The Pogo Sketch Stylus… for the iPad? Sure!

TenOne Design has offered “Pogo” stylus’ for use with each of the iPhone models in the past, but I personally never felt the need for a stylus on the small screen of the iPhone.  With all the possibilities that lay ahead for the iPad, I could see many uses for a stylus here.  I was getting tempted to try the Sketch Stylus ($14.95 USD) after reading the many positive reviews it has received all over the web.  But would it work as well as they claim it to?

My first visit to an Apple store proved to be fruitless as their stock of Sketch Stylus’ was depleted, except for the hot pink model.  Must be popular I thought to myself as the sales person informed me that the other local store was sold out as well.  So I waited a week and finally got word that a fair amount were in.  Sweet! – now to go try it out.

I used the demo model the store had (where was this last week?!) and launched SketchPad HD.  I tried writing out a few words. Immediately I noticed that my palm was resting on the screen which caused no input to be captured by the application.  This could be a problem… so I readjusted my technique, making sure I wasn’t resting my palm on the screen.  Ah ha!  The output was boxy and sloppy, plus I had to apply a bit of pressure which worried me a bit.  The top of the pen has a spongy material tip so when applying pressure, the sponge seemed to give way.  I asked the associate if there were replaceable tips but he did not know.

I chocked up the angular output to the application and launched Brushes.  Now this is where the Sketch Stylus really stole the show.  There was no pressure needed, it felt natural.  The lines were smoother and more pleasant to read.  Plus, my kindergarten paint skills never looked this good!  My daughter quickly adapted to the stylus as well, which I thought was great, since this will help build the motor functions necessary for art and writing.

One more test, Adobe’s Ideas application.  Again, the pressure was not needed and the output was rendered smooth once I stopped writing.  Another great benefit was that I could control the various tools on the side bar with the stylus instead of my fingers.

Now I haven’t yet taken meeting minutes with the Sketch Stylus yet, as I think typing will be much more efficient.  However, its use for drawing diagrams and artwork is far more practical.  Coupled with the VGA out adapter ($19.99 USD), I could see the iPad and Sketch Stylus being an integral part of many meetings and presentations.

All in all, the Pogo Sketch Stylus by TenOne Designs is a pretty handy addition to the iPad.  The stylus fits comfortably in your shirt pocket or on the outside crease of the iPad case from Apple.  While some apps take to stylus input better than others, I think there is much work that can be done to improve the experience.  For instance, an app can have a “stylus mode” which will provide a writing area and a palm area.  This could be done with clever UI element placement.  Aside from that, the Pogo Sketch Stylus is a recommended tool for the iPad artist or professional.