Sunday, January 12, 2014

Intuos Small Pen and Touch Review

So, the new Intuos line has come out recently, and in two different sizes: Small, and Medium, with the option of Pen and Touch, or just Pen.

The Intuos line of graphics tablets are more engineered towards drawing than the Bamboo tablets, which are more engineered towards business, marketing, and note taking.

Here is the different between the Pen and Touch tablets, and the regular Pen tablets.

Pen and Touch: You will be able to Zoom in, Zoom out, Move around the image, move the cursor, and select. Also, the Pen comes with an eraser, which is useful in my opinion.

Pen: Everything but what is listed above. You won't be able to use the TrackPad on the tablet itself, and the Pen doesn't come with an eraser.

Here is a picture of the one I will be reviewing:


As you can see from the side view, the Intuos Small Pen and Touch is slightly built like the bottom of a MacBook Air. At the top, it is slightly thicker, but it tapers off towards the bottom.

  • Has four programmable buttons at the top. You can program it to open your favorite drawing program, you web broser, a certain file, etc.
  • You are able to swipe, tap, select, drag, rotate, and zoom with the Intuos Small Pen and Touch's TrackPad.
  • The Pen also comes with two programmable buttons, you can program it to use as an eraser, or to zoom in. This is also true for the regular Intuos Small Pen. (Without Touch)
  • Package comes with drivers, Sketchbook Express, and ArtRage.
  • Has 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity, (which we will get to later.)
  • Has an Active Drawing Area of 6x3.7 inches.


Positives
It has a really sleek feel and it's easy to get used to especially because it feels like paper. The nibs won't have to be replaced often because I'm drawing 24/7 and it's been half a month and the nib looks almost brand-new.

Negatives
It's TrackPad is too sensitive. (Not a big problem, you can change the sensitivity.) And there appears to be some lag when I use it on a MacBook. (I don't know if this happens on a Windows.) I wasn't able to install SketchBook Pro or ArtRage.

Price
The Intuos Small Pen and Touch costs around $100. It's not too expensive, and it's a nice starter tablet. Getting Just the Pen, and not the Pen and Touch drops a bit of the money off. It costs around $80. Also, the Intuos Medium costs $200. Slightly more pricey. 

Overall
It's a great tablet for people who don't want to spend too much money buying an expensive one or a Cintiq. Good for starters. If you live in America, you can pick one up at your local Best Buy, or online at Blick Art Materials.

Look forward to a review by me on a free drawing program called FireAlpaca soon on thetechnoface.


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