New from Wacom, Bamboo!

[timpaatkins]

Check this out. Dont know if its available in the US yet, but I like the idea of the thumbscroller for both pen size and zoom. and that it seems to be able to go horizontal. It seems to be a continuation of the graphire, as its pretty cheap and small.Also seems to be targeted at the trendy graphic "drag-drop-claim-fame" designer.

Actually it could have been out for a few months already.

http://www.wacom.eu/bamboo/whatbamboo.asp

[AngryScientist]

If it's for portable people I think they should have shipped it with a pouch with a place to slide in the pen or with a built in pen-slider like on a PDA.

I like that they moved the scroll to the middle-top part, seems like a place you won't accidentally touch it while typing or using the tablet.

I wonder about pricing...

[timpaatkins]

Its about 150 bucks in sweden.

[Interceptor]

Wow, that thing is pretty slick looking. I wish the intuos had that feature. I like the scroll bars and express keys, but I hate the placement of them, accidentally hitting them all the time. and it looks neat :D

[asoir]

£70!? this is a friggin' bargain. i've got to get this.

[Farvus]

Looks great and it's available here where I live but from what they wrote on website it's supposed to be tablet for writing and creating notes :P. Maybe beacause of additional software beacause the parameters are very similar to Graphire4 A6. The only difference I see is that drawing area is slightly wider.

[JAG.]

hmm.. ill wait for the bigger version ;) i like the Intuos 3 man. once that thing gets upgraded im all over it cuz mines about had it with all my chicken scratching.. - JAG

[Qitsune]

I doesn't seem to be available in the americas. Wacom.com said "Sorry, no records were returned from your request."
We don't get the Volito either. Not sure why.

[AmishCommy]

wow $150 to be able to sign your name. i'm totally sold.

this thing is stupid. it's slick looking, yeah, but pretty stupid. and the placement of the buttons and the scroll wheel is pretty dumb too.

maybe if they incorporate the scroll wheel in intous 4 (but keep it on the side instead of dead center) and use the slick design then i'd be interested.

[Eric Lofgren]

wow $150 to be able to sign your name. i'm totally sold.

this thing is stupid. it's slick looking, yeah, but pretty stupid. and the placement of the buttons and the scroll wheel is pretty dumb too.

maybe if they incorporate the scroll wheel in intous 4 (but keep it on the side instead of dead center) and use the slick design then i'd be interested.

I dunno. If BAmboo is the new Graphire than it looks like a big improvement to me. I've gone through two Graphires now and this would be a nice step up, I think. But yeah, no North America dealers :(

[Sepulverture]

I doesn't seem to be available in the americas. Wacom.com said "Sorry, no records were returned from your request."
We don't get the Volito either. Not sure why.

Yeah, howcome we get jipped on the product selection?

god hates us:(

[Zaknafain]

wow $150 to be able to sign your name. i'm totally sold.

this thing is stupid. it's slick looking, yeah, but pretty stupid. and the placement of the buttons and the scroll wheel is pretty dumb too.

maybe if they incorporate the scroll wheel in intous 4 (but keep it on the side instead of dead center) and use the slick design then i'd be interested.

hmm I have to agree with you.
Looks like there went more work into marketing than into the tablet itself which looks like a fancy looking version of a graphire.

[Howling Wolve]

Hey,

I just bought the Wacom Bamboo in the Netherlands for €100,- 1 week ago. And i like it so much. Because i'm a student i can't afford the most expensive tablets. This was the best option. It has a widescreen surface that feels like real paper. And it has about the same specs as the graphire. But it the design and buttons are much better then the graphire. And btw the round button is a laptop/i-pod look a like wich you can use to scroll or to zoom
(i changed it so when i make circles with my finger it will scroll up / down):donk:

And btw....
it is a more fancy version of the graphite. But the graphite doesnt have any widescreen versions. So see the bamboo more as a fancy tuned up widescreen graphire ;) Without the cheap plastic surface

[timpaatkins]

Yea, it sure seems like the perfect beginner/student version. If it had been around about a year ago I would have bought that instead of my current one.

