The XStylus crayon. I received this guy in the mail about a week ago and well, we got off to a bad start. I didn’t know if we were compatible with each other, but I’m glad to say we have spent a lot of time talking and have worked things out.
First off, I would like to let you all know that these are my impressions of a prototype of the XStylus Crayon. I haven’t noticed any changes to the final design yet, but know that it could change at anytime. Now on to my impressions!
Alright, the Xstylus Crayon…
What makes this stylus special is it’s ability to become both wider and longer through a simple movement. When extended, it has the width of a standard #2 pencil which is great. The length is just a tad longer than the 3DS stylus which means it sits in your hand like a pencil as well. You just have to simply flip the center piece and voilà!
As I mentioned, my first hour or two of use was quite awkward. I had a very difficult time trying to figure out how to hold the stylus so that it was comfortable for me to use. I tried placing my fingers in a ton of different arrangements and found none of them to be a superior experience to hold compared to the traditional DS stylus. But wait, I didn’t give up just yet. I placed my fingers in one last spot and they let out a pleasant eek of joy . There is only one sweet spot to hold the stylus and be comfortable, and I had finally found it!
After finding the sweet spot, I went on to play a few hours of Trauma Center. I had an easier time moving around the screen which helps a LOT in a game where accuracy and speed determines your success. I still did fail a few missions, but i’ll take the blame for those. I did notice that the lip on the Xstylus where I would place my thumb would press into my skin and leave an indentation but it only became bothersome after around two hours of playing.
The XStylus Crayon uses Polycarbonate plastic which makes it very durable. I tried everything I could from bending to mushing it together and it always bounced back to it’s original form. I was very pleased with how it stood up to all of my attempts to try to get something to break. Of course, I didn’t try and murder the thing, just some normal stress tests as you can see below. You can be assured that this stylus can withstand some abuse.
It’s great to see 3rd parties develop alternative peripherals for the DS family, especially when they are superior to the stock parts. If you own a DS lite, DSi, DSiXL, or 3DS system, the XStylus Crayon will fit snugly into the stylus slot. If you would like to support GREENBULB and purchase the XStylus Crayon, you can head over here to get a set of four for only fifteen U.S. dollars. That is only $3.75 each which is the same price you can purchase a replacement stylus directly from Nintendo.
If you have any questions about the stylus or want to know about something I did not cover, feel free to leave a comment and i’ll try to answer you as best I can.
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