Wacom's Bamboo welcomes Mac users, doubles as multi-touch pad

Hot on the heels of Wacom's recent updates to its professional Intuos tablet comes version 2 of its consumer Bamboo range.

Far more than a mere incremental upgrade, the new tablets add significant user enhancements - the most significant being that the tablet now doubles as a finger-powered multi-touch pad.

The tablet, the first to combine pen input and multi-touch, detects when the pen is lifted from the surface and responds to finger input. It's sensitive enough that you can still hold the pen in your hand while using fingers to perform multi-touch functions.

This removes the need for a separate mouse, as all the functions can now be replicated using touch alone. There are many innovations here, as well as several features you will recognise from both the iPhone and the multi-touch trackpads in Apple's MacBook range.

To perform a single click, either tap and then tap with a second finger to the left of the first, or just tap once - the preference can be set as you want it.

For a right click, tap with two fingers, or tap with one finger and then tap again with another to the right of the first. It's intuitive, easy to remember, and easy to accomplish. The Bamboo can also now be set for right- or left-handed use, via a Preference option.

As on the iPhone, pinching and spreading two fingers will cause an image to zoom in and out. This works in all applications