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FiftyThree launches $50 Pencil Bluetooth stylus for its sketching app (video)
Remember when we spotted that FiftyThree, makers of the iPad sketching app Paper, was working on a stylus? Now it's time for Paper to meet Pencil. Looking like an enormous marker pencil, the unit comes in a choice of sustainable hardwood or brushed aluminum, jam-packed with technology inside. Innovations include palm rejection, an eraser-end to remove your digital mistakes and a rechargeable battery that promises a month of life with normal use. Pairing to your iPad over Bluetooth, you'll also get access to various paid-for tools like Outline, Mixer and Sketch for free. Of course, the unit will set you back $50, but that's a small price to pay to be top of the life drawing class.
Hands-on with the Adonit Jot Script Stylus for iOS - Evernote Edition
In the never-ending quest to make Evernote your "online memory," the company has been making alliances with manufacturers to bring physical products to market that work with the service. We've seen Evernote team up with 3M Post-It Notes and Moleskine for products you can write on, then snap a photo of or upload to the Evernote cloud. Now the company has joined forces with Adonit for the new Adonit Jot Script Stylus for iOS -- Evernote Edition (US$74.99). What makes the Jot Script Stylus stand out from other electronic styluses for iOS? Two things: First, it's the first iOS stylus with a fine-point tip and second, it is designed to work intimately with Evernote's free Penultimate notebook app. Unlike some other styluses that use a rechargeable battery, the Jot Script Stylus Evernote Edition uses a single, readily available AAA battery for months of writing. The device powers itself down after three minutes of non-use and turns back on with a press on the single button that's on the device. The big difference is the fine-point tip -- 1.9 mm in diameter, as opposed to the 6 mm tips found on a number of competing styluses -- and a new technology from Adonit called PixelPoint. That, and Penultimate's use of the Adonit SDK in the app, is supposed to provide a nice fine-point writing experience similar to writing on paper with a gel ink pen. Linking this Evernote Edition stylus with Penultimate is easy. You just slip the battery into the stylus, turn on Bluetooth on your iOS device, turn off multitasking gestures in Settings and then fire up the Penultimate app. In the app under Settings, there's a "Jot Script Evernote Stylus Setup" item. Tap it, press the button on the stylus and the two link almost immediately. What's supposed to happen with the Jot Script and Penultimate is something akin to magic. First, your wrist (laying on the iPad screen while writing) is supposed to be ignored, with only the stylus creating marks on the screen. Second, there's a "pan and drift mode" that can be invoked for very precise writing -- you zoom into a page, pan with a two-finger swipe until you get to your starting point, then start writing and the page kind of "drifts" to the side with your writing. In reality, I found on occasion that, for some reason, the screen would start picking up my wrist pressure again after a short period of time, which made writing a pain until I shut down and restarted the stylus. When I'd write the letter "O," the stylus would occasionally erase the letter. Things did work better with the pan and drift mode, but then it felt odd not being able to see the entire notebook page on my iPad Air. I'm one of those people who really doesn't like to use a stylus on an iPad except for one thing -- painting or sketching -- and in that case, I prefer the Ten One Design Pogo Connect, as it not only has interchangeable tips, but available brushes as well. However, if you've had success with using a stylus with Penultimate, I'd recommend taking a look at the Adonit Jot Script Evernote Edition as you'll probably love it. Conclusion With the Jot Script Stylus for iOS -- Evernote Edition, Adonit has jumped to a new level of tablet stylus accuracy. Especially when used with Evernote's Penultimate app, those who enjoy using a stylus to take notes on an iPad or iPhone will find the Jot Script Stylus to be a surprisingly pen-like tool. Pros Quite lightweight and slender, and it looks more like a pen than any stylus I've tested so far. Simple linking with Penultimate app. Evernote "elephant" logo on it. Ridged finger rest provides a very secure grip. Cons At this time, it appears that only Penultimate supports this stylus. I had some issues with Penultimate "forgetting" to ignore my wrist pressure. Who is it for? Avid users of Evernote's Penultimate app Giveaway Have a hankering to write your Penultimate notes with a wonderfully balanced, fine-point stylus? We're giving a Jot Script Stylus away. Here are the rules for the giveaway: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button. The entry must be made before November 8, 2013 11:59PM Eastern Standard Time. You may enter only once. One winner will be selected and will receive a Adonit Jot Script for iOS -- Evernote Edition valued at $74.95 Click Here for complete Official Rules. Loading...
