QOTW: Do you use a digital pen?

[HEXUS]

And if so, do you consider it to be a must-have accessory?

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[Ttaskmaster]

What the actual........???!!!!!

OK, I'm taking bets on how long before Apple tries to copyright the word Pencil™...!!

[Potbellieddwarf]

I tried a few different ones with my tablet, but didn't like them at all.

It was like trying to write with a tree trunk

[Friesiansam]

I did try a graphics tablet and pen some time ago but, I was like a drunk, seven-legged spider. No digital pen for me any time soon...

[EvilCycle]

I did a long time ago, there was a Sony phone I tried that had one before android was around, very odd phone, all the modern features of a smartphone but an old OS, it was neither dumb nor smart, I cant remember the model name sorry. After that I tried one on the original Samsung note.

I can see how they would be useful for drawing and annotating on documents, but for the average pc gamer or mobile facebook browsing user they are "pointless"

[Ttaskmaster]

How does it cope with people resting their writing hand on the screen as well?

[alpha channel]

When to comes to using the likes of Photoshop/Illustrator, Rebelle, Painter, etc... on the PC I can't be without my Cintiq (home) and my Intuos 5 medium at work. The last time I used such software with a mouse I had cramp in my forearm for half an hour after (I also find using such software cumbersome now with a mouse). While I also use the Intuos for navigation/folder creation, etc... that's down to a combination of lack of space (mouse) and frankly anything is better than using a sodding track pad.

If I could acquire a Surface at some point then I'd rather not do without the addition of the Pen as, no doubt, I'd be installing the aforementioned art software.

[ed^chigliak]

Desktop not so much - everything else yes. Fingers are pretty blunt tools especially for drawings and freehand annotation.

Ever since Palm pilot PDAs I've bought devices with pens.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I use a pen full of ink,since trying to use a "digital pen" won't do much on a piece of paper and probably will make you look a bit daft.

[LSG501]

Yeah I do but I'm still 'old school' with the desktop in that I use a wacom intuos but then I do work in design lol.

Would I use one on a tablet, hell yes, I hate using my fingers on the screen, it's bad enough on a mobile... still trying to justify getting myself a Surface pro for my design work but can't see where I'd fit it into my workflow and it's rather expensive for a paperweight lol.

I'd use one on a phone too but I'm not stupid enough to pay for a Samsung Note whatever number it is and the capacitive ones are pretty rubbish. It's surprisingly the one thing I miss most about my first smartphone, a Sony Ericsson P900i.

[Valantar]

I tried a few different ones with my tablet, but didn't like them at all.

It was like trying to write with a tree trunk

You're talking about one of those capacitive touchscreen styluses (styli?). Those are awful useless junk. Like writing with a blunt crayon. Digital pens like the Surface Pen or Apple Pencil (or anything Wacom-powered) are entirely different beasts, with fine points and low lag.

How does it cope with people resting their writing hand on the screen as well?

From what I've heard, most have good palm/hand rejection, mostly by simply ignoring the touchscreen when the pen is sensed to be close enough to the display to be active.

As for me, I don't use one now, but my next laptop will without a doubt have pen input. Considering how much time I spend grading papers, and that they're 99% digital by now (about time, too!), it'll be a godsend. Ideally, I'd want a Ryzen Mobile-powreed ThinkPad Yoga 370-like or X1 Yoga-like. Convertible, high performance, great screen size, and all the ThinkPad goodness.

[Wrinkly]

It has been decades since I used a pen. They were a waste of time then, nothing has changed.

[Saracen]

For graphics and digital retouching, yes. For years.

But for general use? Nope.

Large blocks of text are often via voice dictation systems. Everything else is mouse (PC) or Version 1.0 Finger (Tablet).

[graylok]

Nope, never even considered it.

[Lorcaran]

How does it cope with people resting their writing hand on the screen as well?

It doesn't, I have seen videos where digital artists where a non capacitive glove covering their bottom three fingers to stop the screen from detecting there hand. Seems a bit extreme for casual use but it could be an option.

http://www.smudgeguard.com/

[Brian224]

I like using a graphics tablet with Photoshop, but apart from that stick to my mouse. I can't say I like the stylus with my wife's Surface Pro though, it just doesn't feel as natural as my Wacom, I think it is because the friction against the screen is so much less than against a graphics tablet.