Fine tip stylus?

Kythe42 · 09-12-2013, 05:20 PM

I've been trying to read ebooks on my new tablet with Moon Reader Pro and the books I'm currently reading have footnotes at the end with links to the relevant spots in the ebook. When I try to click on the link often all that happens that it tries to highlight the word next to the link, or depending on the spot on the page move forwards or backwards in the book. Every once in awhile I get lucky and it actually takes me to the footnotes section, but most times it fails.

I believe this is because the link is merely a "*" and it's too small for my finger or stylus to click on easily without doing other things. It became much easier for me to click on when I increased the font to like size 50. I shouldn't have to do that every time I want to click on a link though.

Does anyone have any recommendations for styluses with smaller tips? I've seen a few in my own searches, but pretty much none of them have that hole in the top to attach a lanyard, which is something I feel I need since I have a tendency to drop my stylus and then have a hard time finding it.

Jack Tingle · 09-14-2013, 04:55 PM

My only advice is don't go too cheap. The Targus stylus is the cheapest one I've found that works. The $3 ones or other cheapies are unreliable. Also be wary of counterfeits. I've yet to feel the need to spring for a Wacom Bamboo, but I've been tempted.

Kythe42 · 09-14-2013, 05:09 PM

Thanks for your response. I honestly can't see myself spending a ton of money though when it's just this one little problem I'm having with the larger stylus. I did look at the Targus ones but I didn't really see any that were what I would call a fine tip stylus. Their slim stylus is 6mm and I think the standard styluses are 8mm. Not much of a decrease. I think my problem wouldn't be solved by anything larger than a 4mm stylus. Also the slim Targus ones do not have the hole in the top to allow for a lanyard to be attached. I'd probably lose it in two days without a lanyard.

Unfortunately as I said in my previous post, I've had a very hard time finding styluses with smaller points that actually have a hole for a lanyard.

Thinking it was rather ridiculous that I buy a whole new stylus just for one small problem, I wrote to the Moon Reader developer about it suggesting ways it might be fixed, such as adding a feature to zoom in on text(couldn't figure out any way to do this if it already exists) which would eliminate the need to change the text size. In addition to it being a pain to change the text size, once I change it back I find that the ebook is no longer in the same place as it was before I changed the font size and I have to scroll back quite a bit. So far I have not heard back from the developer but I hope I will get a response soon.

Fluribus · 09-16-2013, 02:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kythe42

I've seen a few in my own searches, but pretty much none of them have that hole in the top to attach a lanyard, which is something I feel I need since I have a tendency to drop my stylus and then have a hard time finding it.

I would get one of those. Drill. Tape. Glue. Whatever it takes to stick that lanyard on there. Then I'd force everyone to call me MacGyver.

Sabardeyn · 09-20-2013, 01:09 PM

Kythe42,
Not sure where you're located, but I just bought a stylus from Walmart today here in the US. They had a couple of styles, with the larger diameter ones for tablets ($5-15) and thinner ones for some of the portable/console games (Wii, NintendoDS - about $10).

The ones for the games are much slimmer. Basically about the thickness of a disposable ball-point pen's ink tube. These came in packs with multiple bright colors (maybe you won't lose them?).

In either case there was either a loop or clip on the end so the either stylus should be attachable.

A couple of considerations:

You may need a capacitive stylus. The thinner game stylus I tried (from the Wii display in the store) proved these are not capacitive.
The Store Rep mentioned that the game stylus had marked up her Wii game controller screen and she suggested a screen protector if I was going to buy that stylus.
All of the game stylus I saw had a white opaque, or clear plastic tip. Capacitive stylus seem to have a black silicone tip - which is generally spherical.

Kythe42 · 09-20-2013, 06:33 PM

Yeah I do need a capacitive stylus. I've been seriously considering getting a screen protector, but haven't gotten around to it yet. I guess the slim ones you saw wouldn't work for my needs then. Oh well.

pendragginp · 09-20-2013, 07:50 PM

A capacitive stylus with a mesh tip seems to work really well. The tip is round but writes a fine line. And the one I just got, the BoxWave Evertouch, came with 3 different types of clip on lanyards. I don't have IOS devices but it works well on my tablet as well as those little screens delivery people have that you have to try to write on with fat fingers.

