Smart Pen for iPad

[Dylrob]

I just spotted this on Kickstarter. It appears to be the same basic hardware, kinda like many of the lesser eInk reader devices. But what caught my interest is that they claim to be working with other app developers to get it integrated into their products, rather than relying on a proprietary solution.

[jackeychen]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

It looks nice but couldn't they find a better name? There are all sorts of things called smart pens in the market already. I wonder what technology they are using.

YES, I has the same option

[pata]

Is the Yifang (or By-Zero) smart pen available anywhere for sale right now?

[Dylrob]

Originally Posted by pata

Is the Yifang (or By-Zero) smart pen available anywhere for sale right now?

Not as far as I can tell. Though you can apparently pre-order it in Europe from a called called Aiptek under the name "MyNote Pen". It looks like all existing versions of this thing will be released early next year.

[Synergi]

Dylrob, agree with everything you've said in this thread. This is the one area my iPad lacks. I need the fine tip of a pen and palm rejection. I don't want to work around or take notes with my finger. I'm not six..

But, this looks like the same pen here..

My only reason for not buying it now, is that I'm upgrading to iPad 3 soon and I keep hearing rumors that Apple plans change the pin connector on the next one. Otherwise I'd be all over this lol..

[vonCZ]

Originally Posted by Synergi

Dylrob, agree with everything you've said in this thread.

ditto. Personally, I've no use for nor interest in a pen, and I applaud Jobs' vision and commitment to making spectacular devices for which they're completely unnecessary... for 99% of tasks. But for that 1%: let the guy have his pen already!!

I spent a half-hour yesterday learning about junctions and setting up my iDevice backup directory on an external hard drive... because Apple is so dogmatically committed to making their software and devices simple they won't give me the option to change the backup directory within iTunes itself. Thus their commitment to simplicity actually made things much more complicated.

my Point: let dogma be a guide, but not a rule.

[FlorenceArt]

I have to say that my opinion on pens changed completely the minute I held one in my hand at a meet-up. Until then I didn't think I would have much use for them. The day after the meet-up, I ordered a Wacom Bamboo.

Since then I use it regularly for drawing and painting, and last week-end I bought a very nice app called Noteshelf that I use to take handwritten notes, something I would never had thought useful.

Noteshelf has a "wrist protection" option, basically it's just a part of the screen that you can place your wrist on without disturbing the writing. But it only works if there is only one point of contact with the hand, not if you put wrist and palm, as I did at first. The protected zone moves as you write. It's not perfect and it does require an adaptation, but it works for me.

[Synergi]

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

I have to say that my opinion on pens changed completely the minute I held one in my hand at a meet-up. Until then I didn't think I would have much use for them. The day after the meet-up, I ordered a Wacom Bamboo.

Since then I use it regularly for drawing and painting, and last week-end I bought a very nice app called Noteshelf that I use to take handwritten notes, something I would never had thought useful.

Noteshelf has a "wrist protection" option, basically it's just a part of the screen that you can place your wrist on without disturbing the writing. But it only works if there is only one point of contact with the hand, not if you put wrist and palm, as I did at first. The protected zone moves as you write. It's not perfect and it does require an adaptation, but it works for me.

I have that one, Notetaker HD also is really good. I agree that most of the time I don't need one, but writing notes witha finger hasn't been natural to me since Kindergarden. If Apple would just make a fine tip pen accessory for those that want it, they would completely kill my need for Windows. Right now a Windows tablet with OneNote and pen is the only draw windows has left for me.. thats an expensive need to make me buy a Windows Device. Don't get me wrong, I still use Windows for my home business but thats for work.. iPad is more my leisure, note taking/writing device, paired up with my Mac.

I've been hoping someone would figure out how to get a fine tip pen onto a capacitive touch screen..

Speaking of OneNote, if anyone is as addicted to it as I am, there is an iPad App thats free called Outline that can view your Native OneNote files, tabs and all. Great program..