Jot Script Evernote Edition stylus brings high-precision handwriting to iOS (video)
Many iOS styluses have all the precision of a blunt instrument -- their thick tips frequently rule them out for handwriting. Evernote and Adonit want to refine the experience with their new Jot Script Evernote Edition. The Bluetooth-based pen has a tiny, 1.9mm (0.07in) tip that lets note takers write almost as well as they would on paper. It's meant to work with an optimized version of Evernote's Penultimate that includes zoom and improved palm rejection, but third-party software can incorporate "enhanced" control through the Jot Script developer kit. Other apps get at least basic support, Evernote says. Mobile auteurs can buy the stylus today for $75, and the corresponding Penultimate app is available for free.
Marvel Creativity Studio Stylus lets you discover your artistic superpower on iPad
You may not have been bitten by a radioactive spider, but thanks to Marvel's new Creativity Studio and its accompanying stylus, you can at least draw the person who did. The app and pen combo, which is the fruit of a collaboration between Marvel and eKids, is a tool for those young imaginations out there eagerly wanting to learn how to draw some of their favorite superheroes, such as The Avengers and Spider-Man. Disney's also updated its own Creativity Studio app so you can use the stylus (which goes for $35 at retail locations) to draw Disney characters as well. Fortunately, you don't need the stylus to get the creativity flowing, but it unlocks a few extra features for you to take advantage of. Is this pen mightier than the sword? Only you can make that call.
FiftyThree building a stylus for Paper sketch app
The developers at FiftyThree, makers of the amazing Paper app for iPad (free, with in-app purchases), are branching out in a new direction -- hardware. The company will soon be marketing a new capacitive stylus called "Pencil" that has shown up in FCC filings, using low-power Bluetooth for connectivity to presumably transmit pressure information. The information supplied to the FCC shows two models, one made of wood and the other from an aluminum alloy. One image, seen below, appears to show a USB connector on one end to make charging of the device a breeze -- simply plug the "eraser" end into an open USB port. We can't help but wonder if the Pencil will have a protective case around the body, or it they're really going to ship it in this "carpenter's pencil" configuration. As our cohorts at Engadget point out, FiftyThree is made up of people who were behind Microsoft's innovative (and prematurely canceled) Courier project, so it's not surprising that the company is looking beyond just software. The Paper app already supports a number of third-party styluses, including the Wacom Bamboo and the Pogo Connect. FiftyThree has also partnered with Moleskine to let artists create hard-copy books of their Paper drawings and paintings.
Pencil on Paper: meet the stylus for FiftyThree's popular iPad sketching app
When you're the creator of an award-winning iPad sketchbook app, making your own stylus would be a logical move. Unsurprisingly, that's exactly what FiftyThree, the brains behind Microsoft's Courier project and developers of Paper, intend to do. The company's new "Pencil" capacitive stylus has just popped up at the FCC, outlining its plans to equip Paper users with a rubber-tipped low power Bluetooth accessory that can draw on a touchscreen "like a canvas." The documents detail two models: one crafted from wood and the other from aluminum alloy. The FCC approval highlights FiftyThree's desire to further expand beyond Apple's App Store and venture into new markets. The company recently partnered with Moleskine to allow Paper users to create a $40 custom-printed 15-page "Book" of sketches and designs created within the app. The new products will directly compete with Wacom's bluetooth-enabled stylii, and of course with plain old fingers -- which will likely still be welcome in the Paper app, even after the Pencil comes to market.
LG unveils the G Pro Lite with 5.5-inch 960 x 540 display and mediocre specs
Remember that supposedly affordable relative of LG's Optimus G Pro that surfaced online at the beginning of the month? Well, it's now official and as suspected, it's called the G Pro Lite. It's no flagship, with a 5.5-inch IPS display at 960 x 540 resolution, dual-core 1GHz Mediatek processor (MT6577), 1GB of RAM, 8GB of on-board storage (expandable via microSD), 8-megapixel main camera (BSI sensor) and 2-megapixel front-facer. An embedded stylus, dual SIM support, stereo speakers, an "ultra-narrow" bezel and removable 3,140mAh battery are among its other features, with 3G HSPA, Bluetooth 3.0 and WiFi for all your connections. LG plans to launch the 161g (5.67 ounce) handset running Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean first in Latin America, and later in Asia, Russia and the Middle East. One thing LG hasn't said, however, is how much the G Pro Lite is going to cost, but you can guess from the spec sheet it won't be extortionate.
