Wacom Bamboo Tablet, the Bamboo Splash

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.

New Intuos5 Launched Today!

intuos5 wacom tablet

Intuos5

Wacom launched the new Intuos5 in Europe today! It will be in the U.S. soon, but no date yet.

The most talked about feature is the multitouch gesture support and “Express View” head-up display software and soft-touch feel. You will be able to create custom gestures while the head-up display shows current tablet settings on your computer screen. The gestures are similar to an Apple iPad where you can use 3 fingers to zoom in or out, for example.

The new Intuos5 will support all standard Windows and Mac multitouch gestures. The different tablet sizes are 13×8″, 6×8″ and 4×6″.

With the new Wacom tablets avaialble, I suspect the Intuos4 tablets will go down in price. Intuos5 is currently priced at £200 to £430 in Europe. They come in three sizes, 13×8″, 6×8″ and 4×6″. The small is priced at $229.95, medium at $349.95, and the large at $469.95. A pen-only version of the small tablet will also be available, but a price has not been confirmed yet. An optional wireless accessory kit is available to convert your Intuos into a wireless tablet to make it more convenient and comfortable.

I’m not sure how much better the Intuos5 will be compared to the Intuos4 model. So far, it seems like they are trying to keep up with technology by adding standard and custom gestures. Some people may argue that this new feature is not enough to make them upgrade. I can see how designers who are new to using a Wacom tablet and are used to using gestures will enjoy this new Wacom tablet the most. I want to keep an open mind since it launched today and there aren’t enough reviews yet, but based on what I know, I do not recommend upgrading yet.

Samsung 10 Inch Galaxy Note Tries to Compete With Wacom Tablets

So far, I have heard a few people ridicule the new Samsung Galaxy Note because of it’s size. Combining a tablet and phone together seems like a good idea until you realize you will be holding a phone that is as big as your face up to your ear. The Galaxy Note might be a good tablet option for those wanting a smaller design, but a phone? I’m not sold. What do you think? Is the Samsung Galaxy Note on your wish list?

Stealing features from the Galaxy Tab tablet and Note phone/tablet/whatever-it-is, the 10.1 inch Galaxy Note is aimed squarely at the creative types. Just like the rumours suggested, the Ice Cream Sandwich tablet comes with an S Pen stylus for sketching or jotting down notes, with the new marketing buzzword “S Note,”