Does the Surface RT support pen input of any kind?

The Surface with Windows RT supports Capacitive pen's / Stylus'.

That is correct. It must be a capacitive stylus. You can search for those at electronics/computer retailers online and brick and mortar.

That pen does not work in that fashion.  It uses a built-in digitizer within the Pro models for function.

What you want is at the Microsoft online store (and other stores as well) is one of the JOT ADDONIS stylus pens.  Those things are designed for use with touchscreens and are outstanding.  Not expensive either.  They have a target disk attached to the point which is a little strange looking but the pens have high reviews.

Save your money and get the right stylus.

There is no digitizer circuit in the RT tablets.  Wacom drivers have nothing to install to.  A digitizer also relies on a mechanical stylus pen in order to work.  Did you get one with the RT?  A digitizer is a two component input system.  The Pro models 'DO' have a digitizer built into them and come with the stylus for that.  Since it looks like you may already have the RT, it would be too late to recommend getting one of those.

You are looking for "Digital Ink" which is a different technology based on OCR.  That technology uses touchscreens.  So, Microsoft needs to blow the dust off of their digital ink software they had for PocketPCs and have that available for the systems we have today.

Surface Pens only work with Surface Pro. The Surface RT does not have a screen to support this.

Buy the Pro instead. The Surface RT has no sensors for a stylus pen. You can use a capacitive pen though, but its it's something I don't recommend. First because you don't have a "palm block" and secondly those things are just plainly imprecise.

The best program / app for taking notes is MS OneNote. I'm using it since 2003 and I can really recommend it.

The paintbrush stylus was designed for the RT!  It is just that it will work with any computer with a touchscreen and will work with the Pro as well.  It is not mechanical such as the digital pen stylus that comes with the Pro.

If your goal is inking the only one I've found that works well is the Adonit Jot Pro but isn't great at using for navigation, just make sure your screen is clean before using it. For navigation and scribbling the occasional note the Wacom Bamboo Capacitive Stylus with the firm nib works well, but inking isn't great.

I sent some feedback to a couple of companies that make stylus regarding just that.  You may be able to look around for any of the old PocketPC stylus pens that might be available on the market.  Those had a fine point, rubber tip, and designed for signatures.  When the PocketPC phased out, the pens vanished but might still be available somewhere.

That was about a month ago I sent the feedback and have not heard a word from any though.

I am also looking into the Nintendo WII U stylus to see if they work.  They are small, fine pointed, and real dirt cheap (if you don't mind day-glow colors).

An exception to that might be the iPen. http://www.cregle.com/

no. it would require special digitizer hardware on the tablet.

pro has a digitizer on the screen. rt does not. you will never ever use the pro stylus on the rt, it can only interpret "finger" input.

Greetings,

Mathias, you are correct. The Surface RT uses Capacitive pens which usually have a rubber tip, and simulate finger touch input. The Surface Pro uses a Digitizer system, but will still support Capacitive pens as they simulate finger touch input.

Hello Jalen,

We appreciate your feedback! We will pass it along to our Product team.

Best Regards.

Really would opt out of screen protector - if you have a sleeve, the Surface is reported to have Gorilla Glass

I too have the Jot Pro - I would recommend

Greetings,

That's a great question. The Surface Pro digitizer pen, will not work on the Surface RT. The Surface RT supports capacitive pens.

I found out the answer.  On the RT, you must use a capacative stylus.  Microsoft doesn't sell them; Amazon and Best Buy do.  On the Pro, it comes with a stylus and has upgraded software to handle script. 

Thank you everyone for your help.

In PowerPoint are you using Presentation Mode? If so, in the lower left comer you can select the inking option, you'll need a Capacitive Stylus or you can use your finger. If you are in edit mode, Inking is under the Review Tab.

Greetings,

The Surface Pro uses a Digitizer pen, while the Surface RT uses a capacitive pen. The Digitizer pen will not work on the Surface RT.

Greetings D00Dle,

That's a great question. There isn't a capacitive pen that connects to the Surface.

