With tablets right and left in schools, the big question is what can you do if a student or teacher loses their stylus? Rather than expensive replacement tablet pens, these four alternatives can do the trick for a lot less.
Best Buy’s house brand, Insignia, has an alternative to an expensive replacement stylus that costs $20 for a three-pack. Based on rubber domed technology that should work with any tablet, they come in red, black and blue, have a shirt pocket clip and each stylus has an actual pen inside. Made of stainless steel, these styluses have been designed to last.
Priced at $15, the Bamboo Alpha is far from the least expensive stylus, but it’s worth it because the black and brushed aluminum pen weighs 12 grams and has a clip for a shirt pocket. The best part is that the Bamboo Alpha’s 6-millimeter rubber dome tip feels more like ink on paper; replacements cost a reasonable three for $5.
Unlike its peers, the Musemee Notier has a thinner tapered profile and a small plastic writing disc, making it more comfortable to write or draw with. The stylus comes with an aluminum cap and is available in black, silver or red. It costs $14 and the Notier 2 includes an extra tip; three extra replacement tips cost $6.50.
ESR Digital Stylus for Touch Screen Devices
Easily the most expensive of the four, the $30 ESR Digital Stylus delivers the precise feel of a real pen or pencil with a spring-loaded 1.4mm wide tip that provides instant feedback with the writing surface. Its built-in battery allows 10 hours of writing, sketching and doodling on a charge and can be recharged with a micro USB cable.
