Customer Reviews

Hard Candy Cases Stylus, Silver, (HC-STYLUS-SLV)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I bought this based on 4 solid reviews before me. The stylus is really worth the $30 considering that there are junk styluses out there for $20. Initially, the quality of the stylus is impressive. You would almost say Apple did this. But a few minutes into the experience and you begin to see the flaws. Here is what I saw:

- This is a symmetrically shaped stylus. When the covers are on, you can't quickly tell which end is which. 50% of the time I pull the cover only to see the wrong end. It becomes frustrating. Now I have to roll the stylus in my hand to see the "HardCandy" logo and open the cover facing the "H" for the iPad stylus. Not the best experience when I'm in the middle of a thought I want to jot down.

- Once the covers are off, they don't go anywhere. They don't stick to the back of each other. So you end up with this extra thing rolling around on the desk that you had better not lose or step on.

- The idea of this stylus is that it feels good in your hand. And it does. The weight of it is just perfect. The last thing you want to have happen is for it to rattle. And guess what, in a couple of days, it start to. There are thin black rubber rings that appear to be put there to lessen the rattle of the covers. They are too small and the stylus starts to feel flimsy as the covers start clacking.

- I understand that the user is not meant to see deep into the interior of the chrome covers. However, if you look into the covers you will see what looks like rust or some unfinished copper inside. It looks very cheap.

- The stylus has no point that it rests on when on a table. The two chrome covers end up becoming in contact with all surfaces this stylus is on and it continues to roll. This results in a ring a scratches around each chrome cover. The chrome itself is not really scratch resistant (for $30, I understand that).

- There is no latch. Which makes the design really nice. But when this stylus is not in use, it's hard to find a place to put it. When in my front pocket, it falls sideways. On my desk, it rolls away. In my bag, it falls to the bottom. It has nothing to hand it by.

My suggestion would be to use magnets. The top of a cover could be magnetized to attach to the other cover when in use. A latch could also be attached. The chrome finish should be applied internally to the covers as well. And the rubber rattle dampeners should be a bit bigger.

Would I buy this again? I'm not sure... It's not bad. But it could be much better.

**UPDATE: one other negative thing I just ran into. The middle cylinder that has the words "hard candy cases" on it has very sharp edges. You either have to hold the pen closer to the tip, or way above the mid cylinder. Otherwise you will get minor cuts from the sharp edge after a few minutes of use. That edge needs to be beveled a bit. It is uncomfortable.

when I saw the ad it sure looked promising. Overall the design has a certain sex appeal, but falls short of hitting the mark. For the price (more than double other styluses) I expected it to be the very best, but the stylus performance was very average, and the tip of the stylus is really big, really too big for writing notes on ipad note applications. My wife bought a cheaper stylus that has a smaller tip and she likes it better (skosh stylus).

Also The pen is a very average writing instrument - I expected more of high end pen eperience. And like the other reviewers have commented, this is one heavy device - I would worry about breaking the glass if you drop it on your ipad! Lastly, why didn't they come up with a way to indicate which end is which?? I can't tell you how many times I open it up and almost accidentally start writing on my iPad with teh pen side :( !!

I love quality pens so I figured I would splurge on a nice stylus. It feels nice in the hand but is so heavy my hand gets tired holding it. The surface is smooth, which makes it hard to hang on to, especially given it's weight. I can not relax my hand or it will slide out. Plus, if I squeeze too hard, because of its smoothness and round shape, it starts to slide out of my hand. It is like trying to hold a regular round pen after applying lotion to your hand. I slid on a rubber grip from a cheap mechanical pencil, and that did the trick. (But it split after about a week). I also wish the tip was smaller. When attempting to write or sketch, it hangs on the screen at certain angles. I agree with every negative point made in these reviews, but that said, it still beats using my finger. The ink pen is cheap, not smooth rolling, and I rarely use it. It looks and feels impressive until you try to actually use it.

This stylus/pen is great. At first I didn't care for the pen that came with it until I swapped it with a space pen refill that I had. The entire thing is nicely weighted and is extremely comfortable to write with. Note to apple: You need to carry this accessory in your stores!!!!

I really, really REALLY wanted to love this thing. After all... it is shiny, it is sleek and sexy... and it is one of the higher-priced capacitive styluses out there. I bought it, read the positive (and negative) reviews, and waited a month or so to voice my reaction (just to make sure I was judging it on personal use, not the opinions of others).

Unfortunately, for all the 'oooh' factor it has going for it; the bad outweighs the good.

1- The lack of a tab and the perfectly round body-design really does add up to a terrible, poorly-functioning instrument. It rolls. Everywhere. So do the caps, which cannot be placed on the end of the unused side. No tab is a livable offense, but even making the object oblong or oval would save the user from having to chase it all over his or her desktop. And when you make the mistake of setting the cap upright (to keep it from rolling madly away from you) and then accidentally tip it over, be ready for the delightful sound of ringing metal. This is especially delightful to endure while you are in a library, lecture hall or quiet work environment.

