????用這支筆寫字時，我明顯能感到自己是在用一款數(shù)碼工具在寫字。因此我關(guān)注的不是我在寫什么，而是一直把注意力放在我的書寫工具上。我一直在想自己應(yīng)該用什么姿勢使用這支筆，因?yàn)榻佑|點(diǎn)的軟質(zhì)材料容易在書寫時變形。我的字跡會出現(xiàn)不必要的模糊，就像醫(yī)生開處方的草書一樣，有時候很難識別。Pencil筆可能是一支很好的畫畫工具，但是作為書寫工具仍稍嫌不足。

????Studio Neat公司推出的Cosmonaut筆（售價25美元）是一位讀者給我推薦的。這支筆的粗細(xì)跟Pencil差不多，但它是圓柱型的，使用時感覺像是一支白板筆。Cosmonaut要比其它電容筆簡單多了，因?yàn)樗鼪]有復(fù)雜的內(nèi)部結(jié)構(gòu)和專用軟件，而是依靠設(shè)備的電容屏進(jìn)行交互。它的橡膠筆尖較硬，而且與iPad屏幕的接觸點(diǎn)比較一致。盡管這支筆還是比較粗，但我覺得我對字跡的控制要好于Pencil——至少我能看懂自己寫了些什么?？上暮锰幰簿椭褂诖颂帲捎谶@支筆缺乏自有軟件，它既沒有壓力探測功能，也沒有迅速刪除功能。

????對于電容筆來說，是否簡單才是更好的？我在百思買（Best Buy）買了一支Targus公司生產(chǎn)的一支較修長的電容筆（售價9美元）。這支筆有一個較軟的橡膠筆尖，形狀和大小都像傳統(tǒng)鉛筆的筆尖。像Cosmonaut一樣，它也沒有內(nèi)部元件或?qū)Ｓ密浖２煌幵谟冢ㄟ@一點(diǎn)跟Pencil比較像），它在使用的時候非常容易讓人分心。它很快使我意識到，這支筆比較適合應(yīng)急，比如選擇圖標(biāo)或者按鈕什么的，而不是自由書寫。

????再說說高端產(chǎn)品。賣價120美元的Adonit Jot Touch是目前為止我測試過的最貴的一支電容筆。另外和大多數(shù)我測試的其它產(chǎn)品一樣，它的“三圍”也比較豐滿，有點(diǎn)像一支大號的Sharpie牌簽字筆，它有兩個按鈕，你可以把拇指方在上面。像Pencil一樣，這支筆通過軟件來促進(jìn)與iPad的交互。根據(jù)你的偏好，這兩個按鈕可以進(jìn)行指定的操作。在我的評測過程中，我把下面那個按鈕設(shè)置為“撤消”功能，把上面那個按鈕設(shè)置為“恢復(fù)”功能（沒辦法，我寫作時愛猶豫）。雖然這支電容筆比傳統(tǒng)鋼筆要粗上一圈，但它的“像素點(diǎn)”端卻沒那么粗，而且我發(fā)現(xiàn)它很適合長時間寫作。

????電容筆已經(jīng)成了一個大得驚人的產(chǎn)業(yè)，而且我也絕不敢聲稱我把市面上的每一種規(guī)格、型號、外觀的電容筆都測試了。（光是在百思買超市里，就有四英尺長的一排貨架是賣電容筆的。）我根據(jù)讀者的建議和個人的搜索評測了上述幾款產(chǎn)品，搭配的書寫應(yīng)用軟件是Noteshelf。（務(wù)必要指出的是，它對Pencil和Jot Touch支持得特別好。）

????我連續(xù)看了一個星期我那令人尷尬的書法，好幾次苦笑著承認(rèn)一個事實(shí)：在這個以鍵盤為主的世界，我們的字只會寫得越來越難看。在這之后，我得出了一個明顯的結(jié)論：Jot Touch電容筆在NoteShelf軟件的配合下，可以說是在iPad上模擬傳統(tǒng)紙筆體驗(yàn)最出色的電容筆。

????但模擬得再像，畢竟也不是真的。如果你想要一種放松的、創(chuàng)造性的甚至是有格調(diào)的書寫體驗(yàn)——你知道該怎么做。讓思想游蕩，讓筆尖在白紙上涂鴉。有些時候我們必須追求效率，但是寫作不能這樣。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：樸成奎

????Writing with Pencil, it was apparent that I was using a digital tool. Instead of concentrating on what I was writing, I constantly found myself focusing on what I was writing with. How I positioned the tip of the stylus was a persistent thought because its soft material made the contact point change in shape as I wrote with it. My letters would blend together unnecessarily, not unlike the stereotype of a physician’s freehand, leaving me to decipher my own transcribed thoughts. Pencil makes for a superb sketching tool, but as a writing implement it left me wanting.

????The Cosmonaut by Studio Neat ($25) was recommended to me by a reader. This stylus was thick like the Pencil but was cylindrical, designed to replicate the feel of a dry erase marker. The Cosmonaut is far simpler than its peers because it lacks internal electronics and dedicated software, instead relying on a device’s capacitive screen for interaction. The rubber tip of the stylus is firm and made for a consistent contact point on the iPad’s screen. Despite the tool’s girth, I felt like I had more control over my handwriting than the Pencil—I could indeed read my own handwriting. Unfortunately, it stops there: because the stylus lacks its own software, it offers little in the way of pressure detection or quick-erase smarts.

????Is simple better for a stylus? I walked out of a Best Buy with a slim model made by Targus ($9) to find out. The implement has a soft rubber nib on one end and most closely resembles the shape and size of a traditional pen. Like the Cosmonaut, the Targus stylus lacks internal components or accompanying software. Unlike the Cosmonaut (but quite like the Pencil), it was a complete distraction during use. It quickly became clear to me that this stylus was better suited to acute tasks, such as selecting icons or buttons in an interface, rather than free-form writing.

????To the other end of the price spectrum, then. The Adonit Jot Touch ($120) was by far the most expensive stylus I tested, and like most of the models I used, it had a thicker profile, akin to a full-size Sharpie (but with two buttons where your thumb might rest). Like the Pencil, the Jot Touch uses software to facilitate interaction with an iPad. The two buttons can be assigned actions, depending on your composition app of preference; during my testing, I set the bottom one as an “Undo” action and the top one as a “Redo.” (What can I say, I’m an indecisive writer.) Though the Jot Touch’s body is thicker than a traditional pen, its “Pixelpoint” tip isn’t, and I found it suitable for writing at length.

????The world of styluses is surprisingly large, and I in no way claim to have tested every size, shape, or type available on the market. (In Best Buy alone, there was a four-foot section of them.) I evaluated the implements above on the advice of readers and personal research, using the Noteshelf app as my digital paper of choice. (Which, I should note, explicitly supports the Pencil and Jot Touch.)

????After a week of staring at my embarrassing penmanship—at times laughing at the fact that it could actually get worse than what’s already become of it in this keyboard-first world we live in—I came to an obvious conclusion. The Jot Touch, with help from Noteshelf, is the iPad stylus that best replicates the pen and paper experience so many covet.

????But a facsimile is not the real thing. If you’re looking for an intimate, creative, even romantic way to put pen to paper—well, you know what to do. Let the mind wander. Doodle in the margins. There’s a time to be efficient. This isn’t it.