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Active stylus for phone/tablet

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  • Active stylus for phone/tablet

    Hello,

    Is anyone here using an active stylus in combination with a phone or tablet?

    I've been reading up about it and it seems like an interesting tool to improve the usability of a tablet/phone. Now, I'm not using it for more than just news reading, mail reading or the occasional game or app, but I would like to change it. I use to use a Psion 5mx for notetaking and after that a convertible tablet, but now I'm back to pencil and paper. I would like to go a bit more hightech and started reading about those.

    Do they work well?
    Any good software recommendations (preferably something that works on iOS and Android, and syncs online)?

    I will be in the market for a new phone (my current one is just over a year old, but its 8 GB storage is just not enough for apps, and many cannot be moved to an sd card) and may consider a Galaxy Note, as this seems to be aimed at this alternative use. I though of getting an active stylus now, to try if there is any point in using the phone in such a way. Probably not a comparison to a Galaxy Note, but still I guess it may make me see whether or not I would use it in such a way. Or even if not a Note, it may be a reason for a bigger sized phone (I rarely call anyway).

    Thanks!


    Jörg
    pixar
    Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die tomorrow. (James Dean)

  • #2
    Haven't used a stylus since I stopped using my X61 tablet - the best PC I've ever had IMO.

    I'm still using OneNote which syncs to shared folders on my server. I have notes going back to 2010 not in the cloud.
    If you don't care about having your secret world domination plans in cloud you can use OneNote on phones.

    I just switched from Galaxy S5 to S7 (sold my S3 and S5 is the back up phone now).

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    • #3
      Yeah, I had a similar experience with my Siemens P1510. But those tablets had a passive stylus.

      I'm more curious about how good an active stylus goes on a phone/tablet. Those passive pointer things (with the rubbery tip) are not good for accurate things such as writing; they are mainly ok as a finger-replacement. An active stylus should be good for writing, but I don't know anybody who has one. I was hoping to find some comments here. I could just try it, they are not that expensive (18 euro), but prices go up all the way to 70 euro and the difference is not clear to me. I don't need it for artistic purposes, just to write.

      Combined with it is of course the software support... My current phone is always low on memory (LG K8), this is for a big part due to the software for my gear S3 which just takes up so much space and cannot be moved to the sd card; but either way I would not recommend anyone to get an 8 GB android phone: even the updates for the internal apps will eventually fill it. My next phone will most likely be a Samsung, as there are some benefits in pairing a Gear S3 with a Samsung phone, but the purchase is not urgent.
      pixar
      Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die tomorrow. (James Dean)

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      • #4
        The stylus on X61 was OK for writing, with Siemens drivers you could get 16 levels of pressure so it was also OK for drawing. Just today I was administering some Win CE motorola terminals with resistive touch and stylus. The experience was crap. The Surface 3 stylus is nice.

        I'd suggest going to a store to play with one.
        Last edited by UtwigMU; 19 February 2018, 15:31.

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        • #5
          But the Surface 3 stylus is just for the Surface...

          I'm looking more at styluses (styli?) for use with android phones. There are active ones such as these (I post amazon links as there are not many manufacturer's web sites):


          or


          The above ones are active stylus, which a tip with an electrical charge to trigger the touch screen. There are also purely mechanical capacitive styluses, such as this one:


          I wonder how well they work and provide a note taking experience... Do they scratch the screen? Do they work with a screen protector ...

          This one for example says to use a screen protector:

          whereas this one says not to use one


          So I'm really wondering about experiences with this, but I know nobody who has it.
          Last edited by VJ; 20 February 2018, 01:24.
          pixar
          Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die tomorrow. (James Dean)

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          • #6
            Considering it costs only like 30 bucks I'd buy the one with best reviews possibly used or 2nd hand unused on ebay and resell it if I wouldn't have liked the experience.
            I don't think a stylus with a plastic tip would have scratched the screen of modern gorilla glass phone.

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            • #7
              Some of the active ones have a metal tip... You probably don't need to apply pressure for the touchscreen to register it (it begin active), but for sure when writing pressure will be applied.

              It is unclear from the descriptions which ones work with a screen protector, making the choice a bit more difficult. Also, reviews for most of them are just all over the place, so I hoped to get some experiences/info here...
              pixar
              Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die tomorrow. (James Dean)

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