What exactly is a Wacom tablet?

[tlcmom]

I am a newbie and haven't heard of a Wacom tablet until this week. What exactly is it and what all can it do? Just curious since I have a birthday coming up and my family wants to know what to get me. Do you use yours a lot? Thanks for any info that you can provide!

[troush]

It is a tablet that comes with a special pen that you use to draw, write, or do other mouse things. It is very handy if you like doing art work. Yes, I like mine a whole lot.

-Trish

[mommalaher]

A Wacom tablet is a great thing to have if you are going to be using your Adobe program for drawing out things. I'll tell you the truth though. I have a no name brand tablet and I got on ebay for about 40.00 if you want to try one to see if it is worth the expense. Wacom tablets are expensive (to me) and not worth the investment if you arent going to use it often. Try the off brand one first i think it is just as good and it delivers great results.

[Laura Jean]

Wacom tablet is the best, I did buy one that did not cost as much at first but them I got the Wacom later after I new I truly wanted one there is a big difference in the Wacom tablet over the cheaper ones, so if you want to truly save money and think you will use one. And believe me if you buy one you will use it...
Then just go for the Wacom first. It is so easy to take the pen and outline something over using a mouse; drawing is much easier as you can set the pen presser. And lots of other things just make using a tablet and pen easier, to get your layouts done.
This is just …IMO

[givenout]

An additional benefit (besides the many already mentioned) using the Wacom pen relieves stress on my wrist/hand and I suspect may reduce onset of carpel tunnel syndrome - but this is just my humble opinion and not backed by any research that I am familiar with. It's nice to be able to switch between the pen and the mouse which also helps relieve tension. I don't think it is something that needs to be upgraded and therefore may be a worthwhile investment. Go for it!

[Wags]

Best Buy ran a special on the 4x5 Wacom Tablet at the end of summer - it was under $70 and come bundled with some cool software. I suspect that there will be a similar sale around thanksgiving (I'd bet it will show up in the black friday ads).


You can check them out here: http://www.wacom.com/graphire/4x5.cfm

Also CNET had this to say in their review: "Regular computer users who suffer from repetitive stress in their wrists or anyone who wants a more intuitive means to work on their desktops will also appreciate its ease of use."