Cool Designer Tool: The Cosmonaut Stylus from Studio Neat

I'm an iPad junkie (I know, it's a huge shock to you all). Moreover, I often use it to take notes, access my calendar, sketch out ideas, and generally hash out ideas while I'm at work. It's become my digital sketchbook, a device with unlimited potential for assisting me in fleshing out ideas.

For the past few weeks, I've been using Studio Neat's Cosmonaut stylus instead of my old Wal-Mart brand capacitive stylus. It's been a great experience, though not without quirks.

Firstly, the Cosmonaut stylus has been carefully designed to mimic the feel of using a dry-erase marker (or a very large crayon). This is a net positive for day-to-day use, as the iPad's hardware and software touch recognition has been optimized for fingertip-size inputs. I find myself trying to be too precise with smaller styluses - my hand thinks it's a pen or pencil, when the just doesn't have that kind of input fidelity.

The Cosmonaut has an aluminum core, a grippy rubber exterior, and a frictionless capacitive tip. It comes with either an aluminum or wood endcap, and ships in a wonderfully minimal cardboard package. The final product is just a hair taller than an iPhone 4, and has the heft of a premium product without being too heavy for extended use.

My only complaint is so minor I hesitate to mention it. It centers around my instinctual desire to place writing devices behind my ear, and frankly, the Cosmonaut is both too heavy and too thick to fit comfortably.

So, to summarize - it's a great stylus for sketching quick thoughts and taking loose notes, especially when paired with apps like Penultimate, Mixel, or Bamboo Paper.

But is it a one-size fits all solution? I don't think so.

I've got two other stylus-like gadgets on my radar - the Sensu Artist Brush and the Pogo Sketch Pro both look like unique, interesting ideas in the space, and I look forward to using each.

Do any of you fine folks use a stylus with your tablet, and if so, which one? Also, which apps do you find more useful with a stylus? Let us know in the comments!

Jason Stoff is a fancy-pants designer, photographer, and handsome rogue in St. Louis, MO. And also holds the title 'Senior Designer' at Atomicdust.