Review: Staedtler Noris Digital, the S Pen Alternative

Staedtler Noris Digital is a S Pen alternative that's made for selected Samsung devices, more specifically devices that are made to support the S Pen. Here's the list of devices currently compatible:

• Galaxy Note 10.1 2014
• Galaxy Tab A 9.7 with S pen
• Galaxy Tab A 10.1 with S pen
• Galaxy Tab S3
• Galaxy Note pro 12.2
• Galaxy Tab A 8.0 with S pen
• Galaxy Book
• Galaxy Note3
• Galaxy Note4
• Galaxy Note5
• Galaxy Note3 Neo
• Galaxy Note Edge
• Chromebook Plus
• Chromebook Pro
• Notebook 9 Pro 13.3“ / 15.0“

Take note that for tablets that do no specific that they can support the S Pen, they do not support the S Pen. It may seem obvious but the thing is, for example, Samsung actually makes two different versions of Tab A, where only one can be used with S Pen.

The price of the pen at time of review is USD 68.

The Staedtler Noris Digital is much longer than the S Pen that I have from the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3.

The design is clearly inspired by their easily recognisable yellow and black Noris graphite pencils

One main functionality difference is the inclusion of the side button on the S Pen, at least with this S Pen. The side button acts as a shortcut to let you access other features on the tablet. For example on the Tab S3, you can click on the side button to quickly take a note. If your Samsung device does not have that software feature, the side button is useless.

The tips on both styluses are hard tips. They have the same feel when drawing on glass surface. It's somewhere on the smooth side, but not too slippery.

The styluses are not battery powered so they are always on.

When the stylus is near the screen, it goes into hover mode and a cursor appears. This also enables palm rejection.

The Staedtler Noris Digital has a hexagonal body and holds just like a normal pencil. The weight is similar to the S Pen from Tab S3. So the longer length did not make any difference to the weight.

The writing and drawing performance of the stylus is exactly the same as the S Pen. Since the tips feel so similar, the way the tip glides on the glass surface also feels the same. There is pressure sensitive and the Staedtler stylus is also as sensitive as the S Pen.

When the pen tip is worn out, you can replace them with pen tips made for the Samsung Galaxy tablets, eg Tab S3, S4, S6, S6 Lite, S7.

Conclusion

If you don't already have a S Pen and is thinking of getting one to go with your Samsung device, the Staedtler Noris Digital is a good stylus to consider. It works like the S Pen and it works well. The only difference really comes down to the design, the look of the stylus.

If you already have a S Pen, there's no need to switch unless you have one of those thin S Pen that makes your hand cramp.

Conclusion

At less than US $30, this stylus is quite popular. Check out the hundreds of reviews on Amazon:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.es | Amazon.it | Amazon.co.jp