When was the last time you hand-wrote something? Maybe you don’t remember. Maybe you do, but your hand started to hurt after one paragraph. Maybe you didn’t even recognize your own handwriting.
For some people, handwriting feels like a lost art in the age of touchscreens. Well, fortunately, there are tools that let you jot, write, sketch, paint and even record audio notes on a glass tablet or smartphone. Gone are the dorky utility styluses of the PDA era.
Adonit JOT Script for sale. The first fine point stylus for iPad and iOS with a 1.9mm tip. The Jot Script tip is 70% smaller than the nearest competitor. Pixel point Technology powers the 1.9mm tip and communicates the angle and location of the tip via Bluetooth LE. The Jot Script works conveniently with Penultimate and other popular apps. The Jot Script connects to your device through compatible apps by using Bluetooth 4 LE technology. How do I connect my Jot Script to an app? The Script makes use of our Pixelpoint technology, and some apps will offer Palm Rejection. Quite a few other things have changed between Jot Script and Jot Touch. The new 5.6”-long, 0.45” diameter metal stylus is thicker and shorter, ditching the top rubber grip in favor of machined rib lines, and losing the twin app-customizable buttons in favor of a single and frankly hard to find in-line rectangular power button.
For the past week I’ve been using three new “smart” pens that work in conjunction with mobile devices, so you can jot things down by hand but still view and share your notes in digital format. My favorite of the three is actually not a pen: It’s a $60, Bluetooth-connected pencil, made by a startup company called FiftyThree, that works with an iPad app to turn your amateur sketches into print-worthy works of art.
Jot is a simple shell script that allows you to write, open, and edit markdown files in a specified directory from anywhere in your system. Git Clone this directory to your local machine; Modify the JOTROUTE variable at the top of jot.sh so that it points to where you want your jotted notes to be saved. Your Jot Script will not appear in the My Devices list. Page 3: Bluetooth Connection Then you connect it to the compatible app you want to use. Just follow the Quick Start Guide on the inside of the Jot Script box. Connecting opens up the full features of Jot Script, like exceptional precision, and palm.
I also liked the new Livescribe 3 from Livescribe, mostly because it’s an actual pen — you write on real paper, and your script is almost magically transferred to an app on your smartphone or tablet. But at $150 this pen is pricey.
My last pick would be a $75 stylus made by Adonit called the Jot Script. It works with Evernote’s Penultimate app. It has a super fine point, but writing with this pen didn’t feel natural at times, and my palm sometimes left squiggles despite the promised “palm recognition” technology.
I should note that all three of these are geared toward Apple’s iOS devices. There are smart pens that have Android solutions — like Livescribe’s Sky Wi-Fi pen. Some Android-based smartphones and tablets, such as Samsung’s Note line, come with their own styluses, as do some Windows 8 tablets. But I tested these accessories on an iPhone and iPad.
Here’s a breakdown of these pens (or pencil).
Pencil
Pencil is a just-launched product that works with an iPad app called Paper. If you haven’t used the Paper app before, I recommend it. The free-to-download app offers sketchbooks and an artists’ palette, with different tools available for purchase with the app. Even if you’re not an artist or designer, Paper can help most creative attempts look legit.
The compatible Pencil is a flat, carved walnut pencil inspired by the design of a carpenter’s pencil. On one end, there’s a soft rubber tip that “draws” on the Paper iPad app. On the other end, there’s an eraser that intuitively erases your work from the app. Pencil charges via USB, and the company said it can last up to a couple months on a single charge.
You connect the low-energy Bluetooth Pencil to the app by pressing the pencil tip on a small circle in the artist’s palette. In my experience, this took a few seconds. By using the $59.95 Pencil, you automatically unlock all of the tools in the palette, which normally cost $1.99 apiece. When you toggle among sketch, write or outline in the app (the watercolor paintbrush is my favorite), Pencil will draw accordingly. It’s basically an alternative to using your finger — one with more precision.
Using Pencil, I drew fall trees, cartoonish basketballs and crude sketches of interior design. Pencil offered the most familiar, natural experience of the three “smart pens” I tested.
I will say that Pencil and Paper wouldn’t be my go-to app for taking notes in a meeting, though. It’s really more of a productivity suite for creative types than it is for people looking to write text documents or scribble calculations.
Livescribe 3
The Livescribe 3 is actually the company’s fourth pen. This one is supposed to be more elegant than previous models, like a high-end pen. It works in conjunction with the free Livescribe app, but only on iOS 7 devices.
I liked this pen, mostly because it’s a real pen that writes on real paper (albeit special Livescribe notebooks, which come in a four-pack for $13. There are other products, like sticky notes and leather-bound journals, available as well.) The pen has a tiny infrared camera in its tip, which reads the pattern of dots on the Livescribe notebooks as you’re writing and sends that data, via Bluetooth, to the app.
If you’re out of range of your mobile device, the pen can also store up to 2 gigabytes of notes — about 20,000 pages — and sync it later.
It was kind of cool to watch my handwriting appear in the Livescribe app on my iPhone, right as I was writing it down on a separate piece of paper. Of the three, the Livescribe 3 was the only pen I really wanted to use when I had to take a ton of notes, whether in a grad school class or in a work meeting.
The Livescribe app also records audio notes as you’re writing, and will hyperlink the corresponding text to let you know when you’ve attached an audio note to that part. Lastly, Livescribe converts handwriting to type-text, which I found remarkably accurate despite my sloppy penmanship.