Samsung builds a social networking app around S Pen doodles
For those who actually unsheathe the S Pen from their Samsung device from time to time (unlike yours truly), there's now away to flaunt your stylus-ing prowess in public. The company has just launched PEN.UP, a social networking app dedicated to digital artwork from suitably-equipped Galaxy devices. Like any good sharing app, you can set up a personal feed containing your own sketches, group them thematically and follow and like others. For those who think drawing is a competitive sport, there's even a hall of of fame where members can vie for champion artist honors. So, if you're looking to get your S Pen on (and have a supported device), hit the source.
iSketchnote digitizes your doodles to an iPad using a natural pen (video)
iSketchnote has hit Kickstarter with an interesting take on the sketch digitizing game. Rather than drawing straight onto the screen of your tablet with a stylus, Galaxy Note or Wacom style, its iPad cover digitizer lets you draw in ink with a "natural pen" onto any notebook or paper. A sensor matrix detects your scrawls and even color thanks to a magnet in the pen, and the drawings appear on your iPad screen with about 50ms of latency. Thanks to a built-in SD card slot, you'll also be able to take the cover on the road without the iPad (4GB will hold about 100 pages). When it ships around May 2014, it'll just work with an iPad, but the developers say you'll eventually be able to digitize to a Mac or PC with a free software update. iSketchnote's already zoomed past its $35,000 Kickstarter goal, having bagged around $50,000 with 29 days left. If you want to grab one along with three pens, its $119 for early birds at the source.
Wacom's Bamboo Pad: a Magic Trackpad-esque peripheral with stylus input for $49 and $79
Touch pads are nice for navigating with gestures, but what about when you need to scribble a signature or mark up a draft by hand? Well, Wacom has an option with its new stylus-friendly Bamboo Pad. The peripheral enables multitouch gestures alongside a pressure-sensitive Wacom stylus. Compatible with both Mac and Windows PCs, the add-ons can employ a wireless connection or be tethered via USB and come in one of four accent-hued options: grey, blue, green or purple (violet unit is wireless only). If you've already gotten cozy with a Bamboo Stylus feel, that input device will work alongside this new Bamboo Pad as well. Wired units will set you back $49 while the wireless model is priced at $70 with both arriving later this month. For now, you can snag a closer look at the goods in the gallery down below.
Alcatel OneTouch Hero hands-on
Okay, you have to admit: there might actually be something to this whole large smartphone business, started by Samsung two years ago at this very trade show. Not only has the trend not gone away, nearly every major OEM is hopping on the bandwagon. Alcatel OneTouch is interested in joining the party, and it's entering the field with a doozy aptly called the Hero, a 6-inch behemoth with a full HD (1,920 x 1,080) display and a few tricks up its sleeves. It's relatively easy on the hands, with a curved back and a decent thickness of 8.5mm. In fact, compared to the Acer Liquid S2 (another 6-inch smartphone announced at IFA), it's 6mm narrower, 7.5mm shorter and 0.5mm thinner -- great news, especially since we felt pretty comfortable with the S2 during our hands-on. In many parts of the world, Alcatel OneTouch is still an unknown, despite the fact that the manufacturer has a reputation for pushing out up to a dozen handsets at one time. While this is still very much the case this week, we've noticed that the company has put a much higher amount of focus on quality. The Hero doesn't remind us of a cheap KIRF or knockoff phone. Instead, we came away much more impressed with the phone's look and feel than we originally expected. Continue past the break for more of our thoughts and the Hero's features. Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
Ten One Design Pogo Connect stylus gains interchangeable tips
Have one of Ten One Design's Pogo Connect styluses? The company's pressure-sensitive Bluetooth 4.0 stylus today gained a set of accessories -- new magnetic interchangeable tips. There are five tips in all -- three are rubber tips in different widths, while two are brushes that can be used with a variety of third-party apps. In particular, Ten One Design recommends ArtRage (US$4.99) as a compatible app that provides "a live simulation of real paint properties, including wetness and texture." The R1 tip has a 4.5 mm tip and sells in a package of two for $9.95, while the R2 is slightly wider at 6.0 mm and sells for the same price for a pair. The R3 is the same tip that came with your Pogo Connect, and has 7.3 mm rubber edge. It also sells for $9.95 for a pair. The brushes will keep artists happy -- they can be trimmed just like "real" brushes or used as-is. The B1 is a straight-edged brush and the B2 is an angled wide brush. The two are available as a pair for $24.95. The Pogo Connect remains at the top of the heap of styluses for the iPad with its incredible capabilities, and these new tips are the icing on the artistic cake.
