Product Reviews

Here's a rum do: a graphics tablet without a stylus. Actually, this latest tablet from Wacom comes in two versions and one does include its excellent Grip Pen stylus, but we're specifically reviewing the CAD version, which instead includes a high-precision mouse for plotting points from printed plans.

It doesn't, though, include the bundled Corel Painter Essentials 2 software found in the rest of the Intuos3 range, which seems a bit mean.

The tablet itself is much chunkier than the others in the Intuos3 range - 36mm at its thickest - but otherwise shares the same basic specifications that were introduced at the birth of the new range. It boasts 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity and 5080spi (samples per inch) resolution for a precise and naturalistic experience.

On each side of the main

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digitiser surface is a group of buttons - ExpressKeys - and Touch Strips, which can be configured using the excellent system preference pane. These preferences can be set on a per-application basis if required, and in supported applications, the unique Tool ID embedded in each stylus and mouse can tie specific behaviours to specific pointing devices. You could, say, program one stylus to be a splodgy paintbrush and another to be a precise technical pen.

The mouse supplied with the CAD edition is very good. The point sampled is recorded from the point the lens' crosshairs meet. What's more, this lens can be rotated 50 degrees to the left and right to help you keep the lens in view no matter whether you're left- or right-handed. And because a graphics tablet maps movement based on the absolute position of the static pad, rotating the lens and even altering the angle of the mouse still means moving your hand straight up moves the on-screen cursor straight up, too. The mouse's five buttons can be mapped using the preference pane, but it a can be a little uncomfortable to access them all.

This tablet is up to Wacom's usual high standards, but it's expensive and not including Painter Essentials 2 is stingy. Most creatives would be better served with one of the other sizes, which come with a stylus - you can always add the excellent lens cursor mouse to any Intuos3 tablet for £65.