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The Return Of The Stylus

The genesis of this blog post is the debut of the LG Optimus Vu mobile device and its included Rubberdium Pen.

The Vu is not alone either; theres also the Samsung Galaxy Note (which itself blurs the lines between phones and tablets) with its supplied
accessory the S Pen.

Lets not forget that there are aftermarket styli available for tablets, most notably the iPad.

I find that the number of people I know who use a stylus with their iPad is remarkable. Heck, I find the fact that the number is greater than zero to be remarkable.

I won’t lie, I’m a little surprised, okay, a lot surprised that even while touchscreens have completely taken over the stylus has made a comeback.

I certainly have fond memories of touchscreens of the past where styli were necessary because touch screens had not yet become sophisticated enough to handle the touch of a fingertip.

I actually wore out my Sony CLIÉ PDA, with its monochrome screen, which I replaced with a Palm Zire, and then when the belt for my dress pants was starting to look like Batmans utility belt I got that granddaddy of the smartphones: a Palm Treo 700.

So what is the reason for the renewed marriage of touchscreen and stylus? What makes them like peanut butter and jelly? Personally, I prefer to let my fingers do the walking, but the sheer number of people I know who favor a stylus raises that question? Is it the greater precision? Is it simply an
Old School thing?

Let me know in the comments section.

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