REVIEWED: Adonit Jot Script 2 Evernote Edition
This iOS-only Bluetooth stylus has Evernote Premium free for six months and awesome integration with note-taking apps, but lacks accuracy
Writing is dead, unless it’s digitised. Creating fully searchable, categorised, text that’s understandable by computers, phones and databases is where it’s at, and the Adonit Jot Script 2 Evernote Edition is on the money. But is super-slim stylus of any use to travellers?
Paper replacer
We all have tablets, but how many of us also travel with a paper notebook and a pen? Perhaps even a flash Moleskine, for those who can’t tear themselves away from the olde worlde travel journal. Trouble is, those days are gone, especially if you’re working, writing or planning on being at all productive while you travel. Weighing just 18g, the Adonit Jot Script 2 is all about two apps; workspace app Evernote and its own note-taking creation, Penultimate (see what they did there?). The latter fuels the former with hand-scribbled notes.
Press
With both apps installed to an iPad mini, and the voucher for six months free Evernote Premium actioned, we set out to test the Adonit Jot Script 2. The pen itself looks great, and it’s easy to hold in the hand, save for the on-off switch – I kept pressing it by mistake because it’s positioned just where my thumb sits naturally while writing. I cannot be the only one who does this. Luckily, nothing very bad happens. It’s also necessary to disable ‘Multitasking Gestures’; open an iPad’s settings/general settings and it can be toggled-off.
Behind the times
Still, having chosen one of six positions for my wrist (so the iPad’s screen can ignore touches in that region), I found the Adonit Jot Script 2 to be capable of some accurate but slightly off-kilter writing. Though endlessly customisable into different weights and styles and colours and sizes of writing and drawing, everything I wrote was displayed on the screen not only a millisecond or two afterwards, but also slightly to the left of where I had actually touched the screen. It’s a less distracting a problem if you don’t look at the screen at all while writing, which is rather odd. There’s no getting away from it; a pen and paper feels far more natural; digital search-ability comes at a cost.
Lose it or use it
Our major bugbear is how the Adonit 2 is recharged. The battery life is great – up to 20 hours – but when it does come to refuelling, it means finding a tiny USB charger. You will have lost it by then. Guaranteed. Worse, since it relies on an admittedly very clever but completely proprietary, magnetic connection to recharge, there’s no way of using Adonit 2 again. No micro USB back-up option.
Evernote integration
Syncing your hand-written notes with an Evernote account is instant – everything you do appears in a Penultimate folder – but though you can add an Evernote note to the Penultimate folder, it doesn’t appear on the app on the iPad. However, if you’re willing to pay a few quid for either the Notes Plus or GoodNotes apps then digital mark-up of PDFs becomes possible, which really plays into the strengths of the Adonit Jot Script 2. Syncing with Evernote is instant, and entering something in the search box will herald highlight words within scribbled notes.
Impressive productivity
The Adonit Jot Script 2’s1.9mm tip is easy to write with, fells comfortable and, well, pen-like at all times. For writing quick notes, it’s good. The integration with Evernote is great, too. But the proprietary USB recharging stick WILL get lost, which is a critical flaw, while a lack of sensitivity means long-winded writing isn’t practical. However, used wisely and sparingly, and looked after carefully, the Adonit Jot Script 2 offers just enough productivity to impress, though only for Evernote fanatics. Can a stylus it beat a lovely new Moleskin and a special new pen both bought for an upcoming trip? Of course not.