NVIDIA Tegra Note tablet poses for glamor shots with stylus and cover in tow
Not satisfied with tiny, blurry photos of NVIDIA's self-branded tablet? We don't blame you -- and neither does ChinaDIY, which just posted clear snapshots of the unannounced device. Labeled with a previously rumored Tegra Note badge, the 7-inch slate on display has a Galaxy Note-like detachable stylus and a removable cover that doubles as a stand. While there aren't many other details to learn from the powered-off unit, we've noticed both a micro-HDMI port and a microSD card slot. We're still left with the question of who the Tegra Note is for, however -- it's not certain whether this is a reference design or a consumer product. While we wait for answers, you can check out a photo of the tablet's front after the break or visit ChinaDIY for the full gallery.
Alcatel unveils 6-inch One Touch Hero smartphone with E Ink and LED cover options
Alcatel's pen-toting One Touch Scribe HD now has a larger counterpart: meet the One Touch Hero. The new Android 4.2 smartphone upgrades to a 6-inch 1080p LCD, and gets a raft of optional cover accessories that augment the giant display. An E Ink cover lets owners read books without using the power-hungry main screen; there's also a wireless charging cover and a MagicFlip cover with LED notifications. Even without those extras, the Hero is overall more powerful than its Scribe HD ancestor. It carries a faster 1.5GHz quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM, a sharper 13-megapixel rear camera, an improved 2-megapixel front shooter and either 8GB or 16GB of expandable storage. Should you be intrigued, the One Touch Hero will be available in October for a "high-end" price. Alcatel will also sell a Bluetooth phone accessory (much like the HTC Mini+), a TV Link video adapter and a pico projector that doubles as a stand. Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
Sketch it out: hands-on with Wacom's Intuos Creative Stylus and retooled Bamboo Paper app
Last week, Wacom unveiled its latest tablet pen -- the Intuos Creative Stylus -- alongside a trio of Cintiq Companion standalone slates. The stylus is indeed a departure from the regular ol' scribbling units that we've seen popping up all over. This time around, the Intuos Creative Stylus draws much of its look and feel from Wacom's Pro Pen (or Cintiq Pen) with its on-board buttons, soft grip and recognizable shape. Of course, it wields the same 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity that we've seen on units included with Intuos and Cintiq models as of late, and connects to the latest Apple tablets via Bluetooth 4.0. All that sounds great, but as you might expect, it comes with a higher price. Is parting with $100 a safe bet in October or are you better off sticking with your current tools? Venture past the break for our initial impressions.
Wacom's Cintiq Companion tablets offer mobile pen display chops for Android and Windows 8 starting at $1499
Back in March, Wacom teased a standalone tablet for the graphics-minded set. In the meantime, the outfit released the Cintiq 13HD: a slate-size pen display that nailed down the compact end of its Cintiq line, but must remain tethered to a desktop or laptop for use. Now, the peripheral company has officially taken the wraps off of the Cintiq Companion and Cintiq Companion Hybrid. Both units wield similar aesthetics to the 13HD and house a 13.3-inch TFT LCD display with 1,920 x 1,080 resolution serving up a 700:1 contrast ratio and 16.7 million colors -- that's 75% of the Adobe RGB gamut. As you might expect, the trusty ExpressKeys, Rocker Ring, customizable controls and multitouch gestures are all here alongside the Pro Pen, its 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity and an adjustable stand. The main difference between the two? The Companion sports either Windows 8 or Window 8 Pro while the Companion Hybrid runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The Cintiq Companion packs a third-gen Intel Core i-7 processor, 8GB RAM, Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU and SSD storage. Selecting Windows 8 will nab you 256GB of space while opting for Windows 8 Pro bumps that capacity up to 512GB with price tags of $1,999 and $2,499 respectively. As for the Android version, it features both a NVIDIA GPU and quad-core Tegra 4 processor, 2GB RAM and HDMI input with 16GB and 32GB options. The former will dock your wallet for $1,499 while the latter clocks in at $1,599. MicroSD slots are included on the entire lot, should the need arise to wrangle a memory card or two. Across the board you'll also encounter a 8-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front-facing shooter, WiFi and Bluetooth. Cintiq Companion Hybrid units will arrive mid-September and Cintiq Companion models will hit shelves in October, but the whole family is up for pre-order now. In the meantime, you can catch all of the details on both in the PR that resides after the break,
Wacom outs Intuos Creative Stylus with revamped Bamboo Paper app in tow for iPad sketching
If you're the type to digitally doodle on the slate that you already own rather opt for a professional-grade unit, Wacom just announced its latest accessory for doing just that. The Intuos Creative Stylus works in tandem with iPads for "a realistic pen-on-paper feel" for tablet-style drawing and painting with 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity alongside Bluethooth 4.0 and shortcut buttons. The brushed aluminum-clad device comes in black and blue color options with a case, spare nibs and a replacement battery all while resembling Wacom's Pro Pen more than previous Bamboo offerings. A new version of the company's Bamboo Paper app has been retooled for the peripheral that was designed for use on both third and fourth-generation iPads and the iPad mini. More specifically, version 2.0 of the software tacks on Tumblr and Dropbox sharing, premium notebooks, enhanced palm rejection, new tool collections and expanded color palettes. If all of that sounds too good to pass up, the stylus will hit Best Buy stores at the beginning of October with a $99 price tag and the free Bamboo Paper app is now available via iTunes.
