Coming from a graphics and illustration background, I have always felt much more comfortable with the tools I use in real media (ie: pens, markers, watercolours on paper, cardboard, etc) than with the hardware interfaces I was presented with when desktop publishing swept the industry. When I was introduced to a Wacom tablet and its much more intuitive interface of an electronic pen a few years ago, it was a god-send.

To describe the way it works is very simple; its like using a pen on paper, but instead of leaving ink on the papers surface, you watch your cursor float across the monitor. If you lightly scribble on or float above the surface of the tablet, the cursor moves freely, to tap with a little force is the same as a mouse click, and to keep at that pressure consistent as you drag across the tablets surface is akin to a click-and-drag. Simple really. So then, why are all my colleagues in the office afraid of it? Well, it does take a little getting used to, especially in open mapping mode where each space on the tablets surface corresponds to a space on the monitor, but I would definitely recommend getting used to it. Using the relatively small tablet on review (some are as large as an A3 sheet), I found I didnt need to move my arm nearly as much as when using a mouse, and yet I had at least as much control over my cursor.

It is in applications like Photoshop that the Wacom tablet really shines. For tasks usually considered arduous, like the placing of a clipping path around an object, suddenly its simple and enjoyable. For more creative pursuits, like painting, the amount of increased capability is amazing. After installing all the relevant drivers and extensions, my copy of Photoshop immediately recognised the tablets presence, and I could control the opacity, colour and size of my brush strokes, merely by pressing harder or softer. Just like the real thing, only digitized. After being a slave to the very unintuitive mouse for so long, this took some getting used to, but again, it is worth the effort.

The control panel is very comprehensive and reasonably straight forward. Just about everything is configurable to your tastes; pressure sensitivity, angle sensitivity, double-tap duration, the pens programmable double button, and the tablets programmable function-buttons, to name a few.

There are some deficiencies though. I found the tendency of the cursor to slide a little when trying to double-tap, even after fiddling with the sensitivity in the control panel, quite frustrating. It made me alternate between pen and mouse considerably, when I would have much rather used the pen exclusively. I also found that I couldnt, no matter how hard I tried, use the button on the side of the pen. I feel it is much too high up the pens side.

Over all, I found the Wacom tablet to be extremely useful, intuitive and easy to set up. I think every designer and illustrator should add it to their arsenal of creative tools, but unfortunately the price puts it out of the reach of everyone but the most dedicated professional.