The folks at Adonit have been working hard on their new product, the Jot Touch, a pressure sensitive stylus with a built-in antenna and a free SDK kit for drawing app developers. Adonit was showcasing the Jot Touch at Macworld, so I had a chance to check it out.

I will admit that the style of the Jot stylus lineup with the clear, flat nib has always seemed a bit awkward to me, but it only took a few minutes of use before I understood why this is a superior design. Because of the clear nib, I was able to see exactly where my markings would appear even if I was using a very fine line setting in the drawing app. This, combined with the Jot Touch’s pressure sensitivity, will make this stylus a fantastic choice for artists.

The Jot Touch is set to release in late March or early April.

Rene and I are at Macworld 2012 and had the pleasure of talking to Penultimate developer Ben Zotto. You, the iMore nation, asked us to ask Ben his thoughts on styli for the iPad, so we did! Check out the video above for Ben’s insights on the personal decision of choosing a stylus.

Here’s a list of the ones he mentioned:

• Pogo Sketch Pro – $24.95 – Amazon link
• Pogo Sketch Plus – $14.95 – Ten One Design link
• Wacom Bamboo – $25.43 – Amazon link
• Cosmonaut – $25 – Studio Neat link

What’s your favorite stylus to use with Penultimate?

Ten One Design has just announced their latest and greatest capacitive stylus for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch — the Pogo Sketch Plus. What makes this newer, better version so newer and better?

This sleek capacitive touchscreen stylus features new patent pending Pro Tip technology that consists of patterned structures within the tip itself, which provides greater sensitivity while providing an even smaller tip diameter for superior precision. Typing, navigating and drawing have never been easier! For added portability, Pogo Sketch Plus also has a useful pocket clip to secure in place for on-the-go travel.

Both size and consistency of contact have been challenging on capacitive screens like the iPhone and iPad. It will be interesting to see how this new approach works.

Source: Ten One Design

The Cregle iPen promises to become the first ever active stylus available for the iPad. The project has just received Kickstarter funding blowing its required $35,000 goal with pledges totalling a massive $162,000. The iPen is totally different to any iPad stylus available today.

The Cregle iPen transforms the iPad into a content creation device, not just a content consumption device. iPen is the first active digitizer stylus that allows you to write with precision directly on the iPad. Unlike the passive digitizer used in the typical iPad stylus, iPen writes like a real pen with accurate positioning and palm rejection features that passive products simply cannot achieve. With the Cregle iPen’s active digitizer, the attached receiver picks up the iPen’s signal and its precise position as it hovers above the screen. This crucial advantage allows iPen to actively transmit 60 samples per second to pinpoint the pen’s exact location.

The iPen has now received funding and should go into production early next year. In order to use the iPen, apps will need to include code to support it. Some apps have already decided to support iPen such as PDF-Notes, Procreate, Ghost Writer notes and a few others. We expect this to increase dramatically especially as the iPen will be under Apple’s own MFi (Made for iPad) program. The iPen should retail for around $89 when it eventually hits store shelves.

Cregle is also working on iPen 2 which promises to support pressure sensitive features. This would allow a user to alter the thickness of lines by pressing harder or softer on the screen with the iPen; now that would be a huge development should it prove possible.

Source: Kickstarter

The LunaTik Touch Pen is currently seeking Kickstarter funding and before you assume that it is just another stylus, it does offer something quite unique. The stylus is actually a rollerball pen but with a click of a button, the ink point disappears and it becomes a capacitive stylus for your iPad.

Paper and pen will never be replaced. However, more and more people are embracing their iPads and tablets to take notes and capture ideas in a new hybrid analog-digital workflow. These users continuously switch between paper and touch screen during the day. This means they require both a traditional ink pen and a digital stylus.

Source: Kickstarter

Remember last year’s summer vacation? Are we there yet Dad? How much further Dad? Well hopefully when this app launches, those days will be gone. Simply pass your beloved iPad into the back of the car and you won’t hear another word until you get there. Crayola has long been a favorite with the younger generation, add in the iPad and this app is a winner for the children!

The ColorStudio HD app allows young artists to color and interact with special “live” animated coloring book pages that move and react as they color, combining custom-produced pictures, animations, music, sound effects, and high quality special effects. For example, in one setting fish swim, doors open to reveal surprises, and mermaids serenade the young artist. The iMarker digital stylus brings the app to life.

The only fear I have is when the little ones misplace the iMarker; I can see permanent marker pens and crayons being used instead, leaving your iPad in a bit of a mess!

[Press Release]

In the video below the infamous Walt Mosspuppet shows us how to make a cheap and cheerful stylus for our iPad’s. All you need is an old pen, a candy wrapper and some sticky tape and your all set. A bit of Friday fun, but this does actually seem to work.

[Thanks Mosspuppet]

This is an official entry by chrisoldroyd in TiPb’s next top blogger contest. Think you have what it takes to join Team TiPb? Bring it!

Here we have the Pogo Sketch stylus [$14.95], the small, lightweight and stylish choice for those who want to write on their iPhone or iPad.

