Brand | FiftyThree |
---|---|
Item model number | 53PA03 |
Item Weight | 1.2 ounces |
Product Dimensions | 5.4 x 0.6 x 0.3 inches |
Item Dimensions LxWxH | 5.4 x 0.6 x 0.3 inches |
Color | Black |
Batteries | 1 Lithium Ion batteries required. (included) |
Manufacturer | FiftyThree |
ASIN | B00JP12170 |
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
Date First Available | January 5, 2014 |
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Digital Stylus Pencil for iPad, iPad Pro, and iPhone - Graphite
Color | Black |
Brand | FiftyThree |
Material | Paper |
Number of Batteries | 1 Lithium Ion batteries required. (included) |
Item Weight | 1.2 Ounces |
Compatible Devices | apple-ipad |
Item Dimensions LxWxH | 5.4 x 0.6 x 0.3 inches |
Are Batteries Included | Yes |
Batteries Required? | Yes |
About this item
- Connects to iPads 3+, iPad mini, iPad Pro, iPhone 4s and above.
- Connects to Paper by FiftyThree, Microsoft OneNote, Procreate, Sketchbook Mobile, Note shelf, and others.
- Surface Pressure: Pencil's unique tip is shaped to create lines of all sizes without any settings.
- Erase: Pencil's builtin eraser lets you try anything knowing an eraser is only a flip away.
- Blend: Use your finger to smooth rough edges and blend colors directly on the page.
- Palm Rejection: Rest your hand on the screen and write from any angle. No calibration or setup.
- What's included: Pencil, USB rechargeable battery, Extra Tip, Extra Eraser
- Graphite model
- Compatible Devices: iPads 3+, iPad mini, iPad Pro, iPhone 4s and above
- Expressive from every angle, Pencil's unique tip is shaped to create lines of all sizes without any settings The point can be used for fine details, while the angled edge is great for broad strokes
- Pencil takes care of the lines so you can use your finger to smooth rough edges and blend colours directly on the page
- Built-in eraser lets you precisely carve away to get at what’s essential; no need to switch tools, just flip Pencil to erase
- Battery charges via any USB port in less than 90 minutes and lasts about a month under normal use
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This Item FiftyThree Digital Stylus Pencil for iPad, iPad Pro, and iPhone - Graphite | Recommendations | dummy | dummy | dummy | dummy | |
Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | |
Price | $22.50$22.50 | $9.99$9.99 | $9.99$9.99 | -15% $16.14$16.14 Typical: $18.99 | $54.99$54.99 | -11% $7.99$7.99 List: $8.99 |
Delivery | Get it Mar 29 - Apr 5 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, Mar 27 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, Mar 27 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, Mar 27 | — | Get it as soon as Wednesday, Mar 27 |
Customer Ratings | ||||||
Easy to hold | 3.2 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.6 |
Touch Screen | 2.7 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4.5 |
Accuracy | 2.8 | — | 4.5 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 4.4 |
Value for money | — | 4.4 | 4.8 | 3.9 | — | — |
Sold By | Matthew Wilson | StylusLink | StylusHome | BSCstore | Adonit USA | Redvolts |
compatible devices | apple-ipad | All touchscreen devices (cellphones,tablets, laptop,e-readers ects) | Tablet | Tablet | Green Light Mode: iPhone screen and 2017 iPad and/or earlier models, Blue Light Mode: iPad Air (3rd/4th Gen), iPad mini (5th/6th Gen), iPad (6th/7th/8th/9th Gen), iPad Pro 11" (1st/2nd/3rd Gen), iPad Pro 12.9" (3rd/4th/5th Gen), and newer | Tablet |
model number | 53PA03 | — | — | P840034657043 | 847663005696 | Redvoltsinc01 |
material | Paper | Stainless Steel, Aluminum | Rubber | Aluminum | Paper | Aluminum,Stainless Steel,Aluminium,Silicon,Plastic |
battery quantity | 1 lithium ion, 1 product specific | — | — | 1 lithium metal, 1 lithium ion | 1 lithium ion, 1 unknown, 1 unknown, 1 unknown | — |
batteries included | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
batteries required | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
weight | 1.2 ounces | 16 grams | 19 grams | 0.42 ounces | 0.06 kilograms | 60 grams |
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Customer Review: What I got was flaky at best
Rez L.
