Accessories
Spill some ink with the Dagi capacitive stylus
A new capacitive stylus making the rounds lately is the ST C400 from HTC. Looks pretty slick, particularly with that transparent tip that lets you see where you’re inking, but as several people have pointed out, it’s actually a rebrand of the Dagi transparent stylus, which can be found on eBay for ~$12.
Capacitive touchscreen stylus solutions got moved to the front of my gray matter today, thanks to a new video showdown between capacitive and resistive and an inquiry from reader Antimatter. My initial plan was to get a Pogo Sketch, the full-sized version of the Pogo. However, after watching the Dagi in action (and finding it for cheap on eBay), I’m inclined to give it a try. Coupled with a SmudgeGuard glove to shield the screen from the side of my hand (several Wacom Cintiq users swear by this thing), it could be just what I need to bring my capacitive touchscreen inking experience up to acceptable levels.
Doubt it will convert me from being an enthusiast of the active digitizer, specifically Wacom, but the idea of being able to adequately spill ink on any touchscreen is highly appealing.
GoodThings2Life
02/25/2010 at 3:53 pm
Indeed… if the Dagi works, that would at least make it useful in casual use (though I’ll still prefer active digitizers for serious note-taking).
Dan
02/26/2010 at 9:12 am
It is interesting that after roughly 8 or 9 years of the ‘tabletPC’ we have to dream up ways to get back to the capability of the ‘old days.’
My take on this is, and this may be a good subject for the focus of a core article as opposed to just my input on the ‘B’ side, that it is the ‘fault’ of the popularity of the convertible tablet and the crutch of having the keyboard ever present. With a slate the keyboard becomes secondary to inking so inking becomes the focus of any improvement to the device. With a convertible, the keybord is used for input and the focus of any improvement to the device becomes how to simply window around and select things better.
In my general opinion, the companies can skip the cost of implementing swivel screens if the device does not have an active digitizer. Just put multitouch panels on a netbook and be done. 80% of the time (or more…95%?) it will be used as a basic netbook with the keyboard anyway.
For taking notes and using a tablet as a tablet, give me a slate with an active digitizer and skip the keyboard. If I want to use a keyboard I can easilly carry a folding bluetooth keyboard in my portfolio. I, personally, use my keybord less than 5% of the time I use my 2730P. The 5% is only because on occasion I need to use the ctrl-alt-delete or press enter to accept something. That is it! I ink all my input including website development, cad drawings, illustrations, office documents, test data, and meeting notes.
Dan
Shutting up now…
Cin
02/26/2010 at 1:18 pm
I just ordered a Dagi on Ebay-sounds like the perfect solution and just what I need. I was sold when I read about the transparent tip!