Dell Active Stylus Alternative for Venue 11

I just order mine over the phone from Dell. The site seems to have an issue. 

I called Dell to order and they were going to send me a standard capacitive-touch stylus, not the active stylus.

An alternative stylus would be one that supports the Synaptics digitizer, but I don't know of any other devices that have it.

This product works with the Venue 8 Pro. I purchased one, got it today, and can confirm. The seller says it's new, but the package it's in says refurbished. It looks new, though.

Dell 332NG Active Stylus Pen for the XPS 11 Tablet http://r.ebay.com/9CreoN

This looks like a nice alternative (is it actually the same active pen?), I can't find it anywhere though... 

I got one 332NG stylus here: http://www.parts-people.com/index.php?action=item&id=15176

It is for dell xps 11 but is compatible with venue 8/11 pro. It works great and no hover click anymore.

Brilliant, thanks mate, much appreciated. Since I'm in UK, it will probably take 1-2 weeks to get the 332NG delivered and I've found a German website (notebooksbilliger.de seems to be Dell's preferred partner for Germany or something) that expects to start shipping the fixed ones mid Feb...

Would there be any significant difference between the 332NG and a properly working, fixed one I wonder? I noticed the 332NG has much thicker nib, is that something I should be concerned about (I'd be using it for sketching, drawing, note taking)? Another thing is the nib of the 332NG looks hard plastic, the one on the active pen appears made of some white soft(er) material, can the 332NG actually scratch the tablet screen?

Ultimately as someone who's tried both, if the reworked, fixed ones working exactly as intended became available tomorrow, would you still go for the 332NG?

Sorry, Im just a first time digitizer user and I don't really know what to expect... On the overall, I'd rather wait a bit more to get a better one, but in case there won't be much of a difference I'd take the 332NG and be done with it...

There is no difference in the physical appearance between the original version and the engineering prototypes of the revised active stylus (which are currently undergoing testing). That appearance might change before the revised pen starts shipping, but I suggest those interested in purchasing should wait until the new model is 'officially' available through Dell again, and purchase it  here, to be sure you are getting the improved model. The performance differences between old and new may seem subtle, but many users are apt to find that the revised pen works better in more circumstances — worth waiting a few more weeks, imo...

This is a very 'unofficial' posting, representing only the views of this forum member;  however, I decided to weigh-in because I'm concerned by seeing so much contradictory info circulating, and by multiple posts by folks who appear to have been misled into purchasing pens that don't work properly with the Synaptics digitizer, or were sold a (mis)represented 'new' model stylus — which isn't yet available as of this (Feb.01) date.

Meanwhile, any 'capacitive' stylus will perform all basic touchscreen functions...

I think you probably meant to embed a link in your post, that would have made it much more useful.

I do agree with what you're saying, however if the 332NG does work with both the Venue 8/11 Pro I see no reason why people should not go for it. Are you actually saying the guys above are not entirely truthful and attempted to mislead everyone here? One of them says thay've got the pen and it works fine.

While I agree with you in general, your opinion does not give us new information and fails to provide insight into what most us would love to have more clarity about. You don't tell us anything new or useful about the stylus thats being re-engineered or the usability (or lack of) of the 332NG and, on the overall, what you say isn't anything that anyone with a bit of common sense would not have deduced on their own.

Actually, you sound much like what I would imagine Dells official statement would be if they had one, vague and void of anything worth being mentioned. Far be it from me to tell Dell what to do, maybe all that confusion and contradictory info floating around could have been easily avoided had they not failed to demonstrate even rudimentary sense of customer care by, at the very least, being transparent about the issues, solutions and measures being taken.

To be honest, I find the people on this forum immensely more helpful than the sales reps and customer services agents that I've had such deeply fulfilling conversations with, communication that still fills me with lingering desires...

I think you probably meant to embed a link in your post, that would have made it much more useful. I do agree with what you're saying, however if the 332NG does work with both the Venue 8/11 Pro I see no reason why people should not go for it. Are you actually saying the guys above are not entirely truthful and attempted to mislead everyone here? One of them says thay've got the pen and it works fine. While I agree with you in general, your opinion does not give us new information and fails to provide insight into what most us would love to have more clarity about. You don't tell us anything new or useful about the stylus thats being re-engineered or the usability (or lack of) of the 332NG and, on the overall, what you say isn't anything that anyone with a bit of common sense would not have deduced on their own. Actually, you sound much like what I would imagine Dells official statement would be if they had one, vague and void of anything worth being mentioned. Far be it from me to tell Dell what to do, maybe all that confusion and contradictory info floating around could have been easily avoided had they not failed to demonstrate even rudimentary sense of customer care by, at the very least, being transparent about the issues, solutions and measures being taken. To be honest, I find the people on this forum immensely more helpful than the sales reps and customer services agents that I've had such deeply fulfilling conversations with, communication that still fills me with lingering desires...

