Customer Reviews

Griffin GC16040 Stylus for iPad, iPod, iPhone and Other Touchscreens

5 star:		(155)
4 star:		(59)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Away on a conference, it turned out that I had forgotten my stylus (a Pogo, which I'd selected after trying a number of styluses), so grudgingly I bought a new specimen - this Griffin stylus. I could not believe what an improvement it was. Although I was certainly not unhappy with the pogo stick, it sometimes had the habit of not picking up my input, and the writing (I mainly use the stylus to make notes on my iPad with Penultimate) was not always what it ought to be. This is so much better. It is slightly heavier (we'te talking grams, though) but that makes it a better rather than a worse writing implement. More importantly, it allows you to draw much thinner lines than the pogo did. The best of the bunch, AFAIC.

I had previously purchased a $5-6 stylus on Amazon and was supremely disappointed with the quality, and it just wouldn't work properly on my iPad. This Griffin stylus on the other hand is of great quality and works MUCH better on my iPad. Nice rounded tip with rolls easily on the screen, and I have never had any incorrect spelling entries so far on my screen. Nice stylish product that works better than expected. Recommended for sure!

The Griffin Technology Stylus for iPad, iPod touch, and iPhone is an excellent stylus. After about one week of research (reading reviews, etc.) I finally ordered this stylus and I have not been disappointed. I frequently use this stylus in lectures in higher education mathematics courses with an iPad. More recently, I began using my iPad with this stylus to start taking notes in meetings rather than keeping track of paper notes.

Pros:
1. Lightweight but solid feel to the body of the stylus. So far, I've had no hand fatigue due to heaviness nor have I felt that I could break it!
2. Easily recognized handwriting when using apps for annotation (such as Note Taker HD or Air Sketch). Hint: if the app has a "zoom" feature, I use this to zoom in on the file or note that I want to write upon. For Note Taker HD, I have found that "Edit 1" is excellent.
3. The clip, which I at first thought was dorky, allows me to put the stylus in either my breast or pants pocket so I can find it easily.
4. Flexible (rounded) tip seems durable. This is in direct contradiction to what most people say about the Ten One Design Pogo Sketch stylus for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch (Cactus Green). I read several reviews about the degradation of the tip on the Pogo Sketch. I've had this stylus for well over one month now with no signs of wear.
5. After having received this stylus, it looks almost identical to the BoxWave Capacitive iPad Stylus (Jet Black) which gets excellent reviews. The Griffin doesn't come with the tether, but I cannot imagine using it. After some more looking around, it also looks like the Targus Stylus for Apple iPad 16GB, 32GB, 64GB WiFi + 3G, iPad 2, iPhone, iPod, Tablet AMM01US (Black) and the Acase Capacitive Stylus for Apple iPad 16GB, 32GB, 64GB WiFi + 3G, iPad 2, iPhone, iPod, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy, BlackBerry Playbook (Jet Black). I originally paid less for this stylus than its current list price, so it seems that its quality has been recognized.

Cons:
1. The rubber tip will pick up skin oils/sweat (i.e., from an accidental forehead grazing while touching head). I think that this is more of a problem with the fact that the tip is rubber-esque and not so much a lack of foresight on the manufacturer. Just a necessary evil of writing on a tablet with a stylus.
2. I wish it were a little longer. This a personal preference and by no means hinders the use of the stylus.

As you can see, my "Pros" list is far longer than my "Cons". This is an excellent product and a worthwhile purchase.

This is the best very drawing stylus made for the iPad. The size, pressure, conductivity and heft are just right. If only the little hoe at the top had been larger I might have been able to put it on a chain and not lose it! Guess I'll order a another and a backup.

I realized that going into this, having recently purchased an Asus Transformer, that the probability of converting it into a decent drawing tablet (if only for draft sketching) was bordering on highly improbable. But after reading a few reviews, I kept my hopes up in thinking that the pen would provide enough functionality to get around any shortcomings I might have with its overall usability. I figured it would be worth a shot to try it out before plopping down a grand on a Wacom device.

* Pen quality
1) The pen is very well built. Has a durable, solid feel to it (even when trying to bend the shaft), has a nice weight, and doesn't feel cumbersome when carrying over the screen.
2) The rubber nub is soft and rounded, and feels like it's made of very thin material. It's about 1/4th an each in diameter and obviously hollow. You can press into it for a few centimeters

* Practicality for Art
It's barely usable for sketching. As device to point and select, it fulfills that function mostly. It has a moderate tilt recognition wherein the device will pick up the pen input when it's at maybe a 15-degree angle (and in that it's a fat nub) , but for sketching, unless you have the pen nearly perpendicular to the screen, it isn't very comfortable to use. Even for normal function, the pen isn't always picked up by the tablet, and this prompts me to naturally want to press with the pen harder under the assumption it wasn't registering properly (as the tablet itself is very responsive). I gather the requirement to have the pen nearly perpendicular for just standard tablet usage might be a problem for others too.

