Exclamation Stylus

Gadgeteer Hands On Review by Judie Hughes

March 07, 2001

Product Requirements:
Device:
Any touch screen device

Well, it's not often that I get review something as playful as the Exclamation Stylus, available from Stylus Central.

In my opinion, this is a stylus for someone that doesn't take themselves too seriously, and that wants a desk-object that can double as a toy when they are bored. 

The stylus is based on the Exclamation pen. Except in this instance a replaceable gray stylus tip has been inserted on the stick part of the exclamation; while the dot of the exclamation is a weighted base that rocks back and forth all over - reminding me of the Weebles™ that I owned when I was a toddler.

The top end of the stylus is removable, which caused jokes in my household about secret hiding places for cigarettes. My husband is a closet smoker - and I was teasing him that this was a great hidey-hole for his contraband. We checked, and you can fit one regular sized cigarette in there - with not much room to spare - down at the bottom. There is also enough room for a couple of "strike-anywhere" matches to fit in along-side the cigarette. Think of it as a "closet smoker stress-survival kit". This might be an attractive feature for those of you that need it. :0)

The Exclamation stylus itself is very light-weight, a bit too light-weight for my taste. I tried adding sand to it to increase the weight, and found that while it did improve it's heaviness in my hand, the pen no longer retained it's ability to "wobble without falling down". 

The shaft of the Exclamation is quite fat, and I didn't like the way it felt in my hand. There are ridges near the bottom end  - I presume both to lock it into the base, and to act as a gripper when you are writing. In my opinion, they are too near the bottom for a comfortable grip - and when the stylus is held that way, you can't see the tip of the stylus very well when writing.

The stylus tip on the Exclamation is cone-shaped, being just slightly rounded on it's pointy tip. I found that it wrote smoothly on screens with or without protection, but I did notice that I seemed to be pushing the stylus into my PDAs screen with more pressure than usual - most likely because of the Exclamation's light weight.

Personally, I really wasn't impressed with the Exclamation. I am not someone with a lot of office toys, or other boredom relievers on my desk - but if you are that type, you may like it more than I did.

Price: $19.99 MSRP

Available in Black, white, red, yellow, blue & black
Stylus refills are available from the manufacturer, at $1.50 a point

Pros:
Base sits on desk - and won't tip over
Can hide things in the top of the stylus

Cons:
Expensive for what is offered
Stylus is uncomfortably fat
Stylus feels too light in hand