I don't agree with all of the computer-related columns authored by Farhad Manjoo but I'm with him when he touts the joys of iPadding with a stylus. So what if Steve Jobs wanted us all to finger-paint on whatever we bought from him? I don't have the daintiest fingers in the world and a stylus works much, much better for me…though not all of them. I tried a number that were just too short and I returned to an Office Depot one brand (sorry, I don't recall which one) that was made to work with an iPad but wouldn't register at all on mine. I also liked the idea of having a pen in my stylus for those increasingly-remote times when you need to actually write on a piece of what some still call "paper."
The Kensington model gives me a great stylus and an acceptable pen — oh, and as you can see, it has a clip on it which I also consider an absolute necessity. It's not perfect. I wish I had a wider, slightly heavier stylus with a gel-pen ink supply. I also wish that on the packaging or in the advertising for these things, they'd tell you how to buy a refill for the pen when it runs out. The Kensington says "Uses Parker ball pen refill" (which alas, does not seem to mean the Parker gel pen refills, just the ballpoint) but the other ones I've seen don't tell you. That's one of the reasons along with its length and balance that the Kensington is the best one I've found. If you want to try one out, here's an Amazon link.