Love my Palm IIIx. Couldn't stand the included stylus. I liked the aluminum body, and adored the built-in reset pin. But that tip! First of all, I never found the tip of the included stylus to be terribly screen-friendly, putting more scratches in my screen (protected by a WriteRight, fortunately) than any of my other styluses. I have pen-type styluses that I use occasionally, but, still, I wanted one that fit in the Palm's silo.

A trip to Best Buy is where I found my solution. The Pentopia Chameleon (made by the Pilot Pen company). Like the included stylus, it has an aluminum shaft, a built-in reset pin (but made of metal versus plastic), and even comes with a refillable ink pen! Most importantly, though, it comes with a marvelous stylus tip.

The tip of the Chameleon is more acute than the stock Palm stylus, with more of a pen-size tip than the cludgy plastic nub that makes up the tip of the stock stylus. This makes for more accurate writing, and an enhanced ability to point at smaller screen objects with better precision. Moreover, the Chameleon's tip is spring-loaded. That is, it has a shock absorber that allows the tip to retract under impact. This makes the already smooth and safe tip even friendlier to your delicate screen.

Also, this shock absorber tip makes for quieter writing. If, like me, you can write rather quickly with Graffiti, you've probably noticed that doing so results in the continuous clicking sound of your stylus tip striking the screen with each stroke. In most settings, ambient noise washes this minor sound out. But, in quiet meetings...well, that's another story altogether. The Pentopia Chameleon's tip, however, almost completely eliminates the racket.

Of course, the Chameleon also fits into the Palm's stylus silo. So, wherever you go, you can take a dual-function pen/stylus combo with you without having to carry anything in addition to your Palm.

At around $20.00, the Chameleon's not the cheapest stylus solution available. But, take it from a guy who has no fewer than ten different styluses: the Chameleon may be the best silo-fit stylus available for the Palm.

Online, you can visit http://www.pentopia.com to get more information see a picture. If you want to personally pick it up at a store, visit your local Best Buy.


12-22-1999 ADDENDUM: I just got off the phone with Donna at Pentopia Customer Service because part of my Chameleon stylus broke. To make a long story short, she took good care of me, and my Chameleon will be fixed/replaced without having to part with my mostly functional current Chameleon. Pentopia Customer Service staff was excellent, and they made it clear to me that they're willing to go the extra mile to take care of their customers.



Recommended: Yes