Kythe42 · 09-20-2013, 09:17 PM

Thanks for the suggestion. I looked it up on Amazon and it looks pretty cool and not too expensive. Though while writing in a fine line is good, does that also mean it has the ability to click on really small things? As I said in my original post, the links I was having trouble clicking on were literally just asterisks(*), so pretty small even on a fairly large font.

exscentric · 09-21-2013, 01:39 PM

Just some thoughts:

Can you use your finger nail? Also as a stop-gap if you have any antistatic envelopes that memory used to come in or some pc cards come in you can roll some of it into a cone and use that.

Dagi also made one that had a target dot on a flat piece of plastic. I wasn't too impressed with it personally but might help.

I also found on my new tablet that if you tap around the spot you may find that the real spot of contact is slightly off of where it appears. If I tap on the scroll bar arrows in the browser it does nothing but if I tap a little to the 10 oclock of the arrow it works fine so experimenting might help you.

pendragginp · 09-21-2013, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kythe42

Thanks for the suggestion. I looked it up on Amazon and it looks pretty cool and not too expensive. Though while writing in a fine line is good, does that also mean it has the ability to click on really small things? As I said in my original post, the links I was having trouble clicking on were literally just asterisks(*), so pretty small even on a fairly large font.

Yes, at least I'm able to touch on an asterisk.

It's also true as excentric said that sometimes you have to touch a bit off-center on things. Experiment.

Kythe42 · 09-21-2013, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exscentric

Just some thoughts:

Can you use your finger nail? Also as a stop-gap if you have any antistatic envelopes that memory used to come in or some pc cards come in you can roll some of it into a cone and use that.

Dagi also made one that had a target dot on a flat piece of plastic. I wasn't too impressed with it personally but might help.

I also found on my new tablet that if you tap around the spot you may find that the real spot of contact is slightly off of where it appears. If I tap on the scroll bar arrows in the browser it does nothing but if I tap a little to the 10 oclock of the arrow it works fine so experimenting might help you.

No I can't use my fingernail, I actually tried this when I got the tablet because I didn't like the idea of smudging it up with my finger tips. The nail doesn't work. It seems to need skin contact or the use of a capacitive stylus.

Unfortunately I really don't have any idea what you mean by the antistatic envelopes, but if I don't know what it is, chances are I don't have any.

Thanks for the tip about clicking around the spot though. I'll definitely try to experiment with that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pendragginp

Yes, at least I'm able to touch on an asterisk.

It's also true as excentric said that sometimes you have to touch a bit off-center on things. Experiment.

Thanks for the info. I'll probably look into getting one of the experimenting with the touch spot doesn't work out.

Cheeky1 · 09-21-2013, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pendragginp

A capacitive stylus with a mesh tip seems to work really well. The tip is round but writes a fine line. And the one I just got, the BoxWave Evertouch, came with 3 different types of clip on lanyards. I don't have IOS devices but it works well on my tablet as well as those little screens delivery people have that you have to try to write on with fat fingers.

I agree 100%. The mesh tipped stylus is by far the best in my opinion!

AlexBell · 09-22-2013, 03:06 AM

I know this is a ridiculously low tech suggestion, and that it may not work on a tablet, but I use a Q-tip for footnotes on my Sony readers.

In case you don't have them in the US they are 700mg long 3mm diameter hollow plastic tubes with cotton wool on each end, used for minor medical things, and are available from pharmacies. I'm sure there's something similar in the US. They come in boxes of a hundred or so for a few dollars, so if I lose one I just get another.

Sabardeyn · 09-22-2013, 09:36 AM

Kythe42,
The stylus 2 pack I purchased from Walmart is the iWorld Touchscreen Stylus for $4 (item#: 081356601540). They are similar in appearance to the Evertouch, with a flat top instead of rounded. Of course, they use the rubber tip, not a mesh. I should mention the packaging doesn't state that they are capacitive, but do mention they're compatible with the various Apple products.

Got to admit that I was specifically trying for a cheap stylus as I was unsure of continued use.

Strangely, after Alex's comment, I thought to do a search for "make stylus" and apparently there are lots of recipes for a DIY stylus. Not sure that I would want to be seen out in public with any of them as they're not visually appealing.

AlexBell,
Unfortunately I have the cardboard stick kind of Q-tips. But my Nexus thanked me for the tickle. ;D

Kythe42 · 09-22-2013, 09:41 AM

Yeah I know what q-tips are. I'm assuming that you were suggesting removing the cotton parts from the ends otherwise they'd be too wide for what I need. Unfortunately something like that won't work with anything that has a capacitive touch screen.