[Prometheus|ANJ]

Visiting a flash site made for marketing is like... I don't know... going into a public library looking for some information, but then the librarians assaults you and puts you under one of those suffocation carpets which shrink wraps around you.

I couldn't figure out what it is. Is it a car? It must be, the language is exactly the same. Could be an electric shaver too. I guess I'll never know.

[Geuseppe]

No widescreen Graphire, but I believe there is a widescreen Intuos. (http://creativebits.org/wacom_widescreen_tablet_review)

I see this as a way for them to break out of the "just artists" market. I agree with the Commy here. This looks silly. It's quite simple to set the keys on the graphire tablets. They may not be the best, but they work.

I think the race on the current market should begin to shift towards a less-expesive Cintique or equivalent. This is no innovation, but a good heads-up on a neat product.

[Banangroda]

I'm unsure about the Bamboo. For one the eraser isn't pressure-sensitive, which Graphire is.

[silver surfer]

http://www.wacom-shop.net/cgi-bin/wacom.storefront/46e3d142007cce60273f50f33619067d/Catalog/1149

[FlyingMilton]

I'm unsure about the Bamboo. For one the eraser isn't pressure-sensitive, which Graphire is.

Is the actual pen part pressure sensitive? I didn't see anything on the site that suggested this.

[BadGeometry]

I'm still waiting for a tablet that has accelerometers and stuff so when the tablet is rotated, the image on the screen is also rotated at the same angle. That's still a huge speed bump for me with tablets.

[light]

I'm still waiting for a tablet that has accelerometers and stuff so when the tablet is rotated, the image on the screen is also rotated at the same angle. That's still a huge speed bump for me with tablets.

Cintiq is about as close as you're gonna get for now.

[alxcote]

Visiting a flash site made for marketing is like... I don't know... going into a public library looking for some information, but then the librarians assaults you and puts you under one of those suffocation carpets which shrink wraps around you.

I couldn't figure out what it is. Is it a car? It must be, the language is exactly the same. Could be an electric shaver too. I guess I'll never know.

Hahaha, I felt the same way. I couldn't figure out what was so great about it. It felt more like an Ipod commercial than anything else. I checked the specs and it's nothing special, like you said, I guess I'll never know.

[BadGeometry]

Cintiq is about as close as you're gonna get for now.

That or a tablet laptop. Those are dandy and are pretty good for their price.
I should start saving for one...

[Farvus]

I recently visited Wacom website and there are some new types of Bamboo tablet.
Bamboo One which is something next after Volito2 and Bamboo Fun in both A6 and A5 sizes. I might buy that last one in near. It's not as expensive as Graphire4 A5 :).

PS. Is something happening to forum? I see some strange mistakes. Not my avatar for example.

[AngryScientist]

Farvus, that's been going on for a while now, it usually goes back to normal very soon.

I saw the bamboo in a shop a week ago, I think it was the A5 size, and they had the A6 unpacked and were trying it out with a customer, didn't stick around but it looked very good! I liked the button placement and it frankly looks a lot snazzier than the old Graphires or Volitos. If I needed a new tablet or one for travelling I'd definitely buy that... And I swear, I'm not paid by WACOM to say that, I've only given them my money a few times!

EDIT: oh and I HATE their new website design and especially the new subdomain for the bamboo, it's completely counterproductive. They should have sticked with the old design.

[Bynnx]

Hey im just wondering, does it matter if you get a widescreen tablet vs. a 1:1 mapping one, im not too sure what i should get, atm i have a normal "sqaure" 19inch, but iin about a month or so im getting a widescreen, so does it matter what type i get, or will like one for 1:1 mapping mess up when i got widescreen? and vise versa.

thanks in advace for help x

-NB-

[Slash]

It should be possible to correct the aspect ratio and the active area in the driver, so an aspect ratio mismatch to the screen wont matter too much. And if you're planning on getting a widescreen monitor soon - go for the widescreen tablet!