If you just started digging, you wouldn't believe the number of surprisingly strange stylii you'd find out there. However; why bother, when Janice Karin has it covered?
There are people out there who collect cases or collect stylii. If they see it and they don't have it, they must immediately get it. I am not one of those people. I've still managed to obtain quite a large collection of cases and stylii.
Most of the stylii in my collection are a bit unusual; either they do something other than the normal stylus/writing or they have some strange shape or other feature. I have a stylus with a laser pointer, a stylus that fits on my finger, a stylus that fits over a pen or pencil, and a stylus that sits off kilter that you can bop and watch wobble. There are still other odd and unusual stylii I don't have. Let's look at some of these stylii.
 | Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee with the Stinger stylus
|
The Exclamation Point Stylus ($19.95 USD)
The Exclamation Point stylus is one of the strangest stylii I've ever used. The stylus itself is a lightweight plastic cone with the stylus tip at the pointed end. The tip is slightly bigger than most stylus tips but not significantly so. The top of the cone is about one inch (2.5 cm) in diameter and comes with a semi-spherical cap that can be removed to reveal the hollow inside. The stylus comes with a heavy spherical base with an off-center center of mass. When you put the stylus in the base it wobbles around until it settles at about a 30 degree angle from vertical. When the stylus is in the base the whole thing looks like !, thus the name.
This is a fun stylus to keep on a desk and play with, but I don't think I'd recommend it for constant use. Although it provides excellent Graffiti recognition my wrist got tired after only five minutes of use. Also, because of the size and bulk it's hard to carry around.
The Stinger Stylus (3 for $4.95 USD)
The Stinger stylus was the first unusual stylus I acquired and it's one of my favorites. The Stinger is a small soft plastic stylus that wraps around your index finger like a ring. In ring form it is about one inch (2.5 cm) long and half an inch (1.25 cm) in diameter. You can expand the size of the ring depending on your fingers. I have rather large fingers and I had no problems making it fit.
This is a useful stylus to have because it fits in just about any pocket or purse without taking up much space. It works well as an emergency stylus in case you lose a stylus from your silo and is a good idea for anyone who tends to use their fingers to navigate onscreen. Graffiti recognition is good but not wonderful; I've certainly seen a lot worse and I can use it indefinitely without getting tired.
ConceptKitchen PenCap Stylus (4 for $9.95 USD)
The PenCap stylus is a hard plastic stylus about one and a half inches (3.75 cm) from end to end. It slides over the tip of any standard pen or pencil, effectively turning it into a stylus. Like the Stinger it's small enough for most people to carry around as a spare.
When I tried gripping the pens as I would to write with them I had a horrible time, but once I slid my hand down near the base and held the pen more perpendicular to the screen I found it worked fairly well. I could write pretty quickly and accurately without much fatigue. Pencils didn't work as well, perhaps because of their octagonal shape.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
_pt00.jpg)
_pt00.jpg)
_pt00.jpg)
_pt00.jpg)
|
Archive