Looking for an Easier Way to Take Notes and Sketch on Your iPad? Try the AluPen + AluCube
Last week I received an AluPen and an AluCube to check out and review, and I was so excited because I am addicted to iPad styluses. I’ve collected quite a few, because I’ve never been able to find the perfect stylus to suit my needs.
I’m happy to say that the hexagonal AluPen and its matching cube-shaped holster is one of the best styluses in my collection. While the AluPen has been on the market for awhile, the AluCube is an all new addition that makes an already great stylus even more accessible and easy to use.
Construction and Components
The AluPen and the AluCube are both constructed from a lightweight aluminum that adds just enough weight to the pen to make it a comfortable writing and sketching instrument. A hexagonal shape ensures that the AluPen won’t roll off of a desk, and while the AluPen stands up on its own, the matching AluCube keeps everything organized and right at hand.
Rubber-tipped styluses are the most common that you will find because, simply put, they work the best. I’ve tried cloth, foam, and plastic-tipped styluses that are either hard to use or largely unrecognized by the iPad. Like other styluses of this type, the AluPen features a wide rubber tip that is not entirely suitable for super fine detail work, but that’s a limitation of capacitive touch, not the stylus.
New to the AluPen is the solid aluminum desktop holder, the AluCube. The AluCube is a weighty cube with a rubber-coated opening to hold the AluPen in place, and a groove in the bottom to keep cables organized on your desk. It’s also heavy enough to be used as a paperweight. It sounds ultra simple and it is, but it turned out to be very handy as I used it this week during my daily activities.
A black rubber bottom keeps the stylish AluCube in place on your desk, and a similar black rubber coating on the bottom of the AluPen keeps it stable even when it’s not in the cube.
The AluPen also comes with a leather sleeve, which is a handy accessory that keeps it clean when you need to transport the stylus in a pocket or a purse.
Style
AluPen and AluCube are both designed to match well with Apple products. The aluminum finish on the stylus and the cube looked great with both my white iPad and my Macbook Air, as you can see from the photos.
AluPen’s hexagonal design and chunky diameter make it the best looking stylus that I own, and paired with the cube, it looks sleek and professional sitting on my desk.
The AluPen comes in a total of eight different colors: original, black, titanium, pink, blue, gold, green, and red.
Functionality
The heft of the AluPen makes it great for sketching. My other styluses are a lot lighter and don’t have a real pen-like feel in my hand. The AluPen is thick enough to feel like a marker, and the extra weight helped me to draw straighter lines. As you can see, I’m no artist, but sketching was quick and easy.
I didn’t like the AluPen quite as much for writing and taking notes. While it was extremely accurate, the shape made extended use difficult on my fingers at times. But I was okay as long as I held it still with a flat edge against my finger. The AluPen paired with a note taking app makes a great alternative to pen and paper note taking for classes and meetings.
Verdict
I was surprised at how much I liked the simple aluminum AluCube. I continually have trouble keeping my iPad cord on my desk because it’s short, but the cube holds the cord on my desk and keeps the stylus right within my reach and out of the pen cup where my other styluses are kept.
If you can’t decide between one of the dozens of stylus options available on the market, take a look at the AluCube and the AluPen. This setup offers a great option for keeping your desk and iPad accessories organized, plus the stylus is well-made and works great for both note taking and sketching on the iPad.
The AluPen and the AluCube are available for purchase both as a bundle and separately on the Just Mobile website. The AluPen retails for $24.95, the AluCube retails for $15.95, and the set is available for $39.95.
