This is Wacoms second foray into the consumer market for digitising tablets, and although I was fairly unimpressed with its first attempt at selling me a cheap tablet, I am happier with the Graphire2.

For those not aware, a digitising tablet is another form of data input for your PC or Mac. Theyve been around for years, even though they have not been prominent products. Its obvious to see why theyre more often than not aimed at graphics professionals who need a more conducive method of putting their artistic talents to use than a mouse. Many people let their use for such a device stop there, only putting it to work on artistic endeavours (that is, illustrating, photo retouching, painting), and not for general menu and window navigation. Its certainly my experience that once you are used to it, a pen-driven pointing device is just as easy to use as a mouse. The only thing I wouldnt use it for is Web browsing.

But what about my right button click? you ask, and my left button for that matter! The ingenious Wacom pen has a pair of buttons mounted on its shaft, which are fully programmable and within easy reach of your thumb or index finger. To use them on the fly may take a little practice, but its worth the effort.

The tablet itself is connected and powered by USB to the PC or Mac. Its extremely light and if you dont have room on your desk you can quite easily hold it with one hand or lean it on your lap while you sit back comfortably in you chair. The pen, on the other hand uses some sort of voodoo technology because it is actually cordless and battery less, thereby being very light indeed, and has no cables to get in the way of your artistic flow.

How can Wacom offer such an inexpensive alternative to its professional-level Intuos and Cintiq range? First, the size. The Graphire2 only comes in one size: 4in x 6in. The comparable size Intuos2 tablet is worth around $400. Although at first I baulked at the thought of using so small a workable space, especially after using the very roomy 9in x 12in model, I surprised myself with how very useful such a small area is.

The second compromise for this price is the level of sensitivity and accuracy. The Graphire2 boasts only 512 levels of pressure sensitivity, while its more expensive siblings double that at 1,024. The Graphire2 also has a resolution of only 1,015 lines per inch (lpi) and an accuracy of within 0.02 inches. Again the Intuos range are twice as sensitive in both areas; I could tell the difference using the tablet in Photoshop, but only just. For most home users this would not be a concern. For a graphics professional, illustrator, cartoonist or Web animator, the slightly clunkier, chunkier feel of this tablet may not be up to par. But, as I said earlier, for the price its hard to say no.

The one other compromise is the sturdiness of the equipment. It felt flimsy compared to the professional range, and there were signs of wear on the plastic overlay of the work area after only a few days of use. My Intuos tablet has been used often and vigorously by 16 to 18-year-old boys, with no scratches or indentations.

Setting up the tablet was easy on my Mac, but not so smooth with my PC. It comes with two CDs: one being the driver software, the digital manual and the like; the other having two bonus pieces of software for you to fully appreciate the pressure sensitivity of your new device. Although my weapon of choice when illustrating digitally is Photoshop, the supplying of Painter Classic and Expression 2.0 Lite Edition would help fill the void if you dont have any pixel manipulation software.