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Accessories Problem with the S-pen

rlx

Lurker
Hi everyone,

A couple of months after I got the Note4, the tip of the S-pen developed a problem. The pen is flat and and I could not write when holding the pen with the button facing the thumb but I could write when holding the pen the other way around. That problem got worse and I ordered a new pen with five tips from HongKong. When I received the new pen, the original pen was almost dead. I changed the tip but that didn't help. So the problem is with the micro-switch in the pen. This is my only Wacom pen with a micro-switch at the pen tip.

I have three other devices working with Wacom pens, the oldest one dating from 2011 and all those pen work reliably and I can interchange the pen on those three devices. However, the new pen on the Note4 does not look to me as a major step forward. The inking is not better, it does not work well with my other devices and vice-versa, and the microswitch in the tip can fail as I experienced. The only positive point I see with the new pen is that being flat there is less chance to press the pen button by accident.

Obviously Samsung wants to give us the best inking experience, but its suppliers are trailing a bit behind.

Samsung has improved handwriting recognition on the Note4 compared to the Note1. From my experience I believe the newer Samsung keyboard uses the same recognition engine as StylusBeta (they make the same recognition mistakes). However, as it is the case with the choice of the S-pen itself, the end result is still below the level that can be achieved for instance with Microsoft inking. The net result is that I find almost not advantage to using the Note4 with the new pen compared to using the Note1 with the older pen and StylusBeta as far as handwriting recognition is concerned.

For me the upgrade of the S-pen is mostly a marketing trick.

I am a heavy pen user on a Window7 based tabletPC where inking works fine, and I would be a heavy pen user on the Note4 if it worked better. On a related topic I was delighted to learn that Microsoft removed the touch sensitive buttons on the new SurfacePro4 and many pen users are happy those buttons are gone. The Note4 is much better than the Note1 at rejecting input from those buttons when inking but I feel the buttons should be removed anyway.
 
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The Note 4 is my first stylus-equipped phone and I love it. Haven't seen the problems you describe with the stylus, although it seems you are a much heavier user than I.

I use it to jot quick notes, especially if I'm working on a home improvement project (dimensions, measurements, sketches). Also love the ability to sign PDF forms. Have played around a little with annotating photos to send to friends and family. I'm always looking for new ways to use this excellent tool.

What types of things do you do with the stylus?
 
I put down my ideas as sketches, I handwrite notes as well as my journal entries (FiiNotes), I annotate, I think visuallly. I also use handwriting recognition in three languages, but I find it less capable on the Note than on Microsoft though. The best test is to try using it during a class or at a meeting when the time is limited.

I am not complaining as much as suggesting improvements. One advantage of inking over typing, when inking is well implemented, is that one can take notes while looking elsewhere. MS did a great thing when they introduced inking but that was an accident. Inking is not part of the MS culture and when going from W7 to W10 they replaced good working tools with less capable ones. So unless users express their views, they are likely not to get what they want.

And and I feel a bit concerned about the robustness of the Note4 pen, especially the microswitch at the tip.
 
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