As a designer I have seen Wacom tablets in various shapes and sizes throughout the years. I have only used them a handful of times at colleagues offices however once learning of the Bamboo Pen & Touch and seeing the price, I decided to take the leap.
Overview:
For less than $100 you get an extremely capable pen tablet with a "rough around the edges" yet promising touch device. The shape and form factor is smallish yet works fine with my 20" widescreen monitor. The long USB cable should accommodate almost any workspace setup.
Pen:
The pen works flawlessly. Using the pen has dramatically increased my productivity particularly in Adobe Illustrator, it's a breeze to use compared to a mouse for vector work. It's also very capable in Photoshop and even as a mouse replacement for general use. The shape of the pen could be more contoured however and it's not easy to move quickly from using the pen to typing due to its shape. Overall I am very pleased using the pen.
Touch:
The multi-touch component of this device combined with the price is what sold me. I wanted a fluid experience much like other touch devices and this seemed, in combination with the pen, like the answer to a mouse-less desk. My initial impressions of the touch capabilities of the tablet were mixed, it was jittery, continually dragging items around my computer screen that I did not intend to move and frustrating. Now I have a touch pad on my laptop and am very comfortable using such a surface which made the experience even more confusing. A large portion of my problems were fixed by adjusting the preferences in the control panel as well as turning off the single finger "Drag" setting. Even after rectifying many of my issues I still feel like the touch experience could use some refinement, however I am sticking with it so far and have not returned to using a mouse.
Conclusion:
The Bamboo Pen & Touch offers a great entry into the tablet world along with a promising touch functionality. I would definitely buy this again with the strong message of adjusting the preferences right out of the box since this solved most of my initial issues. Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch
Pros:
- The gestures for the pad are intuitive.
- The stylus is pressure sensitive and works as one would expect for a Wacom tablet.
- The package comes with video tutorials for complete novices.
- The device is stylish and is well constructed and packaged.
Cons:
- It was too easy to inadvertently click and/or drag something by accident.
- I tried both placing it on the side where one would normally place a mouse and placing it south of the keyboard where one would normally use a trackpad on a laptop. The latter seemed to cause more of the accidental catches while I was typing. I am not entirely sure how I am able to trigger the tablet in that instance expect perhaps a tiny portion of my palm might be just catching the edge of it.
- After using it for some time I started to miss the hand support offered by a mouse, and began to feel some fatigue. I am not sure how long one can sustain that kind of activity.
- The surface of the pad has some resistance to give the stylus the sensation of writing on paper. However this does not make it as ideal a trackpad since your fingers don't glide over the surface as easily.
- Using the zoom, rotate, forward and backward page gestures seemed to introduce significant lag. As a result, for example, when you zoom in/out in a web browser it feels like you are lurching in and out. Often I find myself over shooting a zoom level.
- Sometimes you accidentally trigger the right mouse button when instead you are trying to use a 2-finger gesture.
- The placement of the cable should have been along the top of the unit rather than the side. Having it on the side means you can't cleanly butt it up against a keyboard without the wire getting in the way.
For the price it does what it claims and it is a respectable amount of capability for what you are paying for. I'm not entirely certain however it will ultimately be a successful device to replace the mouse.
I'll stick with it for a little longer and update my review if I feel differently.
I'm an artist. After I got my Macbook Pro, I decided to get a tablet to go along with it- some of my peers had said good things about tablets and I'd always wanted to try one.
All I can say is WOW.
Where do I start?
Well, my first impression was that this product has the "Apple effect". The packaging is very nice, everything is easy to find. The installation and tutorial is also incredibly easy.
The Pen
Then I put the pen to the pad. I was blown away. I had to check to see if I hadn't picked up a pencil instead; they're not kidding when they say it's a natural feel! The tablet feels amazingly natural; I was able to start creating art right away without a problem. The pen has a replaceable tip, a button that can be pressed two ways, and a thicker "eraser" tip. The buttons can be programmed for basic preset functions, or any keystrokes you want to program. The tip and eraser feel can actually be adjusted in System Preferences!
Navigation
Using it to navigate is fairly straightforward, and the two programmable buttons (default Scroll and Right Click) make the experience fairly smooth. However, it's much easier to use a mouse/trackpad with a keyboard than the pen plus keyboard just because you don't have to put a pen down to type.
Since I rest my hand on the sensor area while I draw, I usually turn the touch off and I keep it off- If you have a Macbook, you will find that there is absolutely no reason for you to use the touch functionality. While the tactile feel of drawing is amazing, I and my friends much prefer the Macbook trackpad. Also, three and four finger gestures are not supported.
If you're buying this tablet to draw, I would suggest keying the pen and tablet buttons to photoshop-related functions.
Software Integration
I've only used Photoshop, and the integration is amazing! The pressure sensitivity makes random sketching come out with a much more natural feel. Also, you can flip the pen around and it will become an eraser! Very useful. The handwriting recognition is also fairly nice. It works with any program and it's fairly accurate. I still find that I type much faster, but for people who don't it's worth a try.
In conclusion, for the purpose I bought it, this tablet is a definite 5/5. An absolute blast to use with, undoubtedly, the quality of a professional's precision tool. - Input Device - Pen - Tablet - Multi-touch'
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