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Customer Reviews |
3.8 out of 5 stars |
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Best Sellers Rank | #140,779 in Cell Phones & Accessories (See Top 100 in Cell Phones & Accessories) #2,673 in Styluses |
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Product Description
Pencil is the most natural and expressive tool for getting ideas on Paper. Rest your hand on the screen and draw freely with best-in-class adaptive palm rejection. Blend with your fingers. Flip Pencil over to erase. Thin as a real pencil, with internally balanced components that feel right in your hand.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers like the quality, comfort, and appearance of the stylus. For example, they mention it's an exceptional product, good for drawing, and feels great in the hand. Some appreciate the sleek design and the carpenter pencil look and feel. That said, opinions are mixed on performance, durability, and value.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers like the quality of the pen. They say it's an exceptional stylus, good for drawing, and a great concept. Some say that it'll be brilliant when paired with a pencil. That said, most are happy with their purchase and recommend it to others.
"...So all in all, it is a great Stylus, functional, durable, comfortable, I would buy it again. ." Read more
"...a screen protector on my iPad and when the stylus was new the rubber tip was great but then after just two weeks it started sagging and jumping lines..." Read more
"...The pen seems to be a great concept. After a few days of light use, the eraser side stopped being recognized as the eraser...." Read more
"...Hardware:It's big. Not uncomfortably big, but it is a blunt instrument rather than a fine tool. 'Surface Pressure' is a load of baloney...." Read more
Customers like the comfort of the pen. For example, they mention it looks gorgeous, feels great in the hand, and has great design. Some appreciate the ergonomics and weight of the product. That said, most are happy with the flat shape and the smooth feel of the tip.
"...It's flat shape is comfortable in your fingers and the simplistic design is attractive.The Bluetooth feature works 95% seamlessly...." Read more
"ProsThe weight is nice.The aluminum feels great in the hand...." Read more
"...it's made of metal so it's a little bit heavy, but still it feels natural in my hand. It also comes with an eraser in the other end...." Read more
"...Squishy tip makes it incredibly imprecise- leaves weird smudges everywhere- eraser doesn't actually workPROS:-..." Read more
Customers like the appearance of the pen. They mention it's sleek, has a decent design, and has 'a carpenter pencil look and feel'. Some appreciate the grip, which looks like a real pencil.
"...It's flat shape is comfortable in your fingers and the simplistic design is attractive.The Bluetooth feature works 95% seamlessly...." Read more
"...Paper is a very nice looking app. You'll probably pick Paper to use unless you own one of the other two apps that integrate Pencil...." Read more
"...eraser doesn't actually workPROS:- It looks really nice." Read more
"...Drafting pencil design looks cute but not nearly as functional as a regular shaped pencil.4) Does not come with a protect case...." Read more
Customers like the ease of use of the pen. They say it's a fun, easy to use solution for standard iPads, and it connects to the app and iPad Air 2 with no hassle. The setup is seamless, and the pen is simple to pair and setup. Customers also say it is great for sketching and taking quick notes.
"...yet has enough weight to it to feel it's movements and have a good sense of control to it...." Read more
"...They advertise it as being simple to pair as you press the nib down in a circle in the app you want it to connect to...." Read more
"...Updating was relatively painless, but took a whopping 8 minutes. I was frustrated, to say the least, as you can't do ANYTHING else while updating...." Read more
"...As a testament to how intuitive and unobtrusive the combination is, I find that I completely lose sight of the fact that I'm working digitally, and..." Read more
Customers are mixed about the performance of the pen. Some mention that it works well with Onenote on their pad, while others say that it's not nearly as functional as a regular shaped pencil. Some say that the pencil design looks cute but isn't nearly as practical as compared to a normal shaped pen. That said, opinions are mixed and the pen has mixed reviews.
