Based on all these things, here are my brief Wacom Bamboo suggestions. The full reviews can be found by clicking on each link below.
Wacom Bamboo Fun Tablet – Great for someone who has never used a tablet before and seriously wants to make the leap from standard drawing to digital without breaking the bank. I wouldn’t buy this for someone who isn’t very serious about learning and/or becoming a digital artist since the price is higher than the other Wacom Bamboo tablets.
Wacom Bamboo Craft Tablet – Perfect for the arts and craft and/or scrapbooker who wants less clutter and is computer literate. This is a small tablet drawing size wise and tablet size so some people might not like that aspect. Includes some very good software.
Wacom Bamboo Create Tablet – I would say this tablet is on the line between amateur artist and professional. I think it’s a big leap from never using a tablet, but that may be perfect for some.
Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch Small Tablet – Great for someone who is interested in the same things that the Bamboo Fun offers, but don’t have as much work space and want a cheaper price (usually 50% cheaper than Bamboo Fun).
Wacom Bamboo Pen Tablet – Not as cheap as the Bamboo Touch, but allows the user to be more precise when it comes to editing images, drawing or painting. It includes Corel Painter Essentials which is a good way to get started with digital art.
Wacom Bamboo Touch Tablet – Very good choice for anyone wanting a much cheaper version of a touch screen monitor or iPad and not much else. Doesn’t come with any special software, but it’s not necessary if you aren’t planning to manipulate images or draw.
Basic features for all Wacom Bamboo Tablets:
- Connects to a computer with a standard USB connection. Makes it portable and usable on laptops too.
- Size is important – Note the dimensions of the entire Wacom tablet as well as the active drawing area. it’s great to have more active area space (I believe the bigger the better) but having owned several in the past, what I’ve learned is that it also comes down to your desk working area and sometimes having something too big may not be practical.
- Includes Quick Start guide
- Includes Installation CD (includes driver software, interactive tutorial, and user’s manual)
- Wacom claims that using a pen tablet can help if you’ve experienced wrist pain from prolonged computer use. I do not know if this is scientifically proven, but might be worth a try if you suffer from wrist pain.
- Except for the Wacom Bamboo Touch, each tablet comes with a pressure sensitive pen.
- Except for the Wacom Bamboo Pen, each tablet comes with four customizable shortcut buttons (ExpressKeys).
Specifications for all Wacom Bamboo Tablets:
PC – Windows® 7, Vista® or XP with Service Pack 2
Mac – Mac OS® X (10.4.8 or higher)
Hardware – Requires color display, powered USB port, and CD/DVD drive
