Okay Geek Farm
Studio Neat Cosmonaut stylus for iPad review
Jason Tsay
When Steve Jobs first introduced the iPhone in 2007, he boasted that it would not require a stylus and could be used by just your finger. The same goes for the iPad but when you’re dealing with a 10” touch screen, the possibilities presented by a capacitive stylus are overwhelming. Today, we’ll be looking at the Studio Neat Cosmonaut, which started as a Kickstarter project. Does it perform or are you better off with your finger?
Features
- Compatible with all capacitive touch screens (eg. iPad, iPhone, Kindle Fire).
- Works in any app.
- Great for doodling, sketching, and writing.
- High quality, durable construction.
- Great for people of all ages.
Our Impressions
The Studio Neat Cosmonaut comes embedded in a cool little cardboard box with an illustration of a rocket flying to the moon on the front and a bit of text on the back, alluding to the myth that pens won’t work in space but pencils will (obligatory Instagram photo). Bordering the actual stylus, two rocket fins are playfully printed on the cardboard. We don’t usually talk a lot about packaging a lot but it’s this type of attention to detail that we really appreciate in a product.
Design
The Cosmonaut’s design is so fantastic because, well, there’s so little design. If we were to describe the Cosmonaut, we’d say it’s a comically large and ridiculously simplified crayon. In terms of size, it’s also reminiscient of an Expo dry erase marker. A rubberized coating wraps around the aluminum core of the stylus while a smoother matte finish covers the actual capacitive tip. The overall monolithic design is great and very clean, with COSMONAUT embossed at the end of the stylus.
Ergonomics
The Cosmonaut is pretty weighty and is wider than most styli but we found that this was relatively comfortable in use, although it’s massive footprint makes it a little difficult for true precision. Don’t expect to use the Cosmonaut for any extensive writing or detailed drawing. Given the size of its tip, this stylus is best suited for some quick doodling or notes.
Compatibility
Another important thing to note is that the Cosmonaut does not play well with screen protectors. Initially, we thought something was wrong with the stylus or even our iPad. But then we gave the stylus a go on our iPhone’s naked screen and the Cosmonaut inputted strokes perfectly without delay. On the iPad, we had to press rigorously to get our strokes to register, which was a bummer. The Incipio stylus we had lying around also required a bit of a push but it was no where near the amount of pressure required by the Cosmonaut.
Overall
All in all, the Cosmonaut is a great stylus for the iPad. It’s nothing like your traditional pen stylus and may not be everyone’s cup of tea. In fact, we’d only recommend it if you don’t plan on doing any extensive or detailed work on the iPad. Otherwise, it’s a fun, comfortable to use stylus with a terrific design.
Pro’s
- Monolithic design
- Comfortable to hold
- Great for doodling
Con’s
- Doesn’t work well with screen protectors
- Not great for writing
Where to buy
Studio Neat / Amazon — MSRP: $25
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