"...So all in all, it is a great Stylus, functional, durable, comfortable, I would buy it again. ." Read more
"...Again, though, it has massive failings. There was no visible export, share or save function, short of iOS's built in screenshot function...." Read more
"...of this stylus and the ergonomics, it has weight and works fantastic with Autodesk Sketchbook, the Paper app, and though Adobe products don't..." Read more
"...later, the pressure sensitivity on the pen/pencil side started working intermittantly...." Read more
Customers are mixed about the durability of the pen. Some mention that the construction is really sturdy, the app and pen are solid, and a substantial piece of hardware. However, others say that it seems quite fragile, with very fragile tips that bend a lot when they're using them. The tip tore the first time they used it, and the item is flaky at best.
"...don't get me wrong: "The Tips", oh man, they should be more wear resistant (any improvement here would be very welcome), - this is why I'm..." Read more
"...So all in all, it is a great Stylus, functional, durable, comfortable, I would buy it again. ." Read more
"...Secondly, it seems quite fragile as some others have pointed out in their reviews. Not the pen shaft itself, but the nib...." Read more
"...Bluetooth worked fine and was reliable. My Pencil shipped with firmware 55 and needed to update to 74 when I first connected...." Read more
Customers are mixed about the value of the pen. Some mention it's worth the price tag, while others say it'll be a frustrating use of money. They also say the pen is overpriced and the cost to replace it is ridiculous.
"...In short, the tools are poor, will make you poor and don't even allow you to test them out before you drop another $50 on a tool...." Read more
"...Not very confidence inspiring...." Read more
"...I'm also overall very pleased with the stylus. The price is great and I love using it with the Paper app from Fiftythree." Read more
"...With Con #2, means tips are torn up quickly. * Replacement tips are very pricey compared to my other styli. * Mostly only works in..." Read more
Customers are dissatisfied with the bluetooth connectivity of the pen. They mention that it does not reliably connect with their iPad, and loses connectivity frequently. They also say that it is difficult to pair with their device and that it can no longer connect to the 53 app.
"...Noteshelf open and I'm jumping back and forth, Noteshelf seems to glitch out with connectivity and I have to "touch to kiss" again, which..." Read more
"...First of all, even getting it to work at all is a challenge. The connection is buggy and when it cuts out, the palm rejection is lost and so you..." Read more
"...The stylus gets disconnected easily, and does not reconnect back to the app/iPad after the iPad is turned off or I exit out the app...." Read more
"...The Bluetooth feature works 95% seamlessly. There are times it will draw a line instead of erase, but they are not common enough to be annoying...." Read more
Reviews with images
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Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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First off, without the bluetooth and app support features, the Pencil itself just feels right in your hand. The weight is light enough to move easily, yet has enough weight to it to feel it's movements and have a good sense of control to it. It's flat shape is comfortable in your fingers and the simplistic design is attractive.
The Bluetooth feature works 95% seamlessly. There are times it will draw a line instead of erase, but they are not common enough to be annoying. I don't use the Bluetooth functions that often to really give a in dept look at them, but on the surface they seem to look find and charging it was simple enough.
So all in all, it is a great Stylus, functional, durable, comfortable, I would buy it again. .
I have a screen protector on my iPad and when the stylus was new the rubber tip was great but then after just two weeks it started sagging and jumping lines, I ordered replacement tips because I figured they would come in handy and boy o boy, they not only are handy but since I am a heavy user it turns out the first replacement lasted only about 9 days before it started sagging like the one the stylus came with, which if you can manage it's not a deal breaker but I would love it if they lasted longer. I know that in a consumer economy buying replacement parts are necessary (like ink and batteries, etc,) but again, I would love some heavy duty tips, I would buy those even if they were more expensive than the 8 bucks you pay for the replacement pair of tips Paper sells for this stylus that it indeed magical, exciting to use and awesome but it would be "super awesome" if the tips withstood my style of sketching.
