Kensington 2nd Generation Apple iPad 1 and 2 / iPhone / iPod / Motorola Xoom Tablet / Galaxy / Blackberry Playbook Virtuoso Touch Screen Stylus and Pen (Black) Newest Model
Review by Ken Randall "Ken" : Great improvement

Version II is better - for all the reasons mentioned by others - this is a great stylus and pen combo. The longer shaft improves the writing / sketching on iPad. Now, can I get a 0.5mm mechanical pencil version with stylus?! Thanks in advance Kensington!

Kensington 2nd Generation Apple iPad 1 and 2 / iPhone / iPod / Motorola Xoom Tablet / Galaxy / Blackberry Playbook Virtuoso Touch Screen Stylus and Pen (Black) Newest Model
Review by Le Denniston : Kensington stylus

An excellent product. This stylus is longer and somewhat heavier than most others, and considerably more pen-like. It fits the hand well and is comfortable to use in a normal writing position. It actually seems to write a finer line than some other styli, and based on limited experience so far appears to stand up well in use. I do not draw on my iPad, but as a general purpose writing, tapping, swiping and moving tool, this stylus is my choice out of several I have used.

Kensington 2nd Generation Apple iPad 1 and 2 / iPhone / iPod / Motorola Xoom Tablet / Galaxy / Blackberry Playbook Virtuoso Touch Screen Stylus and Pen (Black) Newest Model
Review by Jim : Very nice, longer than the BoxWave (the standard, not the Styra)

The Kensington Virtuoso Touch Screen Stylus and Pen (i.e., the Kensington 2nd Generation Stylus and Pen, as Amazon lists it), measures 5 1/8" from the stylus tip to the end (by my own measurements). This makes it nearly an inch longer than my BoxWave Capacitive iPad Stylus, which is 4 1/4" from stylus tip to the end (not including the part protruding from the end that allows the user to attach a short string to the BoxWave at the other end of which is a plug that can be stuck into the iPad audio out port). Please note that BoxWave now has a stylus on the market that is virtually identical in appearance and function to the Kensington Virtuoso, called the BoxWave Styra. I haven't tried one and that is not the BoxWave model I'm comparing the Virtuoso with. I have big hands (x-large size gloves, larger if available), and the extra 7/8" in length really makes a difference in stylus holding comfort. Plus, it enables me to move my fingers back further on the stylus so that my fingers are further from the iPad screen, which is especially useful when I am using the SketchPad Pro app.

This is subjective, but it seems to me that the Kensington tip glides a bit more smoothly on the iPad screen than the BoxWave, but it also seems that I have to tap the screen a bit harder with the Kensington than I do with the BoxWave in order for the screen to respond.

Both styli are equally slim, and while I prefer fat pens (e.g., Dr. Grip) for non-digital use, the slimness of the Kensington and BoxWave styli seem to make them easier to use on the iPad's smallish screen, at least for me. I've tried grips on these styli and while this felt comfortable, I did not like how it affected my visual experience of my hand over the iPad (I'm left-handed and like most lefties I have to hold my hand above whatever I'm writing or drawing on - paper or touch screen, meaning that my hand is already in a position that tends to block what I'm working on, so this is a factor that may not be an issue for right-handers).

If I could only have one stylus, I'd choose the Kensington, because of it's longer length. That it has a built-in ballpoint is nice in that it's convenient, though the cap cannot be placed over the stylus end when the ballpoint is in use.

Another plus to this type of pen (this would apply to the BoxWave Styra, which is also a stylus/ballpoint, but not to the BoxWave listed at Amazon as the "BoxWave Capacitive iPad Stylus"), is that the cap that covers the ballpoint and that has a clip on it rotates, whereas the standard BoxWave clip does not. This matters to me because I find it uncomfortable to use the stylus when the clip is resting against the part of my hand between my thumb and forefinger, and because the clip on the standard BoxWave (and I imagine on other styli that are not stylus/pen combos) does not rotate, this means that the user is always applying the same part of the stylus tip to the iPad screen. It may take a long time for the tip to begin to wear to the point that it interferes with the stylus's functionality, but having to use the tip in only one position is kind of like having to use a pencil eraser on only one edge so that it wears down unevenly. (A user on an iPad app forum reports that he literally wore a hole in the tip of his iPad stylus after heavy use over time.)

Finally, I suggest that anyone considering this stylus check out the video review of it for which you can find a link (to YouTube) Kensington's page for the Virtuoso at their US website (Amazon deleted the link from this review, so you'll have to find it via a search).

I should add that it's a very nice looking pen. I have a pen collection, mostly fountain pens, and for a cheap pen (compared to the kinds of pens collectors tend to collect), this pen is good quality and looks like it's good quality. The no-name brand ballpoint ink cartridge is the fat type, and in the video I mention above the reviewer (Josh Smith from Notebooks dot com) says that the cartridge can be replaced with "a standard Parker refill."