Using the PDA Panache Trio-1 Triple Function Stylus may be a little confusing at first. But once you know the trick, it's as easy as drinking water. And it's a nice way to impress chicks because the way the pen functions is almost magical. :D

If you notice, there's only one top button where you press upon to engage a tip and one side 'button' which releases an engaged tip. So, if there's only ONE button to engage the tip, how do you choose which of the THREE tips you to engage? How can one button select three tips? Are the engineers who invented this stylus dumb or something?

Oh, let me assure you that the engineers who invented the stylus are geniuses! Take a look at the pictures again. Notice that near the push button are three different markings spread out equally around its circumference. The red dot represents the stylus tip, the black dot denotes the black ball-point pen tip while the 30.5 is for the 0.5mm mechanical pencil tip. And here's how it works.

Let's say you want the stylus tip. Simple turn the stylus until the red dot faces you. Then, press the push button and voila, the orange stylus tip pops out. But if you want the black ball-point pen tip instead, simply disengage the stylus tip by pressing the side button and turn the stylus until the black dot faces you. Now, press the head of the stylus and the ball-point pen tip pops out instead! It as simple as that.

A quick peek inside the Trio-1 Triple Function Stylus will show us a little on how it works its magic.

As you can see here, when the black dot is facing upwards, the black ball-point pen tip is at the bottom position. This shows that gravity plays a part in the operation of the stylus.

Editor's Comments

Note that the reliance on gravity means that the stylus has to be more or less horizontal for the mechanism to work properly. If you try to select a tip vertically, you will find that you may not get the tip you want. So, keep in mind to do your selection horizontally. :)

I just wish they would print some instructions. The selection process isn't that intuitive. I didn't figure out how it worked when I first saw it. Maybe I'm just an dolt. But I'm pretty sure printing some instructions on how to make full use of the pen wouldn't be that difficult...