Cheaper alternative to Kobo Stylus 2 ?

[deleted2]

Now that we can pre-order the Libra Colour, I wanted to know if there are cheaper alternatives to the official Kobo Stylus 2 ?

Not all stylus have the same technology, and not all ereaders, I guess, can support all sorts of stylus.

So, if you have that knowledge, please enlighten us.

Thanks.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Claude_C

Now that we can pre-order the Libra Colour, I wanted to know if there are cheaper alternatives to the official Kobo Stylus 2 ?

Not all stylus have the same technology, and not all ereaders, I guess, can support all sorts of stylus.

So, if you have that knowledge, please enlighten us.

Thanks.

Has google-fu gone the way of the dinosaurs?

Perhaps a search for messages with 'Ntrig Kobo stylus' might help.

See this recent message for example.

[deleted2]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Has google-fu gone the way of the dinosaurs?

Perhaps a search for messages with 'Ntrig Kobo stylus' might help.

See this recent message for example.

Yes, I read that single post, in a large thread.

I thought that other members might also have suggestions, and that a dedicated thread for it would be more useful and easier to find.

[Aleron Ives]

Most devices use a WACOM layer as part of the screen, combined with a passive stylus. Kobo uses an active stylus, so you're limited to that particular subset of stylus models. Whether you can use any active stylus, I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if only certain ones are functional.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Claude_C

Yes, I read that single post, in a large thread.

A thread that has at this time, two messages is a large thread?

Originally Posted by Claude_C

I thought that other members might also have suggestions, and that a dedicated thread for it would be more useful and easier to find.

It might be useful but basically any stylus that uses the N-trig/MPP (Microsoft Pen Protocol) protocol will work.

[deleted2]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

Most devices use a WACOM layer as part of the screen, combined with a passive stylus. Kobo uses an active stylus, so you're limited to that particular subset of stylus models. Whether you can use any active stylus, I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if only certain ones are functional.

I guess we’ll to wait for further reviews.

[DNSB]

In my testing on a Kobo Sage, any stylus using the N-Trig/MPP protocol will work. This testing was done about 18 months back when my work was testing various styli as replacements. This does limit you to a stylus that will require a battery or supercapacitor to power it. The screen electronics are less complex which a bonus for those who do not want a stylus. All the MPP 2.00 styli worked in my limited testing though we did not test any of the later MPP 2.5/2.6 styli. The two MPP 1.51. styli we tested did not have pressure sensitivity which might be a deal breaker for some people.

You may want to take a look at Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP) Stylus Compendium for a list of manufacturers updated Nov., 2023.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by DNSB

In my testing on a Kobo Sage, any stylus using the N-Trig/MPP protocol will work.

I've bought several 3rd party N-Trig/MPP advertised for the MS Surface 3 or later. Check it's a version with pressure and without the Bluetooth button (for OneNote?). There are ones that use AAAA (last nearly 6 months and about 25c) and ones that are rechargeable via USB-C or Micro-USB.
Cheapest was about €18 inc shipping from Amazon and dearest about €30. The Kobo original was €52 ex shipping at the time.

The 2 different models I got work identically to Kobo Pen on Sage, Elipsa and the Libra 2 Sketchpad (which only appears on Sage & Elipsa in devmodeon) which saves SVG. On the Libra 2 (not original Libra), Sage and Elipsa Sketch pad, one button is fat line and the other is erase. Drawing resolution is better on the Libra 2 than a finger. So the Libra 2 simply lacks extra SW, not the HW.

They work identically to the kobo Pen on all the regular Sage and Elipsa pen functions.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by DNSB

This testing was done about 18 months back when my work was testing various styli as replacements. This does limit you to a stylus that will require a battery or supercapacitor to power it.

There are definitely rechargeable 3rd party models with pressure and no BT button. Search on Amazon (DE, COM CO.UK) for surface 3 pen etc (or later). I think the Surface 1 & 2 used Wacom EMR. MS liked the Ntrig so much that they bought the company.

[Aleron Ives]

Does that mean you could edit the Libra 2 firmware to enable the notebook functionality?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Quoth

There are definitely rechargeable 3rd party models with pressure and no BT button. Search on Amazon (DE, COM CO.UK) for surface 3 pen etc (or later). I think the Surface 1 & 2 used Wacom EMR. MS liked the Ntrig so much that they bought the company.

Several of the units we tested used either USB_C or micro-USB charging to recharge the battery or capacitor. Personally, I preferred them to the AAA/AAAA battery using models since I can usethe same charger/cables as I use for my other devices instead of hunting for the replacement batteries.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

Does that mean you could edit the Libra 2 firmware to enable the notebook functionality?

If you had the source, it would be fairly easy though the Libra 2 might be on the slow side. There are reasons as to why the Sage and Elipsa use a quad-core or dual-core processor.

[deleted2]

Originally Posted by DNSB

In my testing on a Kobo Sage, any stylus using the N-Trig/MPP protocol will work. This testing was done about 18 months back when my work was testing various styli as replacements. This does limit you to a stylus that will require a battery or supercapacitor to power it. The screen electronics are less complex which a bonus for those who do not want a stylus. All the MPP 2.00 styli worked in my limited testing though we did not test any of the later MPP 2.5/2.6 styli. The two MPP 1.51. styli we tested did not have pressure sensitivity which might be a deal breaker for some people.

You may want to take a look at Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP) Stylus Compendium for a list of manufacturers updated Nov., 2023.

Kobo says that their Stylus 1 one works with Sage etc, but not with the Libra Colour. So,

[deleted2]

So, in theory, this stylus should work with Kobo.

What's the difference between the Kobo Stylus 1 and the Stylus 2?

Why Kobo is not listing the Stylus 1 as compatible with the Libra Colour? Marketing? Mistake?

[Aleron Ives]

The first uses an AAAA battery, and the second is rechargeable.