Something like that would only work with something that had a resistive touch screen. If I had that kind of touch screen, I wouldn't have any problems since the case I got came with both types of styluses and the one for resistive touch screens, while extremely cheap and "bleh" looking, has a very fine point on it.

Thanks anyway for your response

09-12-2013, 05:20 PM	#1
Kythe42 Zealot Posts: 122 Karma: 8440 Join Date: Aug 2013 Device: Android tablet	Fine tip stylus? I've been trying to read ebooks on my new tablet with Moon Reader Pro and the books I'm currently reading have footnotes at the end with links to the relevant spots in the ebook. When I try to click on the link often all that happens that it tries to highlight the word next to the link, or depending on the spot on the page move forwards or backwards in the book. Every once in awhile I get lucky and it actually takes me to the footnotes section, but most times it fails. I believe this is because the link is merely a "*" and it's too small for my finger or stylus to click on easily without doing other things. It became much easier for me to click on when I increased the font to like size 50. I shouldn't have to do that every time I want to click on a link though. Does anyone have any recommendations for styluses with smaller tips? I've seen a few in my own searches, but pretty much none of them have that hole in the top to attach a lanyard, which is something I feel I need since I have a tendency to drop my stylus and then have a hard time finding it.

09-20-2013, 01:09 PM	#5
Sabardeyn Guru Posts: 644 Karma: 1242364 Join Date: May 2009 Location: The Right Coast Device: PC (Calibre), Nexus 7 2013 (Moon+ Pro), HTC HD2/Leo (Freda)	Kythe42, Not sure where you're located, but I just bought a stylus from Walmart today here in the US. They had a couple of styles, with the larger diameter ones for tablets ($5-15) and thinner ones for some of the portable/console games (Wii, NintendoDS - about $10). The ones for the games are much slimmer. Basically about the thickness of a disposable ball-point pen's ink tube. These came in packs with multiple bright colors (maybe you won't lose them?). In either case there was either a loop or clip on the end so the either stylus should be attachable. A couple of considerations: You may need a capacitive stylus. The thinner game stylus I tried (from the Wii display in the store) proved these are not capacitive. The Store Rep mentioned that the game stylus had marked up her Wii game controller screen and she suggested a screen protector if I was going to buy that stylus. All of the game stylus I saw had a white opaque, or clear plastic tip. Capacitive stylus seem to have a black silicone tip - which is generally spherical.

09-20-2013, 07:50 PM	#7
pendragginp Guru Posts: 985 Karma: 4567263 Join Date: May 2009 Location: The End Of The Earth Device: Several	A capacitive stylus with a mesh tip seems to work really well. The tip is round but writes a fine line. And the one I just got, the BoxWave Evertouch, came with 3 different types of clip on lanyards. I don't have IOS devices but it works well on my tablet as well as those little screens delivery people have that you have to try to write on with fat fingers. Last edited by pendragginp; 09-20-2013 at 07:57 PM. Reason: Because it's hard to type accurately with a cat on your lap.

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09-14-2013, 04:55 PM	#2
Jack Tingle Punctuation Fetishist Posts: 557 Karma: 1070000 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: The Bluest Commonwealth In East America Device: Kindle PW, Nexus 7 (2013), Galaxy S5 phone, Galaxy Tab 4 8.0	My only advice is don't go too cheap. The Targus stylus is the cheapest one I've found that works. The $3 ones or other cheapies are unreliable. Also be wary of counterfeits. I've yet to feel the need to spring for a Wacom Bamboo, but I've been tempted.

09-14-2013, 05:09 PM	#3
Kythe42 Zealot Posts: 122 Karma: 8440 Join Date: Aug 2013 Device: Android tablet	Thanks for your response. I honestly can't see myself spending a ton of money though when it's just this one little problem I'm having with the larger stylus. I did look at the Targus ones but I didn't really see any that were what I would call a fine tip stylus. Their slim stylus is 6mm and I think the standard styluses are 8mm. Not much of a decrease. I think my problem wouldn't be solved by anything larger than a 4mm stylus. Also the slim Targus ones do not have the hole in the top to allow for a lanyard to be attached. I'd probably lose it in two days without a lanyard. Unfortunately as I said in my previous post, I've had a very hard time finding styluses with smaller points that actually have a hole for a lanyard. Thinking it was rather ridiculous that I buy a whole new stylus just for one small problem, I wrote to the Moon Reader developer about it suggesting ways it might be fixed, such as adding a feature to zoom in on text(couldn't figure out any way to do this if it already exists) which would eliminate the need to change the text size. In addition to it being a pain to change the text size, once I change it back I find that the ebook is no longer in the same place as it was before I changed the font size and I have to scroll back quite a bit. So far I have not heard back from the developer but I hope I will get a response soon.