But it’s expensive — $150 for the Livescribe 3 pen and a starter notebook. It’s also bigger and bulkier than a standard pen, feeling more like a wand. Lastly, while most of my notes synced to the iPhone app immediately as I wrote them down in the paper notebook, notes I wrote during a phone call didn’t sync to the app during that call, and they wouldn’t sync after I ended the call, either.
Jot Script
The new Jot Script from Adonit is also a low-energy Bluetooth pen, but it takes a different approach from Livescribe. It doesn’t write on analog paper; instead, it lets you write directly on the tablet glass to jot down notes.
The $75 Jot Script is the fifth in the company’s product line, and is the first iOS stylus with a super-fine-tip point (1.9mm pixelpoint, compared with the 6.0mm point of some other stylus pens). It was also designed to work with Penultimate, a notebook app made by the popular productivity company Evernote.
It takes a single AAA battery, and is activated by pressing a small button on the side of the pen. Unlike the Livescribe pen, the Jot Script is slim and sleek, and is the only one of the three I tested that could be mistaken for a “regular” pen in a drawer full of them.
I took notes in class with this pen, using an iPad, and also tried to jot down key notes during a long interview I had with a source. The experience wasn’t great. Something felt off about the writing function, like there was a very slight latency in communication between the pen and the pad. My handwriting looked messier than usual.
I like Penultimate and happen to be a regular Evernote user. But I didn’t like that I couldn’t select which Penultimate notes I wanted to share with Evernote and which ones I didn’t. Once I opted into sync, all Penultimate notes — like my grocery store list — were sent to my Evernote.
However, handwritten notes in Penultimate become searchable in Evernote by keyword, which is useful and sure beats thumbing through pages and pages of handwritten notes to find that one thing you wrote down two months ago. Which, of course, is supposed to be the beauty of all this digital note-taking — whether with Pencil, smart pens or otherwise.
Which Script do I have?
The new Jot Script 2 - Evernote Edition uses a rechargeable lithium ion battery, a smaller barrel, and improvements to hardware and design. The original Jot Script features a larger barrel and uses a AAA lithium battery.
What’s different with the new Script?
The new Script features a rechargeable lithium ion battery, a smaller diameter, and improved performance and design.
What is the Jot Script?
The Jot Script Evernote Edition is a fine point stylus developed with Evernote featuring the the smallest stylus tip on the market measuring 1.9mm. Powered by Adonit’s Pixelpoint technology.
Who is Evernote?
Evernote builds products to help people be great at modern life. From award-winning apps used to remember everything and functionally-minded goods for smarter living to a robust service that supports working across organizations, Evernote makes the tools for lifelong personal and professional success. For more information please visit Evernote's site.
What is Penultimate?
Penultimate is Evernote’s award-winning handwriting application that will provide a seamless and innovative experience in digital notetaking. For more information please visit the Penultimate website.
What apps can I use my Jot Script with?
For a list of compatible apps, please visit the Jot-Ready Apps page.
Which devices is the Script compatible with?
The Jot Script 2.0 will work just like your finger on any capacitive touchscreen device. However, features like increased precision and palm-rejection require a compatible app and an iOS device with Bluetooth 4 such as iPad 3, 4, Air, Mini.
How does the Jot Script connect to iOS devices?
The Jot Script connects to your device through compatible apps by using Bluetooth 4 LE technology.
Jot Script 2
How do I connect my Jot Script to an app?
The Script makes use of our Pixelpoint technology, and some apps will offer Palm Rejection. To learn more about Pixelpoint technology please visit our PixelPoint Technology Page.
What features does the Script have?
The Jot Script makes use of our Pixelpoint system, a rechargeable battery, and palm rejection when used with a compatible app.
What powers Jot Script?
The Jot Script 2 - Evernote Edition uses a rechargeable lithium ion battery. The original Script uses a AAA lithium battery.
What is the battery life of the Jot Script 2 - Evernote Edition?
The new Jot Script will function for over 20 hours of pen down writing time before a charge is needed. A full charge only takes 45 to 50 minutes.
Can I use the Jot Touch charging base with the Jot Script?
No, the charging bases are slightly different, and mixing them could lead to some problems. Please don’t use Touch charging base with the Jot Script.
How much does the Jot Script cost?
The Jot Script has a price point of $74.99 US dollars before sales tax and shipping costs.
Where can I buy the Jot Script?
You can purchase the Jot Script on our website directly through the Evernote market or on Amazon.
What do the LED lights mean?
Adonit Jot Script Manual
The LED light is an indicator of if the Script is on, off, or broadcasting. You can turn the stylus on and begin having it broadcasting by pressing the button once. You can stop the broadcasting process if you choose by pressing the button again.
- Original Jot Script
- Blinking green light = Stylus is broadcasting for connection
- Single red light = The stylus is off
- Flashing red light = Replace battery
- Jot Script 2
- Blinking blue light = Stylus is broadcasting for connection
- Single red light = The stylus is off
- Flashing red light = Recharge battery
Jot Script doesn’t appear to be functioning at all, why?
Your Jot Script must be turned on to in order to function, even if you have not paired it. To turn the Script on merely hold the button down until you see a green LED light come on.
Will I ever need to replace the tip?
The tip on the Jot Script is very durable and can be used for over 120 kilometers of writing on glass before a replacement is needed. However in the event your tip becomes damaged please contact us at help@adonit.net.
Still have questions?
Jot Script Manual
Email us at help@adonit.net and we'll be glad to lend you a hand.