Hi Stu_22,

Currently there is no feature to change screen sensitivity. It could be the screen protector that is causing the discontinuous lines.

Try drawing lines with your finger, and let us know if it replicates.

Best Regards.

Greetings Fauxzombie,

The Surface with Windows RT only supports Capacitive pens, but the "precision" capacitive pen should work. 

Just to error on the side of caution, I would make sure that wherever you get your precision pen, that they have a return policy just in case it doesn't work.

You may also be able to find more information about it on the Windows Compatibility Site

Let us know if that helps.

Surface with Windows RT supports a capacitive pen/stylus which you can use in place of your finger (however, no support for pressure sensitivity).

Surface with Windows 8 Pro includes a digital pen which may give you the feel you want for drawing. Hard to say, since it hasn't been released yet. There's some info here:

http://www.microsoft.com/Surface/en-US/surface-with-windows-8-pro/help-me-choose

Kate

You can use any capacitive stylus with the Surface RT.

Hi stephend-,

From everything I've read and seen, I'd have to say no as the Digitizer Pens that are supposed to come with require special hardware. To date, only the Capacitive Touch pens are known to work with the Surface RT tablet. Sorry that this is probably not the answer you're looking for.

I hope this helps!

David

Hey Edwin, 

The Surface with Windows RT, doesn't support digitizer pens. It does support capacitive pens. I hope this information was helpful, please let us know if you need further assistance.

Hey Fouad_700,

Thanks for stopping by! The Surface with Windows RT supports Capacitive Pens only. As long as the Pen in question is a Capacitive Pen, it will function.

There was a new RT app released in the MS Store today called "Note Anytime", an application built to maximize on the writing abilities of capacitive touchscreens.

It comes with palm blocking functionality. It's easy to find, when in Store bring up your Charms and select Search, type Note Anytime and search - it will take you right to it.

I've been using the nexxtech alluminum stylus (in blue) http://www.thesource.ca/estore/product.aspx?language=en-CA&catalog=Online&category=Tablet-accessories&product=8001904

for over a week now, and so long as the screen isn't dirty it works quite well with handwriting support.

Hi TechAddicted,

Yes, you are correct in that Surface RT does not protect against accidental palm presses and only appears to work with Capacitive Touch pens, which are not known for being accurate. I played with some of those pens at the Brookstone store and did find one that worked to my satisfaction.

From what I understand the Surface Pro will have Pen input and pen (included with purchase), as well as "palm protection." If digital ink is a priority for you, then you might consider getting a Surface pro device when they are released (in approximately 3 months or so).

I hope this helps!

David

It certainly works better than it did on the original tablets, but if pen input is super-important for you the Surface Pro will be leaps and bounds better than the RT.

Check this thread for an answer:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_other-hardware/will-the-surface-rt-have-any-stylus-support/eba0a39b-be8a-42df-adac-8c38df315465

Hope this helps.

Hi Mikey,

To answer your question the difference between the digital stylus and capacitive pen are in the way they interact with the device, in this case the Surface. A capacitive pen is designed to be used as a substitute for a finger when using a touch screen.  In contrast, a digital pen has a much more computed interaction that requires both the device and pen to be able to read each other. So if you are looking to get a pen to use with your Surface with Windows RT, the capacitive is what you want and what will be compatible!

Hope that helps!

Hi AnthonyKilluchi,

The Surface with Windows RT only supports capacitive pen input and not digital input which is what I think you are after. The Surface with Windows 8 Pro will support digital pen input and sounds like it will be a much better match to what you are looking to do for it. I'd recommend following up with sketchbook pro and photoshop to learn about their support for Windows 8 and Windows RT.

Please let us know if you have any further questions.

Thanks!

Capacitive Pens are only supported by Surface RT while Surface Pro supports Digital Pen Input.

It does. You must use a capacitive stylus. I saw on another thread that the Bamboo Stylus works well.

Surface RT only supports Capacitive Pens.  The Surface Pro supports Digital Pen Input.