At only $40, buying an AluPen for yourself isn’t going to set you back an unnecessary amount of money, and it will come in handy no matter for what you use your iPad. Those who are heavy into drawing and iOS gaming should consider this a must-have, though. As a simple accessory that provides nothing more than a stylus optimized for use on an iPad, the AluPen will save your fingers from excessive straining and will improve the way you navigate through and use your iPad or other touch-screen tablet device.

I’ve spoken with other iDevice bloggers and users who consider using a stylus blasphemous. I feel they’re wrong. Although I’m generally happy to use my fingers, a stylus often makes sense. You get better precision, obviously, you don’t grease up the screen, and you just look more professional. If you agree on any one or more of those three points, you should consider the Candy Stylus and Pen from Hard Candy.

I recently had the chance to try out the Pogo Stylus from Ten One Design. It is one of few styli that is compatible with the iPhone and iPod touch. The design is quite simple—a small fuzzy tip and a small pen, about the length of the iPhone. It comes with a clip for keeping it with the iPhone, but it still seems quite inevitable that many will be lost.