[Dylrob]

Originally Posted by Synergi

Dylrob, agree with everything you've said in this thread. This is the one area my iPad lacks. I need the fine tip of a pen and palm rejection. I don't want to work around or take notes with my finger. I'm not six..

But, this looks like the same pen here..

My only reason for not buying it now, is that I'm upgrading to iPad 3 soon and I keep hearing rumors that Apple plans change the pin connector on the next one. Otherwise I'd be all over this lol..

It does look like the same product, but the reviews at the bottom make me suspicious. I'm pretty sure you can't use this pen to type on the on-screen keyboard.

[Synergi]

Originally Posted by Dylrob

It does look like the same product, but the reviews at the bottom make me suspicious. I'm pretty sure you can't use this pen to type on the on-screen keyboard.

This one looks the same to and the software..http://bit.ly/tT76eB

I wish a company with more reputation would make one.. I know there is a market for it..

[Synergi]

So it's been a while since we were in this thread. I finally pulled the trigger and bought the byzero studio pen off Amazon. I've paired it up with Good Notes and I am one happy camper. I can rest my hand on the screen, open up PDF files in Good Notes and mark them up, take note, highlight, fill out forms etc. i can now write normally within the lines on paper. The pen works really well. Id give it four out of five stars for note taking.

It's not perfect, a few quirks like you must hold your hand the way it was when you calibrated the pen for it to be accurate. I've not had any issues...

Hope this helps if anyone is still thinking on a pen.

[Talldog]

I wouldn't use a stylus without a screen protector. I used to do tech support (in a very large corporation) for PDAs and smartphones when a stylus was common, and I saw a lot of screens scratched up by them. I know screens are harder now, but I wouldn't take the risk of scratching up an expensive iPad.

[FlorenceArt]

Originally Posted by Talldog

I wouldn't use a stylus without a screen protector. I used to do tech support (in a very large corporation) for PDAs and smartphones when a stylus was common, and I saw a lot of screens scratched up by them. I know screens are harder now, but I wouldn't take the risk of scratching up an expensive iPad.

I'm not sure this is a concern for capacitive screen styluses, because they have a soft rubbery tip. I don't think there is any with a hard tip, though of course sometimes when you press too hard the hard part of the body may come in contact with the screen.

I've been using my Wacom Bamboo, plus another generic brand stylus, for several months and haven't noticed any scratch on my iPad screen.

[Synergi]

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

I'm not sure this is a concern for capacitive screen styluses, because they have a soft rubbery tip. I don't think there is any with a hard tip, though of course sometimes when you press too hard the hard part of the body may come in contact with the screen.

I've been using my Wacom Bamboo, plus another generic brand stylus, for several months and haven't noticed any scratch on my iPad screen.

I think he means for the Byzero pen. It's an active digitizer with a fine tip. It's hard buy wrapped in felt and it only works with a few apps right now. I'm using Good notes which is one of my favorite anyway so I'm set for now.

[FlorenceArt]

Originally Posted by Synergi

So it's been a while since we were in this thread. I finally pulled the trigger and bought the byzero studio pen off Amazon. I've paired it up with Good Notes and I am one happy camper. I can rest my hand on the screen, open up PDF files in Good Notes and mark them up, take note, highlight, fill out forms etc. i can now write normally within the lines on paper. The pen works really well. Id give it four out of five stars for note taking.

It's not perfect, a few quirks like you must hold your hand the way it was when you calibrated the pen for it to be accurate. I've not had any issues...

Hope this helps if anyone is still thinking on a pen.

Wow, I just looked it up on Amazon and found a byzero studio pen for iPad at $159.99! Is this the one you bought? For this price I would expect it to be perfect!

I'm still happy with my Bamboo pen myself, and I found out that to make the palm rest work I just needed to disable multi-task gestures, which I didn't use much anyway. That's true for all apps with a palm protection feature, as far as I know. My note taking app of choice is still Noteshelf.