I’m a big believer in the tablet form factor for personal computing. I have a Barnes and Noble Nook Color, two Amazon Kindle Fires, two iPads, and a Google Nexus 7 on the way. That’s a lot of smudgy fingerprints. I use screen cleaning cloths made by 3M Scotchbrite, but sometimes it’s best to avoid touching the screen altogether.
I saw one of my clients using a stylus about two and a half months ago. It was about the size of a retractable Bic-style pen, a clip and a soft rubberized nib. I bought a three-pack and liked using it, especially during games of Draw Something.
The only problem? I couldn’t keep track of them. I had one at my office, gave one to Sedagive?, and the last one kept roving about the house. Sometimes I’d leave it in the bedroom and need it down at my office or wherever.
I was going to buy the same three-pack again. They were very affordable, and although shipping was free, it came from a Hong Kong vendor. They were about fifty cents apiece.
I did find a similar set of seven stylus from Micro-Tech, for about eight cents each. On the upside, they were Amazon Prime eligible for second day delivery.
I don’t know if the colors are the same in every pack, but I got a pretty interesting assortment of colors. I have purchased enough knock-off / white label / cheap foreign doodads to expect a random scattering of shades and hues.
Anyway, they look pretty nice. My first three stylus were from a company called Cosmos, and these look identical except the barrel colors are different.
The tip of the stylus is super squishy and soft, just like the first set I bought. The nib is very round, which makes precision work a little difficult, but it’s still better than using your finger. The tip is hollow, and if you push super hard the nib will compress down to the plastic barrel. I doubt it would hurt your phone or tablet, but being a dumbass this way may hurt the stylus. So don’t do that.
One of the reviews on Amazon stated that the nibs wear down and become unusable after three to six months of steady use. I switch the stylus enough that I’ve yet to notice even a bit of wear and tear. I recommend buying a fistful of these not to rotate them out like tires, but so you always have one on hand.
At less than eighty cents a pop, I think the Micro-Tech stylus are a good deal. If you’re a total toolbox you could buy a Kensington- or Belkin-branded one for around $15 and get exactly the same thing.
Strongly recommended