Wacom Bamboo Pen Tablet
Posted by http://www.biznetinfo.comJul 26
- Battery-free, ergonomic pen with two programmable switches
- Includes Corel Painter Essentials 4.0 (Win and Mac) for creating natural media art and turning photos into paintings
- Easy USB connection
- Interactive tutorial helps you make the most of your Bamboo
Product Description
Bamboo Pen turns your computer into the ultimate editing tool and gives you the ability to paint, draw, edit, and personalize your documents with handwritten notes, sketches, and doodles. The ergonomically-designed pen fits comfortably in your hand, and the tablet’s textured work surface makes you feel like you’re working with a pen on paper. Bamboo Pen is a smart solution for anyone who strives for clear, visual communication. Write in digital ink, mark up docu… More >>
6 comments
Comment by neil baller on July 27, 2010 at 1:06 am
I’ve been a long time user of Wacom tablets, so when my old workhorse Intuos finally kicked the bucket I tried the new Bamboo. One of my designers at work recommended I give it a whirl.
Installation is a piece of cake. There are practically zero adjustments or preferences to set – to be expected at this price point. This is good and bad.
I’ve found the drivers (or something) to be a bit wiggy though. Sometimes I have to plug in a mouse (gah!) to force the tablet to read the screen again.
The sensitivity is lackluster, again to be expected. For basic stuff it’s fine, but for anything requiring brush work it leaves a lot to be desired. If you use Photoshop or Illustrator, invest in an Intuos. The money is well spent if you’re using it in a professional arena.
I can only recommend this for people interested in learning the beauty and usefulness of a tablet for computer graphics work, OR anyone who suffers from carpal tunnel. As a basic input device it’s effective enough. Using a pen feels more natural than pushing a bar of soap around a desk!
Rating: 3 / 5
Comment by Bobbie - "Andromeda's Grandma" on July 27, 2010 at 2:09 am
Do you remember when computers first came out and you had to go through a tutorial to use a mouse? Well, when I set up my pen, I felt like I was back in those days. Everything I’ve spent the last 15 years doing had to be rethought, and I went through the tutorials to learn it all over again.
The pen will / and does replace the mouse if you want to use it that way. You hold it in your hand like a pen, and move it across the tablet (which represents your screen). You don’t have to roll it across the screen like a mouse, instead, each area of the tablet represents an area of the screen, and once you put the pen down, you are in the correct place on the screen.
If you want to see where your cursor is going, you don’t have to touch the tablet, you simply keep the pen slightly above the tablet to make it work. You can click, drag, right click (with the button on the pen): anything you can do with a mouse, you can do with this more precise instrument. Best of all, the pen itself does not have a battery that will wear out.
But, where it shines is that it recognizes your handwriting and will convert it to text. Like the voice recognition software, you can work with it to help it recognize it better, but unless you have outrageously sloppy handwriting, it does a good job.
In Microsoft Word, when you hover the pen over the paper, you are given a palette where you can write words, then click to insert. [I have uploaded two photos to show you how it works.] You can use this feature on most programs, including e-mail. So, technically, the pen and tablet can completely eliminate the keyboard.
I say technically, because I found it slower to try to use it, especially the writing portion. With a typing speed of over 100 wpm, writing has always been slow for me. But, if someone doesn’t know the keyboard, it could actually be faster.
It comes with Corel Painter Essentials 4 (Win/Mac) and using this software (or other draw software), you can create your own drawings and export them into digital files. Because the cost of this software runs $30-$40, it makes this a very good value! I enjoy the Corel Painter Essentials (I use much of the corel software), because it can also do a wonderful job of converting photos to paintings, chalk drawings, etc. Tutorials are included for this software as well.
If you use your pen in conjunction with the software, you can create details to be included a lot easier than you can simply using your mouse.
Pros:
Easy to use, a great value, and good software included!
Pen does not have the repetitive action of the mouse and I found it to be easy on my wrists – I am at risk for carpal tunnel, and that’s a critical issue.
The pen is very sensitive to touch and works well in the painting program.
The tutorial for the pen comes with a fun British accent, and it does a wonderful job of walking you through the basics.
Cons:
Pen must be at the correct angle to be recognized. It means the pad must be in a location where you can easily write on it. (I often use a laptop, and this is a key issue)
High learning curve for beginners to use the tablet in place of a mouse
Unless you are doing detailed drawings or need to write with it, most of the functions can be handled easily by a mouse.
The hardest part about writing this review is that I’m worried that even 2-3 years from now everyone will have tablets, and they will laugh at me and my difficulty in learning this tool. I will continue to use it, and will practice with it a lot in the drawing software, but for now will most likely depend upon my faithful mouse (trackball actually)to do most of my computing work and save the Pen/Pad for what it does best.
It’s a great tool and does everything it is supposed to do! And, even someone in my age bracket can learn to use it.
