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Developers have always been challenged in making acessories for the iPhone because it was designed so well from the start. Sure, cases and skins are a pretty logical development, but for the most part, an iPhone does pretty well on its own. One manufacturer, Ten One Design, has taken a crack at providing users with a new tool specifically for our favorite multi-touch device.

The Pogo Stylus for iPhone and iPod Touch is a clever little stick of anodized aluminum with an electrostatic tip. Unlike most screens that simply respond to touch, iPhones (and any iPods with a scroll-wheel) require a finger or something equivalent in order to recognize commands. Apple would argue that since everyone has fingers, there is no need for add-ons like the Pogo Stylus.

Here are some exceptions to the rule:

• Gloved fingers
• Long fingernails (preventing the pad of the finger from easily contacting the screen)
• People who have trouble getting used to a finger-touch device or have a disability

I should also add that the iPhone, beautiful as it is, gets easily smudged from the oils on your fingers. The Pogo Stylus doesn’t leave any smudges, so full-time users of it will notice less need to buff and polish their screen.

I spent a weekend with the stylus and tried to use it as often as I could for my regular iPhone use. To those who fear I did not spend enough time with it: you clearly do not understand how often I check mail, stocks, the web, the weather….

Here is an unboxing of the stylus via the pictures below. My photography skills are not adequate to do justice to the packaging, so I suggest checking out the product pictures here as well.

The Pogo Stylus also comes with a handy clip to attach to the back of the iPhone. This clip turned out to be more of a nusance than anything. It does not fit particularly closely to the frame, possibly because it is meant to work with any sized iPhone or iPod Touch. Further, I typically use an Agent 18 hard case and the clip only works on a “naked” iPhone body.

The stylus itself is exactly the length of a business card, with one end capped in a piece of black plastic (mine was a bit off-center, but not really an issue) and the other tipped with a little ball of knitted fibers.

These fibers are what, I assume, generate the static electricity that mimics the body’s own current. It’s a nice looking stylus and would definitely not look out of place in an attaché case.

I love brushed metal. Mine was a dark red, but it is available in three other colors as well:

So, how did I fair over the weekend? Well, it’s a mixed result. For making calls, answering the phone, and other minimal-touch operations, the stylus was a time waster. For typing, surfing the web, or any longer usage session with the iPhone, the stylus was a reasonable tool. The reaction of the stylus is different from that of a finger because it requires some downward pressure to “grab on” to things like the unlock slider bar. This pressure is probably necessary for a finger too, but it is much more natural. After getting used to the physical requirements of the stylus, it was fairly easy to use.

The clip did not work very well at all because it grips so tightly onto the stylus and so loosely onto the iPhone that it often just popped off and left me struggling to get everything back into place again. My patience with the clip did not last the entire weekend and I began carrying the stylus in my pocket with the iPhone. This leads to another problem, which is the length of the stylus: it’s short. While it is good for the size of the phone, it is much shorter than a pencil and made me fear that I would lose it. If I had a briefcase or something with pen slots, this would probably not be an issue, though.

As the weekend wore one, it was harder and harder to make myself use the stylus for regular tasks. The novelty of it was gone and I often forgot to use it. For this reason I have determined that for everyday use, it is really not an ideal tool. Those previously mentioned catagories are still valid though. I plan to use mine for cold Fairfax days when my hands prefer to stay in their gloves. Having spent many days walking to class with only one glove on to adjust the volume of a podcast, I definitely appreciate an alternative.

Review Recap

The Pros:

• It definitely works as advertised.
• It doesn’t smudge like fingers do.
• It can be useful for situations where it is difficult to use the pad of the finger.
• It is great for gloves!

The Cons:

• The clip is janky.
• The stylus is rather small, so hard to keep track of.
• It takes some getting used to.
• Not generally better than a finger.

Final Word:

• It’s a niche product. If you need it, you need it. If your fingers are working just fine, it’s probably not worth it.

The Pogo Stylus for iPhone and iPod Touch is available from Ten One Design’s website for $24.95, plus shipping. At the time of this post, the cranberry (the red color I got) is $5 off in a spring sale event.

Note: Special thanks to our friends over at Ten One Design for providing a sample for us to test.