Stylus -- Engadget Mobile

stylus posts

HTC files patent for capacitive stylus with resistive accuracy

by Chris Ziegler posted Aug 14th 2009 @ 12:46AM

Though capacitive displays are generally regarded as the easier-to-use technology for mobile touchscreens, their finger-friendliness comes at a dear price: accuracy. Because capacitive tech is incompatible with traditional styli, you're stuck fudging things with your fat digits or settling for a high-tech finger alternative that arguably creates as many problems as it solves. Don't worry, though -- HTC feels your pain, and it seems like they're looking to keep the classic stylus in the game as the company's lineup makes the inevitable transition to capacitive over the coming years. A new patent application describes a stylus with some sort of magnetically charged tip -- at first, we thought that sounded suspiciously like what Wacom does for its tablets, but unlike Wacom's tech, this would function with a traditional, seemingly unmodified capacitive display. It's funny how we've all written off styli in the past couple years and now we've got HTC over here doing everything it can to save 'em -- but hey, if this means we're going to get the best of both worlds, we're all for it.

[Via wmpoweruser.com]

Nokia 6208c poses for beauty shots

by Chris Ziegler posted Jan 19th 2009 @ 7:19AM

Outside Asia, the world seems to have turned squarely against styli in the past couple years -- but devices like Nokia's 6208c certainly give us pause. ePrice has a review of the freshly-announced set with plenty of fabulous pictures, and unless you're in a Chinese-speaking territory, this is about as close as you'll likely ever get to one. Most of us know Series 40 as a purely button-based platform, but it looks like Nokia has done a commendable job of adapting the UI to the demands of a touchscreen and on-screen character entry -- and it doesn't hurt that the phone's mighty nice to look at, either. Wonder if that stylus would open a bottle of Tsingtao?

[Via Daily Mobile]

The finger, improved: Pogo Stylus answers iPhone's unasked question

by Chris Ziegler posted Dec 3rd 2007 @ 9:27AM

We kinda thought that the iPhone's interface was designed to be used and mastered without so much as a fleeting moment of longing for a pointing implement -- once you get past the keyboard's growing pains, anyway -- but we suppose the automatic mental association between touchscreens and styli can be a tough one to break. Enter Ten One Design's meticulously engineered $24.95 Pogo Stylus, which the firm says functions "like a fingertip" to integrate seamlessly with the finger-friendly UI used throughout the iPhone and iPod touch. Imagine that! What's more, it's manufactured from aluminum alloy in your choice of three stylish colors, which is awesome news since it's prominently featured on your iPhone's side in a custom holster. If only Ten One had put a screw top on this thing so that we could fill it with pixie dust, whiskey, or $25 in shredded US currency, we'd be in.

[Via iAnything]

UBiQUiO 503G revealed

by Sean Cooper posted Apr 2nd 2007 @ 2:31PM

The UBiQUiO 503G is set to bust out the gate with a fine-looking design aesthetic and sweetly spec'd hardware. This little Windows Mobile 6 device one-ups its predecessor -- the UBiQUiO 501 -- on every front making it a stellar choice for the business set. Featuring quad band GSM, triple band HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth, 520 MHz CPU (doubling up on the 501), and a two megapixel camera, the 503G does indeed rock the features we love. We particularily love the one-handed use via the QWERTY keyboard and what you don't see in the pic: a scroll wheel and stylus. That's right, this little bad boy is packin' Windows Mobile 6 Professional, not Standard as the form factor suggests. We have the release date planned around about June 20th 2007 with an expected price tag of $650; no provider information at this point but we will be keeping our eyes peeled.

[Thanks, Paul]

Sony Ericsson Z558i does pen input

by Chris Ziegler posted Oct 2nd 2006 @ 10:43AM

At first glance, the new Sony Ericsson Z558 looks like nothing more than a rehash of the Z550 geared toward the Chinese market. By and large, that's an accurate assessment, save for one critical detail: the new model packs a touch screen and stylus for handwriting recognition -- a feature that seems like overkill for Latin characters, but thinking about Chinese puts things in an entirely different perspective. Much like the Nokia 6108 before it, the Z558 sports handwriting recognition for the sole purpose of making life a little easier on folks whose languages are composed of thousands of characters (though as you can see from the press photo, you can write in English too, if you're into that sort of thing). Other features include a 1.3-megapixel cam, 18MB of internal memory expandable to 1GB via Memory Stick Micro cards, and a 900 / 1800 / 1900MHz GSM radio with EDGE; look for it in Z558c and Z558i variants for mainland China and the rest of the world, respectively.

[Via Slashphone]