iPen for iPad

[jkcarri]

find a cool stylus on Kickstarter called iPen. just google Kickstarter iPen :thumbs:

 

[AFAngryWarrior]

Looks awesome, I would definitely buy one. Is this your project?

 

[Heaviside]

The iPen looks interesting, but I have to admit it, the Cregle Penbook looks even more interesting!

If and when either hits the market I will be interested, but 89 bucks for the iPen as a Kickstarter gamble is too much. I invested twenty or so in the Adonit Jot Kickstarter, only to find that it has some pretty severe problems.

No thanks. I will wait until I see some reviews.

 

[iRuthlessPad]

are their any cheaper ipen for ipad?

 

[jkcarri]

not my project, but I got an early bird promotion for only $50 on Kickstarter. It's sold out now thought.
I used Livescribe, and it costs $149, which I've to buy expensive notepad, and transfer to my mac.
I hope this project can come alive. It'll be a game changer!

 

[jsh1120]

Noted this on another thread but it's worth noting here that the claim that the iPen can generate a finer line than a capacitive stylus is simply bogus. The width of a line on the iPad is determined by the handwriting app, not the stylus. The video demonstration of the finer line made by the iPen is, I think, simply dishonest. That alone makes me skeptical about the inventor's claims.

I'm further skeptical about the ability of the inventor to interest a wide range of apps in supporting his product. Time will tell, but the fractured market for handwriting apps presents a big challenge. Finally, I'm rather skeptical about the juice the receiver is likely to require and the fact that it apparently cannot be used with the iPad connected to a power source. As an analog, I have the WOW adapter for audio from SRS for the iPad. Does a great job of enhancing audio but drains the battery of the iPad rather significantly while it's in use.

All in all, I think trying to do much to correct the inherent weakness of the capacitive iPad screen with this sort of technology is, at best, a band-aid solution. I think we'll see better screen technology from other manufacturers for niche markets where note taking is a very high priority (e.g. Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet) but I don't think it's likely to take hold on the iPad.

 

[jkcarri]

Good point! But I notice starting from 45 sec of the video talks about find stroke.
to see is to believe. let's why I'm buying this idea. capacitive stylus can draw very fine line, but cannot draw various fine strokes among each other because the tip is too thick to draw accurately.
just my 2-cent maybe you guys have different views.

 

[jkcarri]

Oops...here is the video link: iPen: the first active stylus for iPad! by Cregle Inc. — Kickstarter

 

[Blackbelt]

The prices of these high margin items are to cover the R&D !

 

[jsh1120]

Good point! But I notice starting from 45 sec of the video talks about find stroke.
to see is to believe. let's why I'm buying this idea. capacitive stylus can draw very fine line, but cannot draw various fine strokes among each other because the tip is too thick to draw accurately.
just my 2-cent maybe you guys have different views.

Have some trouble understanding your post but I believe you're referring to the portion of the video in which the inventor apparently demonstrates the finer line drawn by the iPen. Frankly, I believe that portion of the video was produced by changing the width of the line in the drawing app being used by the two styluses. Otherwise, the two styluses would create lines of the same width. So would a finger. So would your big toe. The width of the tip has nothing to do with the width of a stroke.

 

[Heaviside]

On the fineness of stroke---I think that it should in fact be possible to get it as fine as one pixel. Accuracy, though, is another matter. I think that some of these more sophisticated devices might have different mechanisms and algorithms for determining pen point location. As I recall, at least some of these devices with external pickups use infrared or sonar or somesuch for detecting wher the nib is located. This completely bypasses the touchscreen for that determination. Then if the nib is at the exact center of the activation zone, one could theoretically get one pixel accuracy.

I also think that even using the touch screen as the location sensor there might be differences in mathematical algorithms for determining just where the nib is located.

But all that and around three bucks will get you a latte at Starbucks: seeing (and experiencing, I might add) is believing!

 

[jkcarri]

Have some trouble understanding your post but I believe you're referring to the portion of the video in which the inventor apparently demonstrates the finer line drawn by the iPen. Frankly, I believe that portion of the video was produced by changing the width of the line in the drawing app being used by the two styluses. Otherwise, the two styluses would create lines of the same width. So would a finger. So would your big toe. The width of the tip has nothing to do with the width of a stroke.

maybe they update the video? I did not see what you mention inside the video. The video did show what capacitive stylus can't do.

 

[jsh1120]

maybe they update the video? I did not see what you mention inside the video. The video did show what capacitive stylus can't do.

Yes, the video has been changed. Several days ago the inventor compared the strokes of a capacitive stylus with the iPen. I suspect that others had the same complaint I noted.

 

[MaloCS]

What the detractors don't understand is that it's counter intuitive to draw thin lines with a thick stylus. The contact point for the stylus is 'below' or 'under' the thick, roundish nib and the user's hand-eye coordination suffers because they can't see the stylus actually drawing the line like a real world analog pencil. A precise, sharp point is an absolute must have for an artist to draw thin, precise lines. I'm forty years old and I've spent my entire life working with pencils/pens. When I draw/write I see the point of the pen 'draw' the line, I don't see the line magically appear from underneath a dull, blunt tip that's as big as my finger. Like I already stated, the experience is counter productive, awkward and a pain in the rear end.

In my opinion, the current stylus offerings are inadequate for serious digital drawing and sketching (painting is a different story). The creators of the iPen seem to have recognized this usability defect and engineered a solution that seems to eliminate it. Regardless, I believe it would be much more effective if iOS had 'drawing' settings that allowed thin/precise passive styluses to be used.

I'm not an engineer but I have a hard time believing that if the creators of iPen could come up with a viable solution then Apple could create an even better one.

 

[MaloCS]

Yes, the video has been changed. Several days ago the inventor compared the strokes of a capacitive stylus with the iPen. I suspect that others had the same complaint I noted.

It's not about how thick or thin the stroke can be drawn or whether the iPen or it's competition can utilize software settings to draw any size line the user wants. The point of the iPen is to eliminate the hand-eye coordination issues that arise from trying to draw a thin line with a large, blunt stylus. For thousands of years humans have been writing and drawing with instruments that allow the eye to see the line that's being drawn. The current crop of large, blunt styluses obstruct the user's eye from seeing the line being drawn and as a result, the usability experience suffers.

The iPen, which may or may not be the answer to this problem, at least tries to address and correct it. I would like to believe that Apple would recognize this issue and create a solution directly within the operating system so passive, thin/precise styluses could be used. After all, humans have been programmed to 'want' to see the drawn line emanating from the point of the instrument, not from under it.