Wacom Intuos4 Review

The Wacom Intuos4 is a graphics tablet that allows you to control the mouse on your computer by putting the pen on the tablet. What makes this really useful is using it in design applications. By using a pen instead of a mouse, it really lets you draw more naturally.

The Intuos4 has 8 programmable buttons with an OLED display next to each row of buttons. It also has a Touch Ring that is very much like an iPod touch ring. On the side of the tablet it has 2 mini usb ports. The reason for 2 is because this tablet is ambidextrous. The fact that there is 2 usb ports really shows that Wacom was thinking about the little details.

The pen is really nicely design, and feels really good when your holding it. The is a rubbery grip where your hand goes, and is also 2 programmable buttons right at the reach of your thumb. On the end of the pen there is an eraser that automatically switches to the eraser tool, if there is one. If there isn't an eraser in the application that your using, it just acts the same as the tip on the pen. The pen holder that it comes with is much cooler than just a pen holder. Inside of it holds of the nibs for your pen. There are 6 black nibs, that feel like your using a pen, 3 white nibs that feel like your drawing with a pencil. There is also a spring loaded nib, and a black with white tip nib.

The tablet also comes with a pretty nice mouse. This mouse only work on the tablet, and doesn't have any sensor of the bottom. The mouse has the obvious left and right buttons, along with a scroll wheel and 2 programmable buttons. In the preferences for the tablet you can change everything about the mouse. You can change the speed of the tracking, along with every single button.

The 8 express keys, and 4 different settings for the touch ring can be customized for each application, and when you switch to a certain application, all the buttons will change to what you set them to do in that application. The tablet is very easy to configure by going into system preferences and installing the Wacom Tablet pane.

The Intuos4 also comes with a couple of applications; Adobe Photoshop Elements, Autodesk SketchBook Express and Corel Painter. When you plug in the tablet a system preference pane is automatically activated by Mac OS X, this pane is called Ink. This lets you write on the tablet, and the computer will automatically make your writing into text. Ink also lets you specify how spaced out your handwriting is so it will recognize it better.

The final verdict on the Intuos4 is that it is absolutely amazing. The express keys and touch ring offer so much that they will drastically improve your work flow, and make accessing things much easier. The tablet part of the Intuos4 is incredibly accurate and offers 2,500 levels of pressure sensitivity and really is better than you think it would be. If you use design or video applications a lot, then this is a must buy. It really is the best tablet on the market, and is definitely worth checking out.

Adam Goetz

www.SubJuiced.com