A true visionary in many ways, Steve Jobs did not want his tablet computers, or iPads, to require styluses. He was right. Styluses can get lost, and most people have a fingers with them at all times that allow them to use the iPad quite adequately. 

Yet, just a week ago, I bought two styluses, a pen style and a brush style, and I’m now using my iPad in ways I’d only dreamed about. I’m a student right now, listening to lectures that are often boring. I do like to take notes because it helps me pay attention. Scribbling notes that I’ll never look at again is a waste of paper. I could type on the iPad, but I’m not fast enough to keep up. Now I can quickly scribble notes with the iPad and stylus, while saving trees. I’ve also found a note-taking app that records, so I can record the lectures if I’d like to play them back later. That’s ideal for clearing up questions on just what the instructor said. 

Artists will appreciate styluses too. Whether your iPad art apps run to drawing or painting, a stylus can provide better control and a feeling that is closer to creating art using traditional paper, pen and paint. I’d been frustrated with finger-painting, and though I won’t claim to have completely mastered iPad art techniques using stylus, I’ve been able to improve greatly. 

So, if you were thinking of a stylus, you may want to try one out. Find some good apps that take advantage of your stylus, and you may find that you use your iPad even more than you had imagined you ever would.