrating and time consuming, not to mention the crappy looking notes.
- The rubber flaps that cover the shaft magnets started to slide up and down, causing the glue underneath to cover the whole shaft. Also, they get caught by other stuff on my desk (like sheets of paper).
Since I didn't have much to lose, I pulled off the rubber protections and cleaned both the shaft and the rubber tip with White Spirit and Cillit Bang. Writing became marginally better for a short period of time, but now I'm afraid my rubber tip needs replacing - much sooner than I expected. My Bamboo sure did a lot more work and is still going like a whistle.
I contacted Applydea, and they proved to be quite helpfull. In fact, I'm promised a set of replacement rubber covers (self-adhesive) because they seem to have had some glue problems. They also provided me with two extra replacement tips.
And for now, I work a naked Maglus - not too bad since I never keep it hanging on my iPad anyway.
But in the end of the day, I still haven't got used to the rather bulky, edged shape and the heavy weight of the Applydea stylus. I may hold on to it as a writing stylus in emergency cases. But I'm afraid it will never qualify as "my stylus" like the Lamy Scribble is and always will be "my pencil".
Things however can change... Applydea is close to releasing a microfiber tip.
Find out more here: The Applydea Maglus stylus | an extended review. | Louis Dyer
4- the TruGlide Pro
So far with the rubber tips. What else is new?
Wait, I already told you about my phobias for the Adonit Jot, Jaja, GoSmart. Sexy as they all may look, I'm still to be convinced of their scratch free behaviour.
Time to go through some stylus reviews again! Strange how, only now and after so long, I finally payed attention to this exceptional alternative: the microfiber tip. The Lynktec description as well as some user reviews seemed to sum up all of the issues I had in the past year or so, going through using my styluses. Since I was still hunting for my one-and-only, I saw no other way than to take the plunge and order the TruGlide Pro at Lynktecs.
Again, expectations were high. And the stylus arrived, sooner than expected!
Style-wise, I think it's fair to compare it to the Bamboo: classic and classy at the same time (I went with the matte black with silver tip).
Perhaps a little thin and too light to feel like a real writing instrument. On the other hand, for drawing I do prefer this more subtle feel of the tool. Either way, it won't take much time to get used to this stylus, it feels very natural and smooth in my hand.
I do need to comment about the clip: Lynktec has given this part a lot of thought. As a result, it's a perfect solution - that makes the TruGlide score even a tad better than the Bamboo, at least in my book of good design.
So, the tip that isn't rubber
The microfiber tip glides like no other, that much became clear from the first stroke onward. It performs as advertised. The TruGlide surely needs a certain amount of pressure before its strokes are registered, but theres no resistance at all while working. Therefor, the overall effort isnt noticeable.
I'll need to wait so see just how long this tip holds on to it's smooth feel. They say it's many times better than the rubber ones?
The actual shape of the tip is different from the average rubber one.
While the Maglus tip (among others) is shaped as an extension of the shaft / tip holder, the TruGlide tip is looking more like a little round ball that has been mounted at the end of a stick. Actually, it's less streamlined and not a thing of beauty if I may say so.
But on the positive side, this ball shaped tip allows the stylus to be used at almost any angle without the risk of touching the screen with the stylus metal parts (think Bamboo).
The rounded shape garantees a maximum contact surface, which explains the relatively small diameter.
Heres me drawing a line in Paper, at an almost horizontal position!
To be honest, and based upon the website pictures, I was expecting a sleek silver coloured tip - which BTW is why I went with my specific colour combination. But in reality, eew, the tip looks a bit yellowish and brassy. Im a bit disappointed in this detail. As far as the microfiber does allow, the tip should be real shiny and real silver in my opinion.
TruGlide Pro is a name that completely covers the product. And admitted it's now my "new kid on the block", my obvious enthousiasm isnt solely about that I'm sure.
Conclusion
For what its worth, Ill throw in a little comparison table.
On three criteria, each contestant gets a score from 1 (worst in the line-up) to 4 (best in the line-up). This means that the winner isnt the best stylus around - only the best of this bunch of four in my opinion. And the worst stylus in the table isnt a bad one at all, it just doesnt live up to the other three. Hope were clear on that.
Like I said at the beginning, this article wasnt set out to be a real professional product review. Ive done my best to give some comments on positive and negative experiences that only become clear after a certain period of use. Actually, some of this stuff cant be found in the unpacking / reviewing phase.
Either way, I sincerely hope youve found it worth reading. Please, dont hesitate to comment and ask questions. Ill do my best to follow up.
Thanks for bearing with me so long.
