In April of this year, I will have been taking hand-written notes on my iPad for two years; I started doing this as a way to further my push myself towards embracing a paperless, fully searchable utopia. Now twenty-two months into this experience and with others often asking me what it’s like to go down this route, I’ll be self-indulgent enough to assume that my reflections might be be appreciated others interested in writing notes on the iPad.
In this post, I’ll outline what stylus I chose and what to you might want to consider when choosing a stylus. In future posts I’ll share my note-taking app of choice and I might close the series out with a post on how I incorporate these hand-written notes into my paperless system (and perhaps when I decide to take *real* hand-written notes).
Before I divulge my secrets, it is worth stating this from the outset: hand-writing notes on an iPad is not the same experience as hand-writing notes on with a pen on a piece of paper. So, if you’re looking for the same experience of pen-on-paper, switching to a stylus on iPad will leave you unsatisfied. There are technological limitations of the iPad’s input that has a cascading effect on the whole feeling you get when writing. Not that (for me at least) that it is so unnerving that you can’t get used to it, but it’s fair warning: it takes some getting used to.
My stylus of choice is now a Hand Stylus (pictured above). I really like it. It is a pen stylus, meaning that it has a retractable tip. This is important for me because styli tips are often made with soft material, so being able to retract the tip when not in use protects the tip. Why the soft tip? The iPad (attention: layman’s explanation ahead) recognizes the electrical field that emanate from your body; it is “looking” for a fingertip before it recognizes that someone attempting to tell it something. This means that if you’re touching the iPad screen with something smaller than a finger tip (~6mm) or devoid of an electrical field, the iPad won’t recognize it. The soft tips that make up styli mimic the body’s ability to bend a screen’s electrical charge.
But they’re not the ballpoint of a pen. Which brings me to the phenomenology of writing with pen on paper. Believe me, you’ve taken-for-granted this experience (or, if you’re really into pens, perhaps not). Some of the characteristics that make writing on paper by hand so unique: the precision of the tip of the pen on the paper; the sound (or lack thereof) when writing; the expected friction between the pen (okay, ink) and the paper; and the ergonomics of both the size and weight of a pen as well as the ease with which you can rest your hand on the paper (if you’re right handed, I guess) when writing. Writing with a stylus changes all of these characteristics to a greater or lesser extent. Choosing a stylus is really balancing the characteristics to get an experience you’re happy with. Keep in mind, like I mentioned above, writing with a stylus is qualitatively different than hand-writing notes.
Another benefit of the Hand Stylus is that it’s the size of a mechanical pencil. I’ve had smaller styli and I found when using for longer periods of time, my hand would cramp (due to the ergonomics). Finally, the stylus’ soft tip is replaceable. I’d certainly order extra tips when purchasing this stylus as they’re soft enough to slowly disintegrate as you write. In the year that I’ve owned the Hand Stylus, I’m on my third tip. The impact that these tips have on the writing experience is that there is perceivably more friction when writing. While certainly a difference in perception, I’ve gotten used to it. The Hand Stylus shipped in a metal “tin” which is great for storage.
The only other stylus I’d consider purchasing are significantly more expensive. Specifically, I’ve been looking at the Jot Script. Any (unpowered) stylus will have to have a tip 6mm or larger to replicate the fingertip on glass. As a result, this sometimes makes the use of a stylus feel less precise than the experience of a pen on paper (more like a worn-down marker).
Different companies approach this problem differently. For example, Adonit’s other styli come with this hinged see-though disk that gives the perception of precision (you can see exactly where you’re placing the stylus) but at the cost of this dinky disk that is attached to the stylus. Others who have purchased an Adonit stylus with this disk talk about the problems they have with it. So, while precision would be great, I’m not interested in micro-managing the stylus. BUT: this Jot Script is powered, so it has a smaller, plastic-like nib that through some kind of technological magic, the iPad recognizes as 6mm or larger, but is actually much smaller. People have said they don’t like that the plastic-like nib audibly “clicks” on the screen when writing, whereas the soft-tipped styli are (effectively) silent.