@ AGINOR: Our collective cause isn't served by your unfounded suspicions about my motives or affiliations; for the time being, I'm choosing to remain hopeful rather than cynical. There are no hidden meanings or ulterior motives behind my words; I do not work for Dell or sell their products. Afa useful links I overlooked — I can't think of any...  

Like many other Venue tablet owners, my patience has been tested — (A) By the surprising number of significant annoyances & quirks I have encountered with its use; (B) How poorly-prepared (and un-informed) Dell's Technical Support has been (still is) about the issues many Venue Pro owners have in common; and (C) How stubborn and uncooperative Dell Customer support has been, in refusing to offer any reasonable accommodation  to Venue owners who — after 3 months — are still unable to use important features or are part of a disturbingly large number of owners who are experiencing other common hardware & software failures. (Dell's offshore drones seem to be recklessly ignoring terms of the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act.) 

I am one of the Venue Pro owners greatly-affected by the Active Stylus "hypersensitivity" issue — which also affects many other Venue owners, but I also recognize that not all of us are equally affected. As a result, I've been concerned about just how much hope we should place solely on a revised pen design to solve ALL the usability issues reported for the digitizer interface... After all, the pen is basically a "dumb" electromagnet; most of the finesse in its behavior comes from the design of the digitizer screen and the associated firmware & drivers. I hope that Dell's engineers are giving (at least) equal attention to the tablet's role in improving the pen's quirky personality. Along with a lot of other Venue tab owners, I am both eagerly and anxiously waiting to see how this plays out...

What brand stylus is this from Office Max?

Sorry, AGINOR — if anyone's "feeling better" as a result of my post, it's an unintended consequence...

Lou Stule: Thanks mate, I'm sure everyone's feeling so much better now

hwang2218 and jjMustang: Can you guys, for the sake of those of us that remain doubtful, confirm that the 332NG works fine with the V8/11Ps, please? Can you share your 332NG experience with us, please? Any issues, incl. usability? (nib width (precision) and material (scratching) or anything else)?

And because I've not used the stylus intended for this device, I can't compare them. I plan to order one when they're available though. I bought this device because of the pen functionality, though, but waiting 2 months for a stylus or paying $100 on ebay for one was not an option.

Sorry for the delay, everyone. I couldn't remember my password. I finally gave up and created a new username.

The stylus works. Occasionally, I will get stray marks from hovering as I switch between letters, but it's maybe 1 out of 50 times. Occasionally the buttons don't perform as expected. The button is a rocker-style, much like a volume control on a phone. In OneNote, the lower button uses the Lasso while the upper button erases. Usually. Sometimes, the upper button doesn't erase and instead I get lines through my text.

My only real complaint is that the handwriting is not smooth. I'm used to the smoothing done on my HP tc4200 with XP that I had back in 2004 and on my Lenovo x200t tablet I use for work now. On the Dell, the writing is jagged. I also miss the eraser function on the top of the pen like what I had on those other two systems. That's a habit that's hard to break.

The pen seems big, though. Maybe it's just because the Venue is smaller than I'm used to. It's well balanced, though. The battery adds weight, so it's heavier than the pen for my Lenovo x200t, but not by much.

I don't use the hover functionality. The pen is either on the screen writing or I'm not using it.

I have two pens one from dell website one from where I posted.  Dell one has all of defects mentioned here, the most annoying thing is unexpected hover click, I tried aparting and fixing it, but no improvement, then I tape the front part with aluminum foil, just let the nib come out a little( around 2-3mm). It seems better, but still has hover click if the nib is very close to the screen. So I decided to get another one. Checked ebay, the price is too high. That is why I take the risk to try the new one.

The new pen( not new version) works great in my case because I just use it to take note mostly. It is not as good as my dell xt2 which is wacom technique but it's good enough to me.

I will comfirm the stylus I mentioned works for venue 8 pro and works great in my case. The reason I posted it is that I see lot of venue 8 pro owners are looking for the stylus.