Great software. The hardware, not so much. Crayola's iMarker ($29.99) is designed to work with Crayola's excellent ColorStudio HD app for the iPad, letting kids fill in an infinite array of coloring pages without making a mess. But you don't need the iMarker to enjoy the free ColorStudio app, and the less-expensive AppCrayon ($9.99) works better. 

The iMarker is a clunky plastic cylinder which you have to install a battery into, using a tiny Philips-head screwdriver (not included). It's big for a child's hand; at 5.5 inches wide and almost three-quarters of an inch in diameter, it was much larger than other children's styli we've tested. Hitting a button on the back of the iMarker makes the Crayola logo light up, and it's ready to play. In active mode, it only works properly with the ColorStudio HD app, and it requires quite a lot of force to color properly—at least for a six year old.

Our six-year-old tester, Nina-Rose, liked the iMarker once she knew to push down hard enough. The rubbery tip had decent friction against the iPad's screen, and the iMarker has palm rejection—you can rest your hand on the screen and color at the same time, and the app doesn't make splotches where you've put your palm.

While the iMarker isn't awful, it's too big, it's made of a somewhat uncomfortable plastic, and it's locked to Crayola's app. The competing AppCrayon ($9.99, 4 stars) works with a wider range of apps and is more comfortable to use, though it lacks palm rejection.

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