jkOnTheRun Review- Lovin’ the Lamy Accent 4 in 1 pen
One of the best things about using a Tablet PC with a touchscreen is the ability to use just about any old stylus instead of a special pen. While some touchscreen devices come with a lousy stylus, I have to admit that the stylus that came with the Fujitsu P1610 is not too bad as styli go. I have been using it a lot since my trusty old no-name multi-tip stylus started getting all scratchy recently. As good as it is, I still like the feel of writing with a real pen so a few days ago I headed over to Stylus Central to see what was available. It didn’t take me long to fall in lust with the Lamy Accent 4 in 1 pen. Lamy are fine pen makers in Germany and the 4 in 1 is a classy instrument that looked like I could write on my Tablet just like a real pen on paper.
I was wrong about that, the experience is even better! Writing on the P1610 with the Lamy is like writing with a fine fountain pen, the stylus glides over the screen like butter. The pen sports 4 tips in a nice black and silver housing that speaks of understated elegance. The pen doesn’t look fancy, though, so it is at home in any setting. Every seam and joint in the Lamy is perfectly tooled and the pen is a fine piece of craftsmanship. Can you tell I really like this pen?
The four tips on the Lamy are a 0.7 mm mechanical pencil, a black ball point pen, the stylus, and an interesting orange highlighter/ felt tip. What sets the Lamy apart from other multi-tip pens is the clever way you select the desired tip. Around the top of the pen just below the clicker is a narrow band of colors, each color representing a particular tip. To select a tip you hold the pen and rotate the entire pen until the color representing the desired tip is pointing up, and when you depress the clicker on top the proper tip magically protrudes from the barrel for use. It is so simple and works perfectly every time, unlike most multi-tip pens I’ve used. To retract the tip back into the barrel there is a small silver button that does that when pressed.
This pen makes writing on the screen such a joy that I’ve been having fun using it. It’s not cheap at $70 but how often can you say your stylus is fun to use? The pencil and pen tips work really nice too for those moments when I have to write paper notes to give others. Of course there is a tiny eraser under the top of the pen for correcting errors made with the pencil.
I am extremely pleased with the Lamy Accent 4 in 1 pen and highly recommend it if you can afford it. I spend so much time taking notes on my Tablet that for me the expenditure was worth it.
UPDATE: checking the website I see that the Lamy Accent is now on sale for $59.99. I guess I bought mine too early.
Hey James:
I enjoy your “On the run with Tablet PC’s” and keep up with the blog. There is a much better deal out there at http://www.stylusplus.com/ their top of the line 4-way pen clocks in at a whopping 12.49 each. There are endless configuration options: with or without a pencil, 3 different stylus colors and 5 ink color choices. I have bought and used many of these for years. My longest lasting one endured 2 1/2 years of work on paper, Palm Pilots and anything else imaginable. They are just the right weight, have perfect balance, always work and are just about impossible to destroy. I feel much better about loosing a $13 dollar pen than a $50 one so I usually keep 2 or 3 around.
Check out the site if you like.
If I can put in one warning on this… be careful how much you spend on these 4-in-1 pens. I have had several over the years. My most recent one was a Fisher “space” pen. I like their cartridges because they tend to write smoother in my opinion (relatively speaking). But all-in-all, I have not found much difference between the expensive ones and the cheap ones. To be honest, they’re pretty much all the same thing. Most of them do not write very well (ink), but the tips are truly excellent on the P1510 and P1610.
If they came out with one with GEL, then I would probably go for that.
This stylus sounds interesting; thanks for the review. Even though I’m trying to be as paperless as possible, I am still a total pen freak (buying them for use with my Moleskines), so I’m always buying interesting pens.
My current alternate stylus for the P1610 is a Fisher Space Pen with a stylus end on the outside.
http://www.spacepen.com/Public/Products/BulletPen/Stylus/index.cfm?productID=288
I love it because I can have a pen with me all the time (it’s small enough to keep in my pocket; you’d be surprised how useful having a pen all the time is), and the fit and finish is pretty nice. The only thing I would improve about it is to offer it in the rainbow titanium finish (I have another bullet pen in this finish…so cool-looking
). 
Cheryl, I HAVE to ask: since you’re using the Fisher Space Pen, does that mean you can ink upside down and underwater?
Another unique and understated detail about this Lamy, is that the country of origin – Germany; is stamped on the UNDERSIDE of the clip. It is completely unnoticeable unless you look for it. Beautiful.