Supernote has just released their second generation Heart of Metal pens. They have ceramic nibs, so they are only compatible with their own products, such as the A5X and A6X. If you use them on any other device you will scratch the screen. The big selling points behind these pens are the brass body, with a plastic grip. This adds a a tremendous amount of heft, making it easier to grip and write on the screen. The cap of the stylus can sit on the top, like a real pen. The stylus are WACOM certified, so they don’t need to be recharged. They have 4096 degrees of pressure sensativity.
The pen in our video review is the black Samurai pen. This one has a alloy plating on the body, which gives it a premium feel. It weights 36g, which is one of the heaviest pens of all time. The nibs are made of ceramic, the gen 1 version had a plastic nib. The nib canister can actually be removed and the you can use the canister from the Lamy Al-Star pen in the Heart of Metal Gen 2, so you can use a plastic nib instead. This is useful if you like the industrial design of the Heart of Metal Gen 2 pen, but you want to use it with your current e-note, such as the Remarkable 2, Kindle Scribe or Onyx Boox. However, you will have to buy both a Lamy Al-Star pen and also a black version of the SuperNote Pen, each one is around $100 each. However, if you intend on just using the HOM stylus with your existing Supernote device, these new styluses are quite excellent and visually striking.
One thing I like about these new pens are the minimalist Supernote logo. It is etched into the pen, in the middle. If you actually buy the stylus from Supernote they are offering you to write your own logo or text, similar to how Apple will do this on the Airpods Case or other products. This makes Supernote the only company that offers customized text services. The polka dotted pens are platted with 24k gold platting, making it very luxurious. Finally, the one advantage of Heart of Metal in general is that it is distinctive, it doesn’t look like all of the other generic plastic body pens you get for free when you buy an e-note. HOM are always premium optional purchases and if you are invested with the Supernote brand, it just makes sense to buy one of these.
You can buy the Supernote Heart of Metal Gen 2 directly from Supernote or you can order them from the Good e-Reader Store.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
