SGP Kuel H12 Stylus Review

"A beautiful stylus that provides great quality and control for an affordable price"

Let that tired finger rest, the SGP Kuel H12 wants to be your writing and drawing buddy on your BlackBerry PlayBook.

Odds are by now you have found a gazillion uses for your BlackBerry PlayBook from playing games to taking notes, drawing pictures, navigating the web and much more. One common thing about everything you are doing on your beloved BlackBerry PlayBook is the fact that you need to use your finger to get to it, to navigate it and that is not easy for everyone. Whether you have long nails, large fingers, sweaty finger tips, or just prefer not to see all the fingerprints all the time, you are likely looking for a new solution. 

Meet the stylus, and in this case the SGP Kuel H12, your finger replacement that does more than just replace, in fact it is likely to change the way you use the device. Playing a game of Sketch with Friends, or making some edits in SumoPaint Air and want a little more control of how things are done on the device? Let's hit the break together and check out how the SGP Kuel H12 stylus can improve your experience, and how it rates overall.

Criteria for judging a stylus

Think back to the first time you held a fine pen in your hands - not a BIC or a PaperMate pen - but something really fine; think Montblanc, or Waterman. Remember how you picked it up - ever so carefully; how you felt the weight and balance of the instrument. Think about how the ink flowed from the nib onto the paper. A quality pen helps your writing; a quality stylus helps your app experience.

The criteria for judging the stylus will be:

• Ergonomics
• Appearance and finish
• Nib/tip and sense of flow on the screen
• Handwriting precision
• Drawing/painting capabilities

Ergonomics

Ever picked up a pen and instantly knew that it was just not the right pen for you? Maybe it was too thick or too thin, maybe a bit to short, or just felt uncomfortable as a whole? The same exact thing applies to picking out the right stylus, and SGP has done a fine job with the Kuel H12 design. Featuring a twist from the center design you do not have to remove a cap to access the tip, and additionally you don't have to worry about losing a cap and having the tip exposed at all times. Beyond this it also allows for the tip of the stylus to receed below the edge, so the tip remains protected, and safe during travels.

The overall feel of the Kuel H12 is a great one, the stylus feels very well balanced in the hands, with the weight in the center allowing you to hold it low or high, depending on preference. If you have used any decent pens in the past you will know they are a bit thicker than the size of a Bic pen, and the H12 is the same, just a bit thicker but that allows for a comfortable grip while in the hands. By no means is this stylus thick, or large, or heavy, or anything of that sorts, instead it is extremely comfortable, and feels great in the hands whether in use for five minutes or two hours.

Appearance and finish

Unfortunately when it comes to pens, style and appearance usually comes with a hefty price tag, but you will be pleasantly surprised at what the H12 has to offer when it comes to this. This stylus is available in two colors, black and white, and both of these designs are very sleek and professional. With the white one you have a nice shiny bright white finish that carries the look of a more expensive price tag, yet it comes  in at only $19.99. 

The bottom half of the stylus is completely blank, just the white color, and then in the middle is the silver ring where the twist mechanism sits. Directly above this you will see the Kuel logo on one side and the SGP H12 on the other. Above this there is a pen clip for placing the device in your pant or shirt pocket, and while the clip is handy, it could be a little bit heftier. The clip itself is very firm, so once it is clipped in somewhere it will not fall off, but looking at the top of the clip you will notice the metal seems a bit thin, and while it has yet to happen to me I worry about a potential break of the clip at this area.

Nib/tip and sense of flow on the screen

We can talk style and comfort all day long, but that only matters as much as the nib, or tip, of the stylus does. You could have the most comfortable, best feeling stylus in your hands, but if that tip is not responsive, and doesn't perform well then you will be quite disappointed.

The H12 features a special silicon tip with a high polymer abrasion resistant coating, allowing it to be soft to the touch yet precise at the same time. Another way they are able to achieve this precision from the 6mm tip is the fact that under the larger tip they have placed a smaller tip which makes contact with the screen bringing the precision. Not a lot of force is required in order for the screen to register the tip of the H12, which is great as it allows for more of a flowing feel than needing to press the screen with force each movement. 

One of the true tests for this stylus was when I placed it in the hands of my 5 year old with a writing app open and asked him to write his name. Having usually only used a pencil, he was able to use the H12 to write his name almost just as well as he does on paper, which says a lot for the stylus.

Handwriting precision

Being a lefty, I tend to smear just about everything that I write on paper, so I was a bit nervous about how well a stylus would work for me, but the H12 did not disappoint. Knowing that people write in tons of different styles, some cursive, some capitals, some in lists and some in sentences a lot of testing went into this stylus. No matter what obstacle I tossed at the H12 it was able to come out on top, which was great.

Whether writing straight up and down, or coming at the screen from an angle I was able to create fluent and smooth lines, dot the i's and cross the t's with ease. When picking up a pen if there isn't good flow between strokes then odds are that I will put it right back down and look for something else to use. The Kuel H12 allowed fluent letters to be drawn, and allowed me to use my somewhat odd writing mix of capital and lowercase letters in just the same fashion that I do on paper.

Drawing/painting capabilities

Drawing is something that I am far from good at, never have been and likely never will be but that doesn't mean that I couldn't have some fun with trying. One of my favorite PlayBook applications is Sumo Paint Air, it's very similar to Photoshop and allows you to do some great things, but the problem I always faced was that my fat fingers didn't allow me to do much with it as everything blended together. The Kuel H12 changed that, big time. While you won't be making precision portraits with this stylus, it does a fine job of creating nice lines, shading and coloring areas as needed. Many of the tools, such as paint, blur, eraser, etc worked well, the only time I had some minor issues was using the fountain style pen where I wanted to create extremely fine lines and trying to connect them to other things.

If you are looking for something to play a few rounds of Sketch with Friends, or to draw some fun pictures to keep your kids entertained, the Kuel H12 will easily allow for you to do this.

Conclusion

Unfortunately,there is no perfect stylus for everyone. We really wish it was as simple as telling you this is the one that you need in your life and that is where it ended, but that would be bad for competition and it simply just is not the truth. While the Kuel H12 performed extremely well during testing there was a bit of a getting used to it period in which things weren't perfect. With the tip being a bit broad, and rather soft it takes a little getting used to in order to find your writing groove, but once you have it then it works like a champ.

In the areas that many will find to be most important the Kuel H12 was able to shine through and prove itself to be a great contender in the stylus market.  From writing to drawing and navigating in betwen the SGP Kuel H12 is a no brainer purchase for the combination of style and performance, especially weighing in at only $19.99. Be sure to grab one for yourself today in the ShopCrackBerry.com store!

Kuel H12 Stylus from KGP

The Bottom Line

The Keul H12 is a great value for the money, if you are looking for a stylus that gives you comfort, style and reliabilty for an affordable price, this is definitely a great option.