Another benefit of this stylus’ power is that it can connect to the iPad via low-power bluetooth (meaning it doesn’t significantly drain the iPad battery to use it). The significance of this feature comes when used with an iPad app that is designed to be used with the stylus (That list is here), the app is designed to recognize the tip of the pen and differentiate it from other touches on the screen.
This is significant when it comes to note-writing on the iPad as if you’re looking to reproduce the feel of writing a pen on paper, you’ll probably want to rest your hand on the iPad. In most other cases (like when I use the Hand Stylus), if I were to lay my hand, the iPad can’t distinguish between the stylus and the hand resting and it messes up your note-taking. In short, you can’t rest your hand. But the promise with the Jot Script, with the right note-taking app, is that you would be able to rest your hand on the iPad screen as you write. In the reviews of the Jot Script that I’ve seen, this feature sort-of works. This YouTube channel has a number of video reviews that you could watch to decide if you’re interested in this kind of stylus (The reviewer is French, so it’s got gallic charm, too).
So, TL;DR: I like the Hand Stylus for its ergonomics and sturdy build. But writing with it isn’t exactly like writing with pen on paper. If you’re looking for something more akin to that experience, you need to consider a powered stylus. My first choice would be the Jot Script. Downsides include that it costs more money, requires a battery and specifically designed apps to get a more pen and paper-like experience.
Like I’ve hinted, the other part of the equation is the app used to do the writing. In my next post, I’ll cover which iOS note-taking app I prefer for capturing my hand-written notes.
Come on, Mr. Watson!
We’re still here waiting for the chapter about the note-taking apps!!
Ask, Eiron, and you shall receive. Look for my newest post on iOS apps!
Have you looked at some of the thinner-tipped active pens coming out now? I don’t like the idea of the transparent disk – you can hear the constant, annoying clicking sound of the hard plastic on the iPad screen, even in the manufacturers’ own promo videos. But there are a couple of styli with thinner hard(ish) tips that really make a change from the squishy rubber things. I got a Hex3 Nota in February and it’s revolutionised my note-taking. It’s still not a pen-on-paper experience, but it is MUCH closer. You don’t need to zoom so much and write so big. I also saw the TruGlide Apex which must be similar.
Worth looking at.
Hi Dave — you’re right. Versus the rubber tipped Hand stylus that I’ve mentioned in this post, the transparent disks do make more noise when writing. It really becomes an issue if you’re trying to record a lecture or someone speaking as you can clearly hear your stylus on glass in the recording.
I’ve had a look at these smaller “nibbed” hard-tipped styli (mostly the Evernote / Adonit Jot Script) and my only real concerns with them has to do with the need for batteries (versus them being rechargeable; not really a big deal) and that I’ve heard that the “nib” recognition of these pens isn’t perfect (with the ink line appearing offset from where the pen is placed). Sound like you haven’t had these issues with the Hex3 Nota?
The Nota isn’t perfect and there are certainly some issues.
Rechargeable would be nice to have (some kind of desktop holder) but consumtion is very low – after 4 months it’s still running on the first battery. An auto-off function would be a good addition though.
The recognition is a potential problem, particularly diagonals. I read somewhere about the technical reasons for this. A simple work-around is to keep the stylus a little more vertical than a regular pen and not to write too quickly.
The nibs aren’t eternal. They’re made of some kind of teflon I think and depending on usage sooner or later they soften. But I’m only on my second.
BIG complaints about the Nota are: 1. NO CAP so no protection for the nib which seems crazy as that’s both the most crucial component and the most delicate and 2. NO CLIP which would stop it rolling around the desk and also let me keep in my breast pocket.
Despite this, I’m a fan. I’m already mentally prepared to buy another new stylus in say a year’s time as I think there’s a big potential for them and I’m convinced that better, cheaper models will appear. There are so many note-taking apps and so many people using their iPads for writing. Steve Jobs hated the idea of the stylus and wanted iOS to be fingers only but I really think he was wrong on this one.
Better use Samsung’s Note Tablets which have precision, presure and recognize palm from pen.