If you are in the design industry, you will agree with me when I say most of the tools available, whether software or hardware can be quiet expensive to buy and when you do find the cheap ones, they ten to offer the minimal functionality. Wacom has been one of the few who designs tools that provides useful functionalities at affordable prices.
Wacom Bamboo Pad (USB) Video
The Bamboo pad comes in the wireless as well as the USB variants, however, for this review we will be looking at the USB variant. The Bamboo Pad is a touchpad with a digital stylus that allows you to combine simple hand gestures with a pen for more convenient and intuitive navigating and annotation. So if you were to sign documents or you are and illustrator who needs to hand draw subjects, you will know how difficult it is to use your mouse to do so.
The Bamboo Pad can be used as a mouse also, although, using it as a mouse takes a little more of getting use to; its minimalist design also means it’s not distracting when on sitting next to the keyboard and its fairly large surface area means it’s easy to go over drawings, sign documents or illustrate new images. It has a button just on the lower middle area of the pad and for when you aren’t using the stylus, you can simply dock it in the hole on the right side.
Installation is very straight forward, you can either plug and play, then continue to use it, especially on the MAC, or you can also download the free software available in order to configure its sensitivity and everything else you might find useful to make sure that you are using it to its maximum capacity.
Whats included in the box:
- Bamboo Pad
- USB cable
- Quick start guide
System Requirements:
- Plug & Play under Win8 and Win7
- Driver available for Mac OS 10.7 or later
Specifications
- Active Area: 4.21 x 2.63 in
- Data Port: USB
- Physical Size: 5.5 x 6.5 x 0.18 to 0.61 in
- Pressure Levels: 512 with out eraser
There are some gestures available to the pad, just like using a Apple’s track pad for example, you can use two fingers to scroll or use three fingers for swiping; the Bamboo Pad is sufficient for designing and can even replace your mouse completely with its ability to perform the same tasks. For just under $50, its an absolute bargain and for just under $80, you can pick up the wireless version, which would allow you to be away from your data source for manipulation; for example you can slide through your design portfolio together with a client, without blocking their view.
Are you a designer? would you find something like this useful or is it better to invest in a more powerful tool? Wacom also do other powerful pads, capable of doing more. Check out Wacom’s website for more information.
1 Comment
It’s tiny!!