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2015
I have a screen protector on my iPad and when the stylus was new the rubber tip was great but then after just two weeks it started sagging and jumping lines, I ordered replacement tips because I figured they would come in handy and boy o boy, they not only are handy but since I am a heavy user it turns out the first replacement lasted only about 9 days before it started sagging like the one the stylus came with, which if you can manage it's not a deal breaker but I would love it if they lasted longer. I know that in a consumer economy buying replacement parts are necessary (like ink and batteries, etc,) but again, I would love some heavy duty tips, I would buy those even if they were more expensive than the 8 bucks you pay for the replacement pair of tips Paper sells for this stylus that it indeed magical, exciting to use and awesome but it would be "super awesome" if the tips withstood my style of sketching.
Hardware:
It's big. Not uncomfortably big, but it is a blunt instrument rather than a fine tool. 'Surface Pressure' is a load of baloney. It's iOS 8's (not Paper's) way of seeing how much of a finger is on the screen during a press. It may work well with a finger (I don't know any apps that are using it) but it doesn't work in the Paper App or with Pencil in my testing. It isn't detecting the amount of stylus or finger in realtime, so you don't get a sense of how much pressure you are applying or how big the resulting dot will be. I never got it working in Paper with lines, but I can only imagine that it's just as bad. 'Surface Pressure' is misleading because, without significant research into the marketing buzzwords, it seems as though it refers to pressure sensitivity. Despite the advertising and images and videos showing tips with coils in them, PENCIL IS NOT PRESSURE SENSITIVE. Shame on them for using the deceptive marketing to make it appear as though Pencil is worth $50 and shame on me for spending it.
Delving deeper, and forgetting pressure response, the large nib on Pencil is... blunt. The amount of give there is in the rubber itself lends to significant marking of the iPad's screen as the rubber wears onto the screen (hence, replaceable tips). The give in the rubber makes it very difficult to identify where Pencil is connecting with the screen. You never truly know where a line is coming from. Worse, though, is that the size of the nib obscures the view of the display, so connecting lines seamlessly was nearly impossible. The eraser function is interesting but, again, blunt. It responds by a toggle in the eraser, not by gyroscope, meaning the function must be used with quite a lot of the eraser on the screen. This turns a fine correction into a swath of destruction.
Bluetooth worked fine and was reliable. My Pencil shipped with firmware 55 and needed to update to 74 when I first connected. Updating was relatively painless, but took a whopping 8 minutes. I was frustrated, to say the least, as you can't do ANYTHING else while updating. No switching apps, no turning the screen off, no home button presses... Nothing. I was disappointed. My Pebble runs an OS, apps, display, etc. (in other words, a much larger and more complex update) and can handle a new firmware update in just under 2 minutes. Pencil could easily improve this, but 8 minutes is insane for such simple functionality. Then again, you probably won't see too many firmware updates, so it's not a frequent occurrence.
The design is gorgeous, even if it doesn't lend itself to function. It looks like a carpenter's pencil. Very nice.
To be clear, hardware-wise, you're best off avoiding this for an Adonit Jot Touch or even a cheap stylus from Walgreens/CVS. Pencil offers no features that command a 10x price increase over the basic capacitive stylus, and weak-to-unusable copies of features that come in other units that are just $25 more. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, and I'm returning mine.
Software
Paper is a very nice looking app. You'll probably pick Paper to use unless you own one of the other two apps that integrate Pencil. Opening the app, there is a carousel of notebooks and pinching brings you to a page flipping view, and all the way to the content page itself. Then, you tap the tip of Pencil to the pencil icon, wait for the spinning to finish and you're good to go. Easy.
