Wacom Bamboo Fun Pen and Touch Unboxing and Review

A few months ago, I purchased the Wacom Bamboo Fun Pen and Touch graphics tablet to preplace the Intuos4 tablet I had originally purchased. I use this tablet for photo editing and some light drawing on Photoshop. The Intuos was simply overkill for my needs and as a student, I wanted to save as much money as I could and so I decided to try out the Bamboo. I’m so glad I did.

My first impressions of this product are all very positive. Firstly, the build quality is superb. I thought that the build quality would not impress me considering the price difference compared the the Intuous line of tablets, but I was just blown away. The tablet feels very solid in my hand, very close to the feel of the Intuous. It also has a bit of weight to it, which for me is a positive thing. Its feels very dense and well built. Overall, I think the build quality of the tablet is excellent.

Secondly, the look of the tablet, although not as elegant as the Intuous4, is very nice. It comes is a silver finish. Although it’s made with plastic, it looks like brushed aluminum. Its more “fun” than the Intuous4 and the color matches the macbook air I use when I’m working away from my desk, which is a plus for me.

The pen is quite different from that of the Intuous. It is definitely lighter and doesn’t feel as substantial. It also doesn’t come with a rubber grip, which may be uncomfortable for some. However, after a few hours of usage, I got used to the feeling and it didn’t bother me at all.

Alright, so now that I’ve talked quite a bit about the build quality, I’m going to move on to the performance of the tablet. The Intuous is said to have double the amount of pressure sensors of the Bamboo, however, I can honestly say that I don’t feel a difference whatsoever. The sensitivity feels exactly the same to me. For those of you who want to use a tablet for the same things I do, you’ll be perfectly happy with a bamboo.

The biggest difference to me is the lack of a programmable wheel and the 4 less programmable buttons on the bamboo. When I had my Intuous, I used the wheel a lot. I set it to control brush size, zooming, rotating of the canvas and the history, which saved me a bit of time. However, I’m used to using the keyboard for shortcuts anyway so it wasn’t a big problem moving back to using the keyboard for most of the functions that I use.

Other things which I didn’t like about the bamboo are that the cable is not detachable unlike the Intuous. I bring the tablet to school and back a few times a week and I am afraid that the cable will stop functioning in the future because of the way it bends in my computer bag. A detachable cable would allow me to store it separately, and it is easily replaced if it does break. Also, the cable is white which means that it is a dirt magnet.

The one feature which I didn’t really talk about through this review is the touch feature. The bamboo fun pen and touch can be used as a huge track pad. Although this is a fun feature, I never really use it. I usually turn the touch functionality off because I accidentally click it sometimes (which can get annoying). Some people may le this feature, but I don’t. I don’t see this as a disadvantage though because it can be turned off, and I know it’s there just in case I may want to use it in the future. I’m sure that the implementation of this feature will only get better.

Overall the Wacom Bamboo Fun Pen and Touch is a great product for those of you that want tablets, but can’t afford the Intuous line. I believe that is give you the most ”bang for your buck”. Of course, there are even cheaper tablets out there like the bamboo tablets that are limited to either pen or touch (which are all excellent aswell). There are also other brands that sell tablets for much cheaper, but I believe that Wacom is the way to go because you’re almost guaranteed an excellent product. I’m happy that I downgraded from the Intuous4 and I’m sure any of you who purchase this product will be 100% happy as well.

For all the technical stuff, visit: http://www.wacom.com/bamboo/bamboo_fun.php 

For photography related reviews, check out my YouTube channel.

Apple iPad: Give It Chance

Recently, there has been a truck load of hate aimed at the new Apple iPad; mostly from people have not used it, but interestingly enough, Apple fans and fanboys. The iPad is a letdown in many eyes, but I believe that is because of the way far fetched rumors and eye popping fake images. People overhyped the iPad and were then let down. Here is why I am defending the iPad and why you should give it another chance! Leave some comments below or add a video response to the video.

Twitter

Apple's Latest Creation: iPad

January 27, 2010 is the day Apple have enchanted the technology world. The rumoured touch screen device, which fills the gap between the iPhone and the Macbook has been given the name of, iPad. This 9.7" IPS LCD touchscreen device has the base memory of 16GB going up to an amazing 64GB, now for a mobile device, you may be thinking this is small, but it's not for a device that is only half an inch thick.

The iPad is similar to a digital photo frame, but this a laptop, with only one side, a touchscreen keyboard which is almost life like and the usual specs from Apple as well as topping it off with apps available from the App Store. 

You may be now asking, "Isn't this a big iPod Touch?" Well, does a iPod Touch come with 3G? No! Does it offer you a mobile mac experience, without cluttering up your desk or space? Yes! Is it wireless? Yes! With Bluetooth 2.1 and 802.11n wifi, don't think you'll be lost in communication. 

The iPad is available in 60days (90 days for the 3G model) and starts at $499 (£300 for 16GB) $599 (£370 for 32GB) and $699 (£432 for 64GB). 3G Pricing; starting at $629 (£388 for 16GB) $729 (£450 for 32GB) and $829 (£512 for 64GB)

Lets see the product in our hands now, Apple!

Follow me on Twitter - @JonnyRowntree

[Picture: GDGT]

Apple Special Media Event: Last and Final Predictions

Here I have my final predictions for Apple's Special Media Event, tomorrow Wednesday January 27, 2009. It will be at the Yerba Beuna Center For Arts in San Fransico, California at 10 A.M. PST/ 1 P.M. EST. The event is to be based around the much rumored and highly anticipated Apple Tablet. Apple will also be announcing the iPhone OS 4.0 Beta, iWork and iLife 2010, Refreshed Mackbook Pros, as well as a few other things. I believe that the MacBook Air will get a much needed update, in fact a new model. Some news to the iTunes Store, that will be announced will be lowered prices on TV Shows as well as the addition of eBooks for the Tablet. eBooks will be around $10 to $15 for hardcover bestsellers. I think of course that they will announce the tablet and much more of their creations! It should be a wonderful keynote, and I am saddened that I will be at school during the show! Though websites like Gizmodo, Engadget, TUAW and many other large tech sites will be following the keynote and giving live updates. So until tomorrow, we can only hope!

One more thing... The one more thing that Steve Jobs will announce is the iPod Touch 3G with camera.

Apple's January 2010 Event - My Predictions

So, Apple has rented the space for the event, but they haven't dispelled much information toward what will be announced. Will it be a tablet? An iPhone Update? With the numerous rumors circulating around on the net, a lot can be assumed but nothing has been confirmed. In this video I provide you with my predictions for the future Apple event that has been dated for January 26th.