Pogo Stylus for iPhone

The Pogo Stylus offers a handy alternative to tapping at the iPhone's screen with your fingers.

The iPhone's touch screen is meant to be used with your fingers. But using your fingers isn't always the best option—if you're cold, and don't want to take off your gloves, for example. At times like these, the Pogo Stylus is an excellent alternative.

This slim, light stylus comes with a plastic clip that attaches it to the side of your iPhone 3G. A second clip, designed to fit first-generation iPhones and iPod Touch models, is included. The body of the Pogo Stylus is made of aluminum, and the tip is a soft material that won't scratch your iPhone's screen.

Using the stylus did take some getting used to. You have to angle the stylus correctly for the phone to register its touch. But, overall, it works like a charm. Its tip is sized specifically for the iPhone, so people with large fingers will find it especially useful. And the Pogo Stylus has the added bonus of leaving your iPhone's screen free of fingerprints and smudges.

Using a stylus does limit some of the iPhone's coolest features, though. The pinching and spreading motions that you make with your fingers (to zoom in and out) aren't possible using a stylus. You can double-tap the screen with the stylus to zoom in, but doing so doesn't offer the same precision (or wow factor) that you get when you use your fingers. And having a stylus snapped on to the side of your phone can make the iPhone awkward to hold during calls.

I wouldn't use the Pogo Stylus all the time. But when I want to type with precision—or when I simply don't want to pull off my gloves—it will come in handy.