There’s a lot of things in this world that I don’t fully understand, and one of them is the Pogo Stylus. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the concept of a stylus and the use of a stylus (I was a WinMo user for a long time after all) however with the Pogo Stylus I just don’t fully understand HOW it works. I can tell you this though – it works and works pretty darned well – with a couple caveats.
Before we get to the caveats, lets take a look at the Pogo Stylus in design. First the Pogo Stylus is defined on the Pogo Website as having an ultra-light aluminum body with an anodized finish and laser graphics. Fancy! Real world explanation is the stylus is super light (makes a pencil feel ridiculously heavy), doesn’t scratch easy and has a nice graphic on it to let you know its the real deal.
The Pogo Stylus attached to my iPhone 3G.
The unit I received was black – there’s also options for Gunmetal, Silver and Cranberry. Along with the stylus you’ll notice it comes with two "travel clips" one designed for the iPhone 3G and one which fits the original iPhone and Touch v1. In function the clips are identical and attach to the sides of the device. It’s also reversible so the Pogo can be on the left or the right side depending on your preference. There’s an obvious downfall to this configuration – forget using a case. The upside is that the clip without the Pogo in it actually made for a nice little finger rest while talking on the phone and helped my grip.
Using the Pogo is both a pleasure and a pain. Unfortunately I don’t have a video to show you what I mean so I’ll have to spell it out for you… maybe I’ll have some time to throw a video together at one point because to really do the Pogo justice you need to be able to see it in action.
So, by pleasure I mean its excellent for using the device without getting smudges on your screen. Perfect if you’re picky about that like I am, but more importantly its excellent for tapping things like an email out quickly if you’re like me with big fingertips. Its also excellent for selecting small items in games and things of that nature. For example, there’s a game in the App Store called Lux Touch (which I’ll admit addiction to)….
So, for a game like Lux Touch as you can tell, there’s a lot of little countries that you need to be able to select and connecting big ‘ol finger with little ‘ol country can be a pain in the … . The Pogo stylus really shines for things like this. The instructions for Lux Touch recommend using you pinky finger to select things because it has the smallest surface are. I recommend using the Pogo because it’s got a contact surface about 1/3rd that of my pinky.
The stylus is also excellent for those with disabilities. I can’t state specifically that I tested it for this, but I know a few websites that focus on helping those with disabilities and so far the Pogo has been a winner with them.
Alright, so there’s the biggest reasons for using the Pogo – accuracy being number one. From games to drawing to typing it is worlds better than using a fingertip. Now, the painful part – accuracy. Yes, I know I said that was the number one reason for using the Pogo, but I’ve also found its the number one downfall in a lot of my uses. Take a look at this:
That’s the tip of the Pogo Stylus. Now, what’s the difference between that and your Windows Mobile Stylus? I’ll tell you – about 10 times more surface area! Now, I’m not privy to what technology is being used in the Pogo so I can’t say 100% that the design of the tip is a requirement of the technology or not, but I can say that for things like drawing or using a handwriting application I would love that tip to be a whole lot smaller. That’s not to say the Pogo isn’t useful in those applications, because it definitely rocks compared to my less than accurate fingertip, I’m just saying I wish it was smaller and thereby more accurate.
Now, when I first got the Pogo Stylus one of my friends (Brandon Miniman) at PocketNow.com asked an all important question. "How do you carry it around with you?" Well Brandon, after a few weeks of daily usage of the Pogo (yes, I do use it that much) I’ve found that the travel clip is not the best way for me to carry the Pogo. Many times it will end up over my ear like a pencil between uses, in my back pocket for short travels or in the side pocket of my bag when I’m going back and forth between home and work. The travel clip just isn’t practical for me because I’m usually testing cases – and when I’m not I’m more of a "caseless" person.
Alright, lets wrap this up. Remember back at the beginning I mentioned a couple caveats. Well here they are:
1. The clip doesn’t work with cases. We discussed this one, but it’s important to be aware that unless you’re using something like a BodyGaurdz skin, the clip just isn’t going to be compatible so you’re going to have find a way to transport it. If you use a holster style case it will fit in there with the phone since the Pogo is quite small.
2. To a certain extent the Pogo Stylus doesn’t work without skin contact. Notice the to a certain extent. The stylus does work when wearing gloves for the most part. I tested it with a pair of leather gloves and a pair of fleece gloves. However, if you have something like a headstick the Pogo is a no go. I was able to prove this was accurate by putting the Pogo in between the flaps in a holster case and trying to operate the stylus. The screen would not react.
Overall – The Pogo is a great accessory for the iPhone especially with the new 3rd party applications. Apple did an excellent job on finger interaction with the built in applications, but as more games and third party utilities come to market making full use of the iPhone with small points of interaction or drawing style interfaces, the Pogo Stylus is coming into its own.
Where to buy: Pogo Stylus Website
Price: $19.95
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