Pogo Connect Stylus Tips Review
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Price: $9.99 to $24.95 for sets of two
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Bottom Line: These new tips for the Ten One Design Pogo Connect stylus are more than just a gimmick. The tips provide new ways to interact with the stylus and the iPad.
Recommended, with reservations.
The Ten One Design Pogo Connect stylus was one of the first pressure sensitive styluses for the iPad available for retail purchase. Connecting to an iPad or iPhone over very low power Bluetooth 4.0, this stylus actively communicates with the application being used to report the pressure on the tip of the stylus. Recently, Ten One Design announced the new tips for the stylus which attach magnetically to the device and replace the standard (R3) tip. The new tips available include a medium point, fine point, and two paintbrush-like tips.
The finer tip points like R1 and R2 allow for better use of the stylus when doing actions like note taking. The usefulness of this is immediately apparent with any note taking app, not just ones that are enabled for Pogo Connect use. The finer tip gives greater control and blocks less of the screen when writing.
The paintbrush tips may only be useful to serious artists as they take some getting used to. The paintbrush tips work to provide different virtual ink flow in the apps that have been updated to support it. This means that ink should actually flow in a more paintbrush like swath instead of a single point. In my tests with the large angled brush (B2), I had some issues getting expected results. The paint flow in app does not directly reflect the contact of the brush on the surface, but there is a distinct difference from a normal tip. There is a wider flow of ink with the greater pressure used but it in no way tracks with the actual position of the bristles.
I had a small QA issue with one of the paint brush tips as it didn't seem to fit in the stylus as snugly as expected. When pushing harder to get a wider flow of ink with the B2, the tip would click and feel loose. Changing direction would have it snap back in place or click in a different way; almost as if the tips were not magnetically attracted to the stylus as strongly as they should be. I was quickly sent a replacement and it works as expected, though still not as tight as a normal tip in the stylus.
It would be great if these additional tips came with some sort of a storage case, even a small envelope would help keep them clean and easier to find when carried in a bag. The small issues aside, I'm really enjoying the finer tipped versions and look forward to using those much more. The paintbrush tips are only recommended for artists who appreciate the feel of a brush stroke.
Recommended, with reservations.