As ridiculous as this sounds- THERE IS NOTHING MORE ANNOYING THAN HAVING A BIG, WOBBLY PIECE OF METAL SLIDE SIDEWAYS IN YOUR POCKET! This thing always... ALWAYS creeps down and ends up sulking in the bottom of my pants pockets, shirts and bags. Take a regular-sized pen and jam it down the front of your jeans pocket sideways and walk around for a few minutes. Now imagine you paid someone $40 for that experience.

2- The pen/stylus is HEAVY. If it were even a few ounces lighter you wouldn't feel afraid of dropping it and cracking your iPad screen. It's nice to have a sense of WEIGHT in your hand, but this thing feels like a lead bullet.

3- Small complaint, but I haven't seen it mentioned yet: THE PEN... SUCKS. It takes about thirty seconds of "test scribble" to get the ink flowing. The line is uncomfortable. And again... it is HEAVY, so your writing style will need to be used to a thick, heavy pen. It's not a good "pen" at all.

4- This was mentioned in a previous review and I rolled by eyes at it originally. When you take the caps off and use the product, your fingers rest directly on the edge of where the cap meets the body of the pen. After about 10 minutes, this edge begins to feel like a razor blade on the pads of your fingertips! A simple bevel would have solved this, but the company would sacrifice their precious form factor. Sure, you could change your grip... but I shouldn't have to re-learn how to hold a damn pen just to use it.


After a while, without realizing it, I was actually grimacing and sort of "dreading" reaching for my stylus. I abandoned it for the Just Mobile AluPen Stylus for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch & Other Touch Screens (Silver) this week and so far, the Just|Mobile wins. The Hard Candy Case pen certainly wanted to look different. The bad news is that in doing so, it has reminded us why other objects DON'T look or act like this.

I'm throwing it in my "oops" pile and only going for it when I have misplaced my other stylus. And even then... I'm just gonna risk a smudged iPad screen before I try to figure out which end is the rubber tip and which end is the pen.

I must admit, I'm not very impressed, the design may look sleek but the functionality is poor. I keep pulling the wrong end cover ( you will later get used to which side to pull out from the writing direction).Then the cover does not fit on the end of the pen when removed, so, you will have to keep it lose while using the pen.
You cant use teh tip fro hand writting on iPAD, which was one of the reason I bought it.

The quality of the ballpoint pen leaves alot to be desired.
The delivery took much longer than agreed and was frankly annoying.
So, I'm not very impressed and woudl suggest you seek an alternative.

I personally love to doodle, sketch and jot. Look at my notebooks and you'll find toons mixed with text. I needed a pen like device that worked on my iPad. The hard candy one wasn't my first, but I don't know why I'd be looking for a second. The weight is perfect. The material spot on. The cap's fit tight. It's physical ink as well, if I must use paper. The stylus tip works smooth and comfortable across the iPad. Works great on my favorite iPad apps: smartnote, manage and webpad. I highly recommend this device.

"- There is no latch. Which makes the design really nice. But when this stylus is not in use, it's hard to find a place to put it. When in my front pocket, it falls sideways. On my desk, it rolls away. In my bag, it falls to the bottom. It has nothing to hand it by. "

this is extremely frustrating. i could almost handle the rest but this really sucks.

the other big con,

"- Once the covers are off, they don't go anywhere. They don't stick to the back of each other. So you end up with this extra thing rolling around on the desk that you had better not lose or step on. "

also really frustrating.

i was excited about this but after an hour of use, i think i'm getting rid of it.

This is a pen on one end and a stylus on the other, and no quick way to tell which is which when the caps are on.

I love the silk stylus tip which glides and doesn't skip across your device. I've also purchase the stylus from Pogo which is no where near as durable. But my other beef with this Hard Candy stylus is that there is no clip on it. I can't clip it to my device cover or a pocket in my handbag, so it clanks around in my bag, it also rolls when you set it down on the table.

It's heavy.

I really like the cap that protects the silk tip but when the cap is removed there's no place to put it. It doesn't snap onto the opposite end and the edges left on the stylus are sharp.

I say save your money and wait for an improved version.

PROS:

This is the BEST capacitive screen stylus out there: smooth, balanced stylus pad NOT made of foam, a convenient pen on the opposite end. But if it is the best -- how can there be "cons"?

Sadly, rather easily, because most are DESIGN ISSUES that should have been apparent to Hard Candy engineers right off the bat...

CONS:

1. Because you can't clip it to your phone and in most phone cases, there isn't room for this chubby, significantly sized buddy. There is no loop or other attachment method for it so you can find it easily - especially in a big bag like I carry!
2. It's heavy. Yes, it is. That may bug some folks.
3. Company doesn't tell you it takes standard Parker-type refills for the ballpoint. But that IS what it uses!
4. No clip - can't clip in shirt or jacket pocket -- where is a guy supposed to carry this??

With redesigns, this could be 5-star SO easily!!! Yes, it's pricy. But it really is excellent and not tipped with that nasty foam stuff that others use.

(And what about offering in more colors???)