Minor upgrade makes Bamboo more practical

Recently MacNN had a chance to test out the Bamboo Stylus duo, a newer version of Wacom's popular stylus for the iPad -- and by extension, other capacitive touchscreen devices. The duo adds an ink pen into the mix, occupying the tip opposite a rubber one meant for touchscreens. This may make the stylus more practical for some people, since it means always having a pen handy for writing checks or quick notes, or at least one less pen sitting in your bag.

The quality of the pen is surprisingly high -- it writes thin, smooth lines, much like the absurdly expensive pens you might find on an executive's desk. As needed you can unscrew the stylus to replace the tip, although since Wacom itself doesn't sell any replacements, it's up to you to hunt them down. The addition of a pen doesn't appear to have affected the stylus' weight balance, which feels extremely comfortable.

The rest of the Bamboo is essentially unchanged. The rubber tip is smaller than other similar styluses, making it a little more precise in apps like Paper by FiftyThree, although users may still sometimes have to push down to get input to register. The only other possible complaints involve the price -- $40, versus the regular Bamboo's already high $30 -- and the fact that there is only one cap between both tips, meaning that either the rubber or the pen is exposed at any given time.

by MacNN Staff