TESTED: The Stylus for Any Device

For many people, using a pen and paper for note taking or drawing is just the norm. It’s been around for decades and the transfer of information to paper is dead simple. The storage of that information is usually a problem though, paper goes missing, gets dirty or damaged or simply fades. Taking notes on an iPad or smartphone is fantastic but the convenience of drawing or scribbling isn’t simple with just your finger. The Samsung Galaxy Note devices have addressed that with the stylus but if you’re an Apple user or other Android device, you were left without an option… until now.

The Wacom Bamboo Tip is the most low tech device we’ve tested in years. It looks like a pen, has the weight of a pen yet is only a “pen” when used on a touchscreen surface. It has a tip that needs to be powered by a small battery in the device to mimic the energy our fingers provide to a touch screen. It can be used to simply swipe, tap and use our tablet or smartphone but when you open a notetaking app it can be used as a pen to draw, scribble etc.

The Wacom Bamboo Tip does need to be charged, it’ll last 15 hours and it does have a button to turn it on. With that said though, you’re ready to use the device. You don’t need to install any apps, there is no bluetooth connections, nothing. It just works. And it works really well, the tip is so fine that it can produce clean and crisp hand writing, it is also consistent as a stylus. drawing a line across the page is faultless and the tablet or smartphone recognise every tap, touch and stroke. The Wacom Bamboo Tip also turns itself off after minutes of non use and turns back on in a second.

For $79 this could be seen as an expensive accessory, however if you find yourself drawing or note taking as part of your job or in school then this might be the biggest blessing. Mapping out a room, making notes for measurements, emailing them, filing them etc, it’s all much more reliable, safer and more detailed when done on a touch screen with a stylus like this one.

The Bamboo Tip is available now via buywacom.com.au and Officeworks.