The Pogo Sketch comes in sliver or pink and is made of a aluminum alloy that makes it look sleek and feel sturdy in your hand. The capacitive foam tip gives a nice soft feel when its used, though I do find you have to press a bit harder than when using your finger. The tip is thin which is also good for those who want to do detail work or get around pudgy fingers to begin with. There’s a handy clip on the back so it will fit over your shirt, book bag, or hang off your pouch case. It also has a loop on the top so if you want to hang it from your neck — or anyplace else — you can just place a cord around it and go. They really did think of everything.

Some (including Steve Jobs) may ask: why use a stylus at all when you always have your fingers handy. Well I live in a cold climate and I hate having to take off my gloves to use my iPhone or iPad. I also would rather use a stylus when I am doing anything which leaves my fingers dirty like eating or yard work. Also, drawing with a stylus is fun.

I keep my Pogo Sketch with me in my purse, so if ever I need it is always at hand. It works really well with the iPhone and iPad and is a good deal at $14.99. It’s especially great for a gift because it is very useful for any iPhone, iPad user. If you pick one up please let me know if you enjoy it as much as I do!

Pros

-Lightweight -Sturdy -Affordable

Cons

• The clip is made of plastic
• needs a bit more pressure than your finger

The Pogo Sketch from Ten 1, $14.99 [Store Link]

Live from Macworld 2010, Rene and Leanna talk with Peter Skinner of Ten One Designs about their Pogo Sketch stylus for the iPhone… and iPad!

Watch along after the break and let us know what you think! (Especially if you came from PalmOS or Windows Mobile!)

AppleInsider brings word of two interesting Apple patents, one involving user interfaces that changed depending on the user’s situation, the other — wait for it — for an iPhone/iTablet stylus.

The stylus patent, credited to John G. Elias, co-founder of multitouch maestros, FingerWorks, involves:

“A metallic or otherwise conductive disk may be attached to one end of the stylus. The disk may be sized so as to guarantee sufficient electrical interaction with at least one sensory element of the touch sensor panel.”

The dynamic multi-model seeks to give the iPhone UI some context sensitivity:

For example, using the device in the car or in the gym could show a different design on the screen. Devices could also be controlled in different fashions when they are docked and less portable, and a different design and input method might make more sense.

Next to your bed at night, in the car when navigating, linked to your home stereo for a party — the possibilities are endlessly intriguing.

As always, just because Apple applies for a patent on something doesn’t mean we’ll ever see it in a consumer product. Still, would you benefit from a stylus? From context-sensitive user interfaces? Let us know!

Our fearless leader/editor was able to meet some great vendors at Macworld 2009 this year and got a sampling of their products. I am rounding them up in a series of posts, so, let’s take a look at what we have this time!

I love the “finger as a stylus” mantra of the iPhone, I really do. However, there are times when having a stylus would make life a lot easier. Fortunately, Ten One Design has come to the rescue with the Pogo Stylus for $14.95!

The stylus is made of lightweight metal and the tip, used to “touch” the screen is made of… some alien substance. The manufacture calls it a “trade secret”. In any event, it works. So why would you want a stylus for your iPhone? Well, I can think of a couple reasons:

• First, it is really cold right now in the Midwest, like 7 degrees cold. I don’t really want to take off my glove outside to check the weather. Now I don’t have to!
• Second, I have a couple drawing apps that, as you may know, your finger gets in the way of. This stylus really makes drawing a LOT easier.

Don’t forget to checkout the photos and video below!

Pros:

• Works with any iPhone or iPod Touch!
• Lightweight
• Works as advertised
• You can by stylus packs!
• Different colors

Cons:

• Comes with a clip for iPhone 3G only. You have to buy the $4.95 add-on for the clip to fit all devices
• Over time I can envision the tip of the stylus breaking off, though this is just speculation

TiPB’s Rating:

Patent-mania running wild from Apple is nothing new, though these recent filings do seem a tad focused on enabling new form factors, don’t they? To go along with the iFlip and iPhone Nano, and the iSlider, comes a little something that just might allow for an iStylus:

Another interesting possibility raised is the use of both capacitance (finger tip) and resistance (fingernail) to provide secondary functionality in future touch screens. [...] Apple suggests the addition of pressure sensitivity to provide additional functionality. For example, touching an item in a list with your fingertip would select it, while pressing it with your fingernail (or otherwise shielded finger or stylus) could bring up a pop-up menu (see picture above).

It’s suggested that the patent could make things like text selection and — wait for it — cut and paste much easier to multi-touch, with the resistance input being akin to a right-button action on a mouse. Of course, we all know how much Steve Jobs loves buttons, never mind his audible YUCK! at the concept of a stylus.

However, resistance touch could be a blessing to those with long nails, who have complained that they have trouble getting the fleshy part of their finger to properly make contact with the current capacitance sensors. No matter how outdated (–cough–Treo 600–cough–) the technology is.

But never mind what I think, are you hankering to get your iStylus on? And if so, why so?

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