09-20-2013, 06:33 PM	#6
Kythe42 Zealot Posts: 122 Karma: 8440 Join Date: Aug 2013 Device: Android tablet	Yeah I do need a capacitive stylus. I've been seriously considering getting a screen protector, but haven't gotten around to it yet. I guess the slim ones you saw wouldn't work for my needs then. Oh well.

09-20-2013, 09:17 PM	#8
Kythe42 Zealot Posts: 122 Karma: 8440 Join Date: Aug 2013 Device: Android tablet	Thanks for the suggestion. I looked it up on Amazon and it looks pretty cool and not too expensive. Though while writing in a fine line is good, does that also mean it has the ability to click on really small things? As I said in my original post, the links I was having trouble clicking on were literally just asterisks(*), so pretty small even on a fairly large font.

09-21-2013, 01:39 PM	#9
exscentric Addict Posts: 379 Karma: 1033424 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: WY Device: Kindle keyboard	Just some thoughts: Can you use your finger nail? Also as a stop-gap if you have any antistatic envelopes that memory used to come in or some pc cards come in you can roll some of it into a cone and use that. Dagi also made one that had a target dot on a flat piece of plastic. I wasn't too impressed with it personally but might help. I also found on my new tablet that if you tap around the spot you may find that the real spot of contact is slightly off of where it appears. If I tap on the scroll bar arrows in the browser it does nothing but if I tap a little to the 10 oclock of the arrow it works fine so experimenting might help you.

09-22-2013, 03:06 AM	#13
AlexBell Wizard Posts: 3,413 Karma: 13369310 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Launceston, Tasmania Device: Sony PRS T3, Kobo Glo, Kindle Touch, iPad, Samsung SB 2 tablet	I know this is a ridiculously low tech suggestion, and that it may not work on a tablet, but I use a Q-tip for footnotes on my Sony readers. In case you don't have them in the US they are 700mg long 3mm diameter hollow plastic tubes with cotton wool on each end, used for minor medical things, and are available from pharmacies. I'm sure there's something similar in the US. They come in boxes of a hundred or so for a few dollars, so if I lose one I just get another.

09-22-2013, 09:36 AM	#14
Sabardeyn Guru Posts: 644 Karma: 1242364 Join Date: May 2009 Location: The Right Coast Device: PC (Calibre), Nexus 7 2013 (Moon+ Pro), HTC HD2/Leo (Freda)	Kythe42, The stylus 2 pack I purchased from Walmart is the iWorld Touchscreen Stylus for $4 (item#: 081356601540). They are similar in appearance to the Evertouch, with a flat top instead of rounded. Of course, they use the rubber tip, not a mesh. I should mention the packaging doesn't state that they are capacitive, but do mention they're compatible with the various Apple products. Got to admit that I was specifically trying for a cheap stylus as I was unsure of continued use. Strangely, after Alex's comment, I thought to do a search for "make stylus" and apparently there are lots of recipes for a DIY stylus. Not sure that I would want to be seen out in public with any of them as they're not visually appealing. AlexBell, Unfortunately I have the cardboard stick kind of Q-tips. But my Nexus thanked me for the tickle. ;D

09-22-2013, 09:41 AM	#15
Kythe42 Zealot Posts: 122 Karma: 8440 Join Date: Aug 2013 Device: Android tablet	Yeah I know what q-tips are. I'm assuming that you were suggesting removing the cotton parts from the ends otherwise they'd be too wide for what I need. Unfortunately something like that won't work with anything that has a capacitive touch screen. Something like that would only work with something that had a resistive touch screen. If I had that kind of touch screen, I wouldn't have any problems since the case I got came with both types of styluses and the one for resistive touch screens, while extremely cheap and "bleh" looking, has a very fine point on it. Thanks anyway for your response

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