Viwoods Stylus Pen Review

This is my review of the original Viwoods Stylus Pen that ships with Viwood e-ink tablets.

Physical features

The Viwoods stylus Pen is 156mm in length and 16g in weight. And it has a shaft diameter of 9.3 mm.

These dimensions are all in the median average range when compared to other styluses (not too long/short, not too heavy/light etc.)

It is made from smooth plastic and is a very light grey/off-white in colour.

It is almost cylindrical, with one slightly flattened edge (to magnetically stick to the side of the tablet and prevent it rolling across the desk). On the flattened edge, near to the bottom of the shaft is a button, and on the top of the shaft is an eraser.

Stylus input technology

The Viwoods Stylus Pen uses Wacom EMR technology, which means that it does not need batteries or recharging. It also means that it is cross-compatible with other Wacom EMR tablets (read more about Stylus input technologies here)

Writing feel (on Viwoods tablets)

The nibs used on the Viwoods Stylus Pen feel quite smooth, which when combined with the equally smooth screen of the Viwoods tablets results in a writing experience that feels a bit too slick and frictionless. It’s a bit like guiding the pen tip over a polished surface, rather than the natural resistance you would get from real pen and paper. In addition, it rattles as you write which can be quite irritating.

The nib has quite a lot of movement to it. When you apply too much pressure downwards, the nib retracts a little into the shaft, and when pressure is applied at an angle, the nib bends a little, which I (personally) do not like. I prefer a solid stable nib that does not move when I am writing. I should note that these are more vexations than functional issues. It still writes absolutely fine but the movement is off-putting to me.

Having said all that, there is very low latency, and pressure and tilt sensitivity have been implemented pretty well. What’s more is that you can adjust the sensitivity to your own preferences in the Viwoods tablet settings (not many e-ink tablet brands offer this functionality).

Writing feel (on other tablets)

The silky smooth writing feel is mitigated somewhat when the stylus is used on other EMR-compatible tablets that have a paper-like screen protector on them to provide a rougher/grainier tactile feel. It has a more satisfying audible/tactile writing feel, however, it is still more slippery than using the actual stylus that is shipped with these devices.

And many of the issues I wrote about above are still present, such as the rattling, and the bendy/retracting nib.

Functionally, it does write okay, but I probably wouldn’t recommend using this particular stylus with another tablet.

Verdict

The Viwoods Stylus Pen is what I would call an ‘adequate‘ stylus. It feels nicely balanced and is okay for writing with, but there are several things that irk me when using it.

Firstly, the plastic used on the shaft is too smooth for my liking. If I have been doing a lot of handwriting, my hand start to get a little sweaty , and this moisture results in me losing my grip and my hand sliding down the stylus’ smooth surface.

In addition, when used with a Viwoods tablet, the tactile writing experience feels too slippery – the nib glides across the surface of the screen far to easily and with very little resistance. However, this is primarily due to the smoothness of the screens on Viwoods tablets (they don’t have a textured ‘paper-like’ screen protector that can be found on some other tablets). When used on other tablets that do have a rougher screen surface, there is more resistance, but still not enough in my opinion.

My biggest bugbear with the Viwoods Stylus Pen is that it rattles when you write, which I find exceedingly irritating. In addition, depending on the pressure applied when writing, the nib can retract a little inside the shaft, which is also off-putting for me (however, I do write quite heavily, so this may not be an issue to users that have a lighter touch).

My final gripe is something that is subjective to myself, and that is the button on the shaft. In general, I don’t like buttons on a stylus’ shaft because I am always inadvertently activating them, which interrupts my writing flow. This probably goes back to my rather heavy writing style, and I can appreciate that there are plenty of people that will find the shaft button a great convenience rather than a burden.

Overall, the Viwoods Stylus Pen is okay but I wouldn’t really recommend. It’s perfectly fine to write with (it’s far from terrible), and because it ships with Viwoods tablets, there’s probably no reason for most people to look for something different. But, given the choice, it is not the stylus I would (or do) use.

Personally, I prefer a solid nib that does not move or bend, a shaft free from buttons I might accidentally press, and no rattling. A slightly rougher pen nib would also be a bonus because the Viwoods screen is so smooth. I’ve not found the perfect stylus for it yet, but the Boox Pen Plus works pretty well.

Stylus Specs

Below are the specs for the Viwoods Stylus Pen.

You can search, filter, and compare with other styluses on my Stylus Comparison Table