I will say that it's easier to draw with then pen than with your fingers, but that's not something I'd interpret as a recommendation, really.

Oh, Wacom, here I come to support your monopoly.

Having a new iPad, I added the penultimate app allowing me to sketch, take notes, etc., so wanted a quality stylus to use as a pseudo "pen". Looked through all of the reviews, and decided to order both the griffin (the good one in the orange box with the see-through window showing the stylus) and the Boxwave, which received the best reviews. Also bought both on Amazon to get the free shipping over $25. Received them today (the red boxwave and black griffin) and both have a good hand-feel. In fact, they are absolutely identical. The boxwave has a little string plug-in plastic cap that fits into the iPad earphone hole, while the griffin seems to have a place for the same string plug-in, but it is not included. Other than that, I can only suggest that these two stylus are absolutely identical. Both very nice, good feel, quality units. Had read a review saying to buy a decent quality stylus for the penultimate app. Went to an Apple store, and their available (only one style) stylus was similar at $15. Think I paid $15 for the boxwave and $13 for the griffin. Amazon is the best deal for these. eBay prices were in some cases double for these same pen stylus'.

Based entirely on Griffin's reputation, I ordered this stylus direct from their site, even before Amazon listed it, just after it became available. I knew nothing about it other than the Griffin name, but I've been completely happy with it since.

I hadn't tried many other styli, but the ones I had tried have left me exasperated and frustrated so quickly, I discarded them within the first on or two days of trying to use them. But Griffin's stylus is different. It works. It works so well, I forget all the difficulty I used to have in trying to use a stylus instead of my finger. Unlike some defective products, the Griffin does not require so much pressure it defeats the purpose. Some styli work better [I won't say "well"] for iPad but not so much for iPhone, and some are the opposite. The Griffin stylus works equally well on both my iPhone 4 and my iPad 3G.

If there was anything that needed to be changed about this stylus, it is only the thickness of the barrel. Some may also find the length a bit lacking. I suspect that both are necessary in order to promote conductivity from the hand through the stylus to the device screen, and attempts at making them larger have likely been unsuccessful. I believe, though, that before long, that barrier will be broken and this 99/100 rating will be revised.

In the meantime, do not hesitate to purchase the most impressive stylus available.

I was looking for a stylus mainly to write but also sketch on the iPad. I decided to try three to determine which worked best. The pogo sketch Ten One Design Pogo Sketch stylus for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch (Burnt Orange) was the cheapest and lightest. I also liked the thin diameter as I could always see where the stylus was on the screen. This was important for sketching. Where it fell short was the foam tip that never seemed to consistently register when it was on the screen. I tried it on my iPhone and had the same problem. The frustration factor made me give up on this stylus.

The Griffin and the Box Wave BoxWave Capacitive Samsung Galaxy Tab Stylus (Jet Black) I believe are the same product. They look identical to me other than the logo. The Box Wave has the added perk of a small lanyard that hooks to the headphone jack for transportation. I guess if that was something you might use it might be worth the $1-2 difference in price between the two. While slightly more expensive I found the Box Wave/Griffin to be a little heavier and bulkier than the pogo. The tip however is very responsive and easier captures all text and sketch lines. While the diameter sometimes is a problem for sketching as you can't see where a line ended you learn to compensate.

Ideally I would love to have a pogo sketch with a Griffin/Box Wave tip and responsiveness. However, that not being available I would recommend the Griffin/Box Wave over the pogo. I am aware that other brands are available and have heard great things of the Targus stylus but have not tried them.

This product is excellent. I am a teacher and needed something to "write" on my pdf textbooks in my ipad. This is excellent. I just got it yesterday and used it all day. I am so pleased that I'm ordering another one (in case I lose this one) so I always have a spare.

I use Penultimate (love it!) and also regularly use ArtRage, Sketchbook Pro, and some other sketching apps. I've tried many styli and do not like the Pogo or the Targus. They just feel cheap and are not very responsive. A lot of letters get skipped. While I want to love the Wacom stylus, because I'm a big fan of their tablets, I just don't like the point.

Whether I am taking notes, sketching, or killing time, I find myself using the Griffin stylus. I rate it 4.5 stars (4 doesn't seem like enough but it's not quite perfect).

The Griffin is more expensive than some others, and about the same retail price as the Wacom, but it is generally my "go to guy". Some folks say the tip is too big but I disagree. It works like a dream with Penultimate, and everything else I've used it with. My only complaint is minor: I just wish it had a hole in the top so I could use a lanyard with it (my original Griffin had it, but the last two I've purchased do not), but I have it around the clip and just have to keep an eye on it. I have given the Griffin to several friends as gifts and they love it as well.

Like everything else, it comes down to personal preference, so give it a shot and definitely try more than one. You can always return what you don't like. Cheers :)

Edit: I just checked Amazon's price, and they have the Griffin for under $8 (maybe because they just released colors) but my advice is to RUN and grab a couple. I paid $20 for mine, and while it was worth every penny, I'm all about a good bargain.