***Edited***
The fun part about new things is that you learn a lot about the “old things” you didn’t use on your computer.
One of these things is the “journal” on my computer. By right-clicking the desktop and choosing “New Journal Page” you create a document that you can use to store information, including pen-created items. You can utilize it for handwriting recognition, or you can copy and paste your handwriting into another document, including Word and e-mails. (think signature)
Another fun capability I wasn’t aware of was in Powerpoint. Once you are in a presentation, you can use a control P command to create a pen and mark up the screen of a presentation. In a sense, this can replace the old “overheads” we used to mark up in presentations. Obviously, it’s a lot easier to do this with a pen than a mouse.
All of the instructions said that marking up documents was possible. I followed Wacom’s instructions – the correct location is under the review tab, there is a tab marked “start inking.” This tab did NOT appear in Microsoft Word for me when I originally installed the tablet software. After uninstalling the software that shipped with the tablet and re-installing the newest driver directly from Wacom, the tab appears. By turning ink on, I can now mark up documents and work directly in Microsoft Word. [I have included a photo above to demonstrate the mark-up that is possible.]
The more I learn, the more I like the tablet! I keep my trackball handy, but I’m using the tablet more and more for small things.
Rating: 5 / 5
Comment by Cara Fuller on July 27, 2010 at 2:37 am
For as cheap as this little tablet is, it does a GREAT job! I purchased it to have an extra travel one; I have a larger Intuos that is PHENOMENAL (I won’t lie, it is much more sensitive and because it is larger it is much, much, much more precise) but the problem is that it is totally unsuitable for a mobile lifestyle. This little cutie works excellent for the things I do on the fly.
Considering that I am a professional digital imaging specialist who uses my tablets constantly, I hope you’ll take this advice: for those of you who are weekend enthusiasts or whom are just getting started and perhaps may have never used a tablet before, this is a good one to purchase. It does just fine for most applications and is sensitive enough to do the average things. Once you’ve totally become addicted to it and know for sure that it suits your needs, maybe then save up and get a larger Intuos.
Rating: 4 / 5
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Comment by R. Mansur on July 27, 2010 at 5:19 am
I bought the Wacom Bamboo Pen to aide me with my studies. I am currently a student and primarily use Microsoft OneNote to help in my notetaking. This is the most convenient for me as most of my professors utilize Microsoft PowerPoint for their lecture slides. I needed a tablet to use with my Windows 7 PC and laptop to further improve my ability to take notes and work out practice problems electronically.
When it came to installation, it was plug and play for the most part. I am running Windows 7 which comes with Tablet PC components by default. The only additional software needed was the Wacom Pen Tablet Properties software. The software allows a great deal of customization including handedness, pen vs. mouse mode, and many others.
When it comes to usage, it works as expected. Utilizing a tablet can be difficult at first like learning all new things, but I started noticing my dexterity improve over time. As stated previously, I mostly use it for notetaking and working out problems and it serves its purpose well. The only gripe I have is that it is sometimes easy to accidentally hit the side buttons on the pen as they are really soft and easy to push, but I changed the way I hold the pen to compensate for that.
Now as far as reliability, I have noticed the pen has started to malfunction. I bought the pen on 11/28/09 and the pen started malfunctioning on approximately 12/5/2009. After a restart, the Pen Tablet Properties software will not load at all. This makes the whole tablet completely functionless and unable to respond to taps. When I check Device and Printers in the control panel, there are no problems detected with the tablet. The only way to resolve the issue is to reinstall the driver, which is a pain because it must be done after every restart. I have posted on the Wacom EU support forums and searched for solutions but have not come up with anything satisfactoy as of yet. I am contemplating returning the Bamboo Pen before it is too late to do so and just saving up for a better (albeit more expensive) tablet.
Update on 12/13/2009:
I may have found a fix to the issue. What I did was unplug the tablet, uninstall the Pen tablet properties software, and remove the tablet from ‘Devices’ in control panel. I then reinstalled the Pen tablet properties software first, and then plugged back in the tablet. It may be crucial to install the software prior to plugging in the tablet so that Windows 7 installs Wacom’s drivers instead of the ones that come preinstalled. The tablet appears to be working as it should now. I will keep Amazon informed about any new issues that may arise with the tablet.
Updated score: 3.5/5
Rating: 3 / 5
Comment by ZoomZoom on July 27, 2010 at 7:42 am
Highly recommended. This is well worth the money and all I need. I do retouching and Photoshop work for a living and this tablet and resolution works fine for me. I do not miss the more expensive WACOM Intuos 6×9 brand tablet that I used at work. The small size is perfect and I don’t have to move my arm great distances to move the cursor across the screen. I don’t like to program dials and buttons either and this tablet is clean and simple.
Rating: 5 / 5
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