Official Gadgeteer Hands On Review: styluX Stylus
by Julie Strietelmeier
Last date revised: 04/17/2001

Product Requirements:
Device:
Palm V series

The styluX stylus from PDAEX is a Palm V series stylus (Palm III series, Sony Clie, and Handspring Visor versions also available). It's made of all metal (except for the tip of course).

This stylus fits in either silo of a Palm V series device.



The body of the stylus is sparkling light blue with the stylus and company names printed in a darker blue. The styluX is available in 6 different color combinations: all silver(titanium color), gold, sliver body with gold top, gold body with sliver top, blue body with sliver top and blue body with gold top. The all silver version will be released first with the other colors following. Also, the gold colored styluX is pure gold plate.

The top and bottom portions of the stylus can be unscrewed. Although the stylus is light weight, it still feels comfortable to use.

The top part unscrews to reveal a ballpoint pen tip with black as the ink color. There's even an extra pen refill included in the package. A very cool feature of this stylus is that you can take the top cap and screw it on to the stylus end while you're using it as a pen. I've never seen this before in a stylus of this size, and think it's great. Having a way to secure the cap keeps you from losing it.



The other end of the stylus unscrews to reveal a reset pin. The great thing about this pin is that it is metal and not nylon like some styli that I've seen. It is also quite long. 



The stylus tip is an opaque colored thin pointy tip. It is quite a bit pointier than most tips I've used. It's also not soft like PDA Panache tips which I like quite a bit. But that said, this stylus tip writes just fine on my Palm V's screen. And, like the Floating Point stylus, it is a spring loaded tip which keeps you from damaging your screen from pressing on it too hard. The only problem is that the spring behind this tip is quite strong so it takes quite a bit of force to move it. I think PDAEX should look into using a little bit weaker spring...



Another interesting feature of this stylus is the fact that it comes with a little clear rubber game pad. This is actually a small cover for the top/cap end of the stylus. The idea is that you can then use that end to play games by pressing the application buttons. The cover also has a little tab that extends out of it which keeps the stylus from rolling of your desk. The only bad thing about the cover is that it can easily be knocked off when you're removing the stylus from the Palm V silo. I'm pretty sure the cover would be lost very quickly for most people.

I think that the styluX is an interesting stylus for the Palm V. It has enough unique features that make it one to consider when looking for a replacement for your stock Palm V stylus.

Price: $21.00

Pros:
Spring loaded stylus tip
Built in ballpoint pen
Top cap can be screwed to stylus end when using ballpoint pen

Cons:
Easy to lose game pad cover

Let me know your comments on the styluX Stylus and read what others have to say.