Unfortunately, you're only good to go in Landscape. There is no portrait orientation for this app. Huge oversight. Then, if you want to see your Pencil settings (like control what a finger does, toggle palm rejection, update firmware...) you have to go to the beginning of the app and press the '53' icon. I had to Google this. Developers have been using the cog for years now to indicate settings. Further, it's incredibly unintuitive to move out of the content view. Swiping from the left and right to move pages was hit and miss, sometimes blurring everything under my finger. Finding the undo function was equally baffling, and I've found that it is some combination of two fingers moving up and down. I am still lost, and with the amount of mistakes the software and hardware designs are going to make you make, it's quite an important function. There are no buttons at all in the page-content view. There's a tray for brushes and colours on the bottom page that you can hide, but that's it. To leave a notebook you pinch. Why there are no buttons alongside the sliding tray, I don't know.
Functionally, it's not bad. It puts lines down on the screen and saves them between sessions. Again, though, it has massive failings. There was no visible export, share or save function, short of iOS's built in screenshot function. Palm rejection worked, for the most part, but I don't think it's intelligent. It just picks if Pencil is touching, a finger-size non-Pencil is touching or anything else is touching. It's blunt, much like the hardware, leading to a lot of miscategorized touches and errors. You also need to disable multitasking gestures, as Pencil and Paper can't override those system-level detections. Again, very blunt.
Paper is also an in-app purchasing nightmare. With Pencil, you can use every tool. Without Pencil? It's anywhere from $0.99 to $6.99 for each tool, and it's divided by Pencil, Marker, Brush... Even the colour selector is a purchase. Tools have no options, brushes have no patterns, there's no RGB, hex, CYMK, etc. selection in the (paid) colour chooser. In short, the tools are poor, will make you poor and don't even allow you to test them out before you drop another $50 on a tool.
On the flipside, Pencil works with two other apps. I'm not sure more are coming. I didn't buy those other two apps, though reviews suggest they are better than Paper. I couldn't find much on the Pencil integration, though.
In short, don't bother with this product. It is a blunt instrument that isn't capable of much beyond your finger or a $5 stylus. 53 has really botched this for the sake of cost, while charging way too much for it. It is NOT pressure sensitive, NOR does their implementation of surface pressure work well. The accompanying app is equally poor, implementing features in a haphazard and nonsensical way. Detection of the Pencil, finger and palm are inaccurate, causing more frustration than productivity. AVOID! Save your $50.
Top reviews from other countries
I have been working as a professional cartoonist and illustrator for over 40 years now, and in that time I have seen an amazing number of changes to the typical work flow. From pen and paper to paper and scanner, through photoshop and illustrator, and now totally digital - astonishing rate of change.
Using an iPad Air and this stylus I have been able to replicate almost everything I want to do, which is a really good place to be.
It does make some squeaky noises when you work - which my cats find great fun!
Having the ability to pinch to zoom in and out is also a terrific bonus, especially as my eyes are not quite what they used to be. It enables you to add great details without the strain - and also reduces the amount of clean up time in software.
The free 53 paper app is OK, but it would really need to have access to layers to make it something I would use. If you just want to have fun it is fine.
I have some concerns about the rubber top wearing out, as this has been raised by other reviewers - but I haven't had any problems so far. If it does become an issue I will alter my review to reflect that, but at the moment it is a definite 5 stars from me.
I have attached an example of my work so you can judge for yourself whether the stylus might work for you.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 28, 2016
I have been working as a professional cartoonist and illustrator for over 40 years now, and in that time I have seen an amazing number of changes to the typical work flow. From pen and paper to paper and scanner, through photoshop and illustrator, and now totally digital - astonishing rate of change.
Using an iPad Air and this stylus I have been able to replicate almost everything I want to do, which is a really good place to be.
It does make some squeaky noises when you work - which my cats find great fun!
Having the ability to pinch to zoom in and out is also a terrific bonus, especially as my eyes are not quite what they used to be. It enables you to add great details without the strain - and also reduces the amount of clean up time in software.
The free 53 paper app is OK, but it would really need to have access to layers to make it something I would use. If you just want to have fun it is fine.
I have some concerns about the rubber top wearing out, as this has been raised by other reviewers - but I haven't had any problems so far. If it does become an issue I will alter my review to reflect that, but at the moment it is a definite 5 stars from me.
I have attached an example of my work so you can judge for yourself whether the stylus might work for you.