Replacement styli for Palm handhelds have come in a plethora of varieties in the early 2000′s. Now, the selection has boiled down to a few basic kinds – the Martin Fields 4-in-1 is a classic example of the pen-laserpointer replacement variety that was pioneered by the OmniPen Pro from Boxwave.
Brando shipped the Martin Fields stylus traditionally via regular mail – however, the parcels now require ‘personal pickup’.
The stylus itself ships in a nice orange blister. The first thing one notices about the stylus is its ‘glossy’ black finish. The black color reflects the light and looks really good – it somehow reminds me of car paint:
Martin Field’s stylus is rather big – here is a picture next to a few other styli and pens from various manufacturers:
Here is a picture of it next to a Palm Treo 600 and a Palm Tungsten T3:
The stylus and ballpoint tips can be accessed by rotating the bottom of the thingy left or right:
Working with the PDA tip is very comfortable – it slides over the screen protectors well and has a pretty paper-like writing feel which I like very much. Writing on Paper is also possible, albeit the output quality is not exactly on the high end side of things:
The shiniest feature of this stylus design is the laser pointer/torch combo integrated into its back. Martin Fields did a great job here, the integration looks extremely nice. The torch works well on a 5m range, and the laser pointer is excellent too.
Martin Fields made one fatal mistake – the torch switch acts as a toggle. If the torch mistakenly activates itself, you are rewarded with dead batteries.
Taking the stylus apart is easy – pull the top off to access the nibs, screw the back off to access the batteries(and remove the enclosure)
Overall, this stylus is a great choice for everyone who wants a stylus and ergonomic external pointer for his (Palm OS) handheld or smartphone. It would have gotten a perfect score if t didn’t have the fatal flaw with the torch – nevertheless, the price of 19$ at Brando’s is justified(if just for the color).
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