Dollar Store Accessories: the iPhone Stylus
Today's Dollar Store accessory find is a stylus /pen that, according to the rather prominent advertising on the box is "compatible with cell phones, tablets." It is neither a great pen nor a great stylus, but (and this is important, given the one dollar price point) it is a good example of both. I was surprised that this particular model has a rather nice grip area for the pen and how well the stylus, which is located in the "eraser" area, worked. You twist the bottom to open the pen, which in the case of this unit had a nice satisfying click. It's not an unusual layout for pen / stylii, and you can find comparable setups on Amazon for under 10 dollars. What is unusual is the stylus tip itself, which is soft -- rather like a little deflatable balloon -- instead of being a solid hard surface. I found that approach to feel odd in my hands, but it worked well on all the devices I tested with. It provided a good contact point for both phones and tablets, which you wouldn't expect with such a flexible touch point. In the end, for a buck, it is a fine stylus if you don't mind holding the pen upside down to use it. I suspect you can find some reasonable facsimile in your nearby US-based dollar store, although stock and models vary widely from store to store. Comparable models on eBay and Amazon seem to run from about two and a half dollars up, although I didn't find any exact matches to this unit. Next up on the Dollar Store review list: tablet sleeves. Do you shop at Dollar Stores for bargain high tech items? Drop a note in the comments and let us know what items are winners and which ones you should avoid.
Toshiba Excite Write review
It's a tricky thing to name your devices after a verb. And when we say "tricky," we mean ill-advised. That Toshiba could willfully overlook Excite as a magnet for terrible (and terribly negative) puns speaks to its distance from the tablet category (remember the Thrive?). Yet, here we have another generation of Excite tablets and this, the Excite Write, is the line's top-shelf offering. Its Wacom digitizer and included stylus mean this tablet can go toe to toe with the Note 10.1; both have the same screen size and 1,024 degrees of pressure sensitivity. But where Samsung's outsized Note skimped on the HD resolution, Toshiba's gone the opposite direction. Boasting a 2,560 x 1,600 display, a Wacom digitizer, a Tegra 4 heart, 2GB of RAM and Harman Kardon speakers, the Write is a welcome chord change in an otherwise uneventful 10-inch Android fugue. Of course, the catch to all of this premium goodness is a premium price: $600 in this case. You still there? %Gallery-195572%
NVIDIA CEO demos new stylus touchscreen tech, uses Tegra 4 image processing to reduce battery drain
Elaborating from the battery-saving PRISM screen tech that we saw on Tegra 3 devices, the NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang showed off a new software-based touchscreen technology that allows you to use a simple capacitive stylus with a degree of pressure-based input. Showing of his writing skills at Computex on an experimental 7-inch tablet, he used a simple (ie. non-digitizer) stylus to write at several different thicknesses, utilizing a flat surface at the other end of the pen to erase any mistakes -- there's sensitivity to the millimeter, apparently. NVIDIA reckons this will improve battery life while using the stylus and offers a high detection rate (thanks to the software-based processes) for slick, curved lines. The primary hardware necessary? No less than NVIDIA's new Tegra 4 chip, of course, and DirectTouch. Check out the gallery of the stylus in action below, and we can expect the company to elaborate on which devices will house the feature in the near-future. %Gallery-190209%
