Category Archives: stylus

New Cintiq Companion & Companion Hybrid Tablets

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Two new Cintiq tablets will be available in October 2013

Wacom has been silent for a long time and now we all know why!

Cintiq Companion:

wacom cintiq companion tablet

  •  Uses full versions of  creative programs like Adobe Photoshop.
  •  Multi-touch screen capability.
  •  Adjustable and detachable stand.
  •  Features a front and back HD camera.
  •  The Pro Pen features a new ergonomic design.

Tech Specs:

  •  HD 1920 x 1080 display
  •  8 GB of RAM, 3rd generation Intel Core Processor i7  & Intel HD Graphics 4000
  •  Windows 8
  •  Wacom Pro Pen with 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity
  •  2MP for the front camera & a 8MP for the back camera.

The Companion seems to be a very powerful tablet. This is something I have been wanting for a while. A portable drawing/painting tablet that also allows me to use the full version of Photoshop, email and I can stream movies and music with Bluetooth and Wifi.

As with most of Wacom’s tablets, the price is hefty. The Cintiq Companion will cost you $1999 for 256GB and $2499 for 512GB. You can pre-oder it now, but I recommend waiting because they usually sell for less on Amazon.

If you are looking to buy a less expensive portable Wacom tablet, I suggest clicking here to read my review of the Cintiq 13HD.

Cintiq Companion Hybrid:

wacom cintiq companion hybrid tablet with android

The Companion Hybrid is intended to be more like a sketchpad than the Companion or a  regular Cintiq tablet. For example, you can only use Android creative apps for drawing and painting.  I view this tablet to be a big step up from the Wacom Inkling Digital Sketch Pad. The Hybrid also includes two HD cameras, Wifi and Bluetooth.

It’s possible that the Android drawing and painting apps could be limiting.

Specifics:

  • 13.3 inch HD display and lightweight making it very portable.
  • Uses the same great pressure sensitive pen.
  • Multi-touch screen.
  • Adjustable and removable stand.

The Hybrid has a lower price than the regular Companion. It is $1499 for 6GB and $1599 for 32GB. Again, I recommend waiting if you can. The prices always seem to drop once they are available at other online stores.

Wacom Bamboo Tablet, the Bamboo Splash

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This seems like the best and most affordable Wacom digital drawing tablet available.

Wacom bamboo tablet, the Splash

I don’t know how I missed the Bamboo Splash announcement! I’m either slacking or Wacom didn’t make a major announcement about it because it’s pretty inexpensive compared to their other drawing tablets.

Wacom doesn’t have a link to retailers on their site, but I found one on Amazon for $69.99. Click here to read more or buy.

The Splash is most similar to the Bamboo Connect. The only difference I can find is that the Bamboo Splash includes ArtRage and Autodesk, where as the Connect only includes AutoDesk.

This is an important difference if you are planning to use this tablet for art.

The Bamboo Connect is being advertised as a great tool for note taking and signature capturing. You can use it to draw, but you’ll need to own the right software for that already, like Photoshop or ArtRage.

Wacom bamboo tablet, the Splash

I recommend the Wacom Bamboo Splash an inexpensive and high quality drawing tablet for anyone looking to expand their drawing abilities. It may be small, but it’s really not any smaller than an iPad and as far as I know, you can’t use Photoshop or ArtRage on an iPad.

This Wacom tablet will make a great Christmas gift for someone who wants to make the transition from traditional drawing to digital drawing. Click here for more info or buy.

The Return of the Pen Stylus For Non-Wacom Devices

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It looks like the stylus is making a comeback! Wacom is a pioneer when it comes to the pen for all of their pen tablets, but plenty of other companies are introducing their own stylus for smart phones, iPads and iPad counterparts.

For those who may notknow, a stylus is the “pen” used to draw, write or move images on a multitouch surface using pressure sensitivity. The more pressure sensitive the stylus, the more detailed strokes you can create.

Here are some styluses that are appearing for various pen tablets and smart phones.

scribbly stylus for ipad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Scribbly iPad pen stylus is a fun stylus that looks and feels like a giant dry-erase marker. It isn’t better than any other stylus, but it’s possibly more comfortable to hold. It reminds me of being a kid. It comes with a cap to protect the point and it’s affordable at $16. It’s not available for sale yet and the company says it will be out “soon”.

just mobile alupen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Just Mobile AluPen is another chunky stylus, but this one is shaped like a fat pencil. The AluPen has a rubber core and a rubber tip. The aluminium body shape keeps it from rolling away on flat surfaces. Unlike other rubber tipped styluses, this one doesn’t stick to the screen. The silver version is available for less than $20 on Amazon and also comes in red, blue and black!

crayola imarker stylus color studio

 

 

 

 

 

If you enjoy letting your kids use your iPad/iPad 2, but want a fatter stylus for their small hands, then the Crayola ColorStudio HD iMarker by Griffin might be the best for them. It includes a coloring app that has Crayola’s stamp of approval. The iMarker acts as a pen, paintbrush, marker and crayon. Parents can print, email or upload their pictures to Facebook to share. So far this seems like the best app and stylus combo for kids. It retails for $30, but sells for less than $30 on Amazon.

pogo sketch pen by Ten One Design

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The slim Pogo Sketch stylus from Ten One, is not intended to be as accurate as a Wacom stylus. It’s purpose is to replace using your finger on your multitouch surface. No more finger prints messing up your device’s clean face because this pen has a foam tip. It’s also perfect for quick sketches where you need more detail that isn’t possible with a finger. The newest model isn’t available for sale yet, but you can buy the original on Amazon for less than $15 right now. Available in pink, orange and green as well.

These styluses are not going to replace the detail you can create with a Wacom graphics tablet and pen, but they do get you closer without spending too much.