I have tried to use a stylus with my iPad before and I was disappointed with the experience. My first experience was with a Pogo Sketch stylus (on left). It was very light weight and had a fabric tip. The biggest problem for me was that it felt like trying to write with a mushy Q-Tip! The fabric tip flexed back and forth as I pressed on the screen and it always felt like it was going to come off the body. Straight up…I hated it. It didn’t simulate the writing experience for me at all and as a result I gave up on it by the end of the second day of use.
This week though, the Griffin Stylus for iPad (on right) has made me a believer! This is a completely different experience from the Pogo. First, the Griffin Stylus is much heavier than the Pogo. It feels more like having a pen in your hand which helps more than I thought it would. It is a bit longer too which makes it fit my hand better. The biggest difference is the tip. Instead of a mushy fabric, the Griffin Stylus has a soft rubber tip. When you push down it flexes, but it feels firmer to me than the fabric of the Pogo. The tip doesn’t shift from side to side like the Pogo did for me so I feel like it is more precise. Now don’t misunderstand. These tools are a but like writing with a dull crayon, but the Griffin gives me a better feel and more precision.
Where I like using the stylus the most is in drawing apps, but I also like using for highlighting text in the Kindle app, drawing diagrams in Penultimate and Circus Ponies Notebook, and even selecting individual words in Logos for further study. All in all, I believe I am hooked. I see myself using this stylus more and more. If you want a usable, good feeling stylus that closely simulates the actual writing experience check out the Griffin Stylus for iPad. It is worth a close look. Now I just have to figure out how not to misplace it!