Here's what I found after trying a multitude of styluses (or is it styli?) after buying an iPad 2. I wanted to use an iPad as a sketch book and the pad like it's name...and go digital rather than filling up notebook after notebook. So the perfect stylus has to feel like a pen and work well enough on the screen to give the tactile feel of drawing or writing on paper.
I learned that styluses tips are of 2 main types - fuzzy fabric and rubber - with some additional quirky ones made of metal (O-Stylus) or even sausage (supposed to work like your finger!).
--Fabric tips:
Pogo stylus- also used by Apple Geniuses - have a fabric tip that's great for typing or selecting or gaming even but not so good for writing or sketching anything more complex than a smiley face.
Sock Stylus - There is a seller on etsy who is selling sock styluses with conductive fabric "sock" stretched over a wooden quill which has been sawed off for the perfect length. I found that stylus a little less sensitive than the Targus and you have to hold it at a certain angle for best results. However, if you're writing pages worth of notes on iPad then it tends to make the hand less tired than the Targus as Targus has a squishy rubber tip that can cause some fatigue.
There are other fuzzy fabric styluses out there sold by small stores - like the ones by the guy who has been advertising on all Mac forums and posting pictures of his store in competitors' item images. They claim that they have the best yet but I haven't tried those yet.
--Rubber tips:
The Targus in question has a rubber tip. Please check my uploaded pic for size comparison against some other styluses.
The rubber tip on this stylus looks pretty thick but is still thinner than our fingers. The problem is that it does block the view when writing or sketching just like our finger. There is also another 2nd gen ACase that has tried to eliminate some of that by creating a longer stylus and a thinner and longer rubber tip but failed to deliver as the thinner tip had to be held at certain angles to write well and became more squishy and less natural.
This Targus has been the best of the 4-5 styluses I tried so far (refer to the pic) overall as it is the most responsive of all and has a matte finish stem rather than ACase's smooth finish which makes it a little less slippery to hold. The iPad 2 is already so slinky, I don't want to worry about dropping the stylus too!! It performed well on Penultimate and UPad writing apps and SketchBook Express the sketching app and captured light strokes as well as the heavier strokes. The performance was a lot better than the
Acase 2nd Generation Apple iPad / iPhone / iPod Capacitive Stylus (Jet Black) Newest Modeland a shade better than the
Acase 2 in 1 Stylus + Pen for Apple iPad 16GB, 32GB, 64GB WiFi + 3G, iPad 2, iPhone, iPod, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy, BlackBerry Playbook (Black). And don't even bother trying the really cheap ones
3 Pack (Red + Black + Silver) of Universal Touch Screen Stylus Pen for Apple iPod Touch 2nd 3rd 4th Gen, iPhone 3G 3GS 4th Gen Generation, they're perhaps ok for tapping a little but not for writing or sketching. Although some people have suggested on forums that roughing up the rubber tip of the cheap styluses with a sandpaper makes them work better.
I've also heard good things about the Boxwave and Alupen but haven't tested them so I can't say if they're better than Targus.
So there you have it, Targus was the winner in writing and sketching on iPad but still not the perfect stylus as it is not as responsive as I would like. I'm still looking for that perfect stylus.