11-21-2011, 08:35 PM | #1 |
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Kindle Fire Stylus and Handwriting
Curious if anyone has tried using the Fire with a stylus for writing, sketching, or taking notes.
There is PenSupremacy: https://market.android.com/details?i....ultipen&hl=en I wonder if a stylus could work well with the Fire? My Droid phone was terrible with a stylus. It just didn't seem to work at all, and had poor resolution. My old Palm worked well with a stylus (and came with one), and had decent detail. I could actually scribble notes fairly quickly and it was reasonable, unlike the Droid. |
11-21-2011, 08:45 PM | #2 |
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I have not got a Fire but I understand the touch screen is a "capacatative" one. In that case a plain stylus will not work since the screen reacts only to a charged object.
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11-21-2011, 08:50 PM | #3 |
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I haven't tried the Fire with one of these but I use a stylus to take notes on my iPad at work. If the screen is sensitive enough and the app does a good job at smoothing out the drawn lines, it's a nice experience.
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11-21-2011, 08:53 PM | #4 |
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Yes, I think you need a stylus that specifically works with capacitive screens. Here are three:
Griffin http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=ATVPDKIKX0DER AYL http://www.amazon.com/Newest-Generat...pr_product_top Amazon branded (sold out) http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-T.../dp/B004GCJEZU I'm going to try the first two and see how it goes. Last edited by ectoplasm; 11-21-2011 at 10:07 PM. |
11-21-2011, 08:57 PM | #5 |
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The Fire responds to a capacitive stylus, like the one commonly marketed to ipad users. These are not as exact as the old style "hard" stylii, since they tend to have a rounded soft tip. I have one of these and it works just fine with the Fire, using it in drawing apps and note apps. The accuracy is the same as it is on the ipad. Fine for drawing, okay for writing - its easier the larger the screen.
I'm waiting for a penultimate clone to hit the Amazon App Store. So far I've identified PenSupremacy and Genial Writing as the most likely candidates. PenSupremacy has some negative reviews for accuracy and for lacking the basic features like an "undo" button. A good program can make up for the lack of accuracy of a capacitive stylus, using writing zoom and stuff. Last edited by weatherman; 11-21-2011 at 09:03 PM. |
11-21-2011, 09:27 PM | #6 |
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11-21-2011, 10:11 PM | #7 |
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Try your thumbnail.
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11-21-2011, 10:17 PM | #8 | |
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Quote:
@simaru: id your nails are long enough to be accurate, they wont work. It has to be a conductive substance. |
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11-21-2011, 10:24 PM | #9 |
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The AYL I linked to above has a narrower tip than a standard stylus. I ordered one and will try it. Unfortunately, I think there are limits to how thin the stylus can get since it has to mimic the touch of a finger.
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11-23-2011, 12:18 PM | #10 |
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I have the Griffin and the AYL stylus. I downloaded a doodle program to try them out and I think I like the Griffin better. While the AYL tip is slightly smaller, it's also softer. The Griffin tip is firmer, and you can hold it at an angle, so the tip size isn't as significant as I imagined it would be.
Software will be critical. I was hoping for a note taking scratch pad type program like I used to have on the palm. The doodle program I tested would not be functional for this. For one thing, if my hand touched the screen it was causing unintentional lines to be drawn. Maybe I'll try PenSupremacy. |
11-23-2011, 12:39 PM | #11 | |
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I think Genial Writing might be the best one, but when I loaded it to my Fire it crashed pretty quickly, so ever really got to test it out. But it looks good in the reviews! |
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11-23-2011, 10:15 PM | #12 |
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These are my results so far:
Genial Writing - Got it working. Can't see any way to configure line widths, or the size of text. Gave up. Uninstalled. Handrite - seems fair - Free version has ads. Pro version available on the Amazon Marketplace, but not the free version. Might continue to test. FreeNote - most promising so far. There is still a lot that I don't understand about the app, and a lot of options that I haven't explored. But I had the impression I could actually take reasonable notes with it if I could just figure it out. Apparently it is shareware. I didn't see any ads. [update] just noticed I could have saved myself the trouble and download the APK from the developer's site: http://suishouxie.com/ PenSupremacy - did not try yet - No free version. I can't seem to get past the idea of paying before testing the program. Not to mention I would be paying to install on my droid and have no idea if the payment status would carry over to the Fire. Note that I installed all of these using Android Market to my rooted Droid phone, and then copied the APKs over to the Fire. This is an avenue probably not open to a lot of people. Last edited by ectoplasm; 11-23-2011 at 10:30 PM. |
11-24-2011, 02:51 PM | #13 |
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http://www.pcworld.com/appguide/app....2&expand=false
http://www.mapleworks.com/software-p...te-taking-app/ Download Maple Paint: http://androiddev.orkitra.com/downlo...27189782703162 Last edited by obsessed2; 11-24-2011 at 03:41 PM. |
11-24-2011, 03:14 PM | #14 |
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That's a good one, ob2. I like the fact that there are lots of options including text and cut-n-paste, and the fact that it supports multiple "notebooks". It could be a little better designed from a UI standpoint, especially managing notebooks. I don't like the fact that there is no way to delete a notebook except by using a file explorer and I also don't like that the files are saved in root, but maybe that can be fixed.
Id say this one is the most promising one yet to stand in for Penultimate. |
11-24-2011, 03:33 PM | #15 | |
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Quote:
The interface isn't bad when using a stylus. The fact that it stores files on the root is one of it's minor problems. What I do like is that it stores them in zip format and I can take these documents and view them on any PC with a web browser. I have also seen some incredible drawngs that were done using Maple Paint. Last edited by obsessed2; 11-24-2011 at 04:09 PM. |
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