DigiPro WP5540 5x4" USB Graphics Tablet w/Cordless Pen (Black)
Review by 35yrworkingpro : Groovy, nifty - great buy!

Greetings,

I'm a graphics arts and media professional having executed all kinds and levels of fun and successful projects for the last 25 years or more.

I have never used (though have owned) a tablet before, and not sure why. Just never needed it I guess. Recently, I've been frustrated drawing caricatures and things by hand, then digitizing and cleaning them up or struggling over line thickness, smoothness etc. Believe it or not, on a Win 7 system, I'm still running Corel Graphics 6 (1995) and Photoshop 6 (2003ish) and the tablet works perfectly.

In making a purchase choice, this item created some interesting reflection and consideration - given the wide array of tablets and prices, but I wanted something small, entry level and simple, that would allow me to draw and create more easily. This product is, quite frankly, all that and more, and quite the hoot to have. I love it.

More, the on-board applications, which do NOT match the manual at all, allow me to use it live in a kids presentation show, either as a mouse, a full, opaque drawing tablet, or to annotate nearly anything on or in the screen. The only exception is animations, video and any program that uses the video layer - which is understandable. For these...it seamlessly grabs a still shot of the screen, allowing you to annotate while the video plays behind the scenes. Otherwise, it is fully functional - amazing.

The size is great, fits well on the left, my wireless mouse on the right (I'm left handed so this is REALLY COOL) and my computer supports both...so I can draw and create with the left, and use the mouse simultaneously to click, save, etc. VERY COOL and productive.

The only drawback I see, is the manual (not proper English or close, and barely correlative with the disc and product), but it gets you through. Oh, two others....the pen is touchy. If you're annotating and either touch the tip and pen switches to close or in succession, the program crashes. NOT COOL depending on what you're in the middle of...and there does NOT seem to be an adjustment. Also, the pen could use a power switch to save battery. At first, I laid it on the side - but always worried I was jostling it and wearing down the battery by waking the unit up. Then, I tried putting it upside down in the on-board pen well, but it fits poorly. Finally, after giving that the proper thought, I saw the pen well had a recess for the pen tip - so contrary to all the OTHER posts and my efforts, I've now found that that's EXACTLY what you do...put the pen in the pen well. It hasn't turned on or run down yet. Why none of us reviewing got that, I don't know, lol.

So, it's way cool! Cannot BEAT the price or features. Supercalifragilisticexpialladocious!

DigiPro WP5540 5x4" USB Graphics Tablet w/Cordless Pen (Black)
Review by Grace B. : Manual Lite, Device Perfect (So Far)

Just recieved mine a few days ago...it was pretty straightforward setup. Install driver, plug in...bam, it works.

The documentation...oh, sweet mercies. This is part of why it's less expensive, IMHO. It's not quite Engrish but it's bad. The item itself is awesome, however, especially for the price tag that's attached. :)

DigiPro WP5540 5x4" USB Graphics Tablet w/Cordless Pen (Black)
Review by Look-N-Grin : It gets the job done but I wouldn't mind extra features.

This was my first tablet and I planned on using to for graphic designing.

When it first arrived, I expected the tablet at the top. Instead, I got a much smaller tablet with a smaller screen. It certainly is portable and thin. Thing is, it feels cheap. It's plastic and the actual mechanics are visible from behind (not that it's hideous to see, there's no wires). I can live with it though since it looks cute :P

Anyway, installation was easy but the guide is useless since it shows diagrams of a whole nother tablet and software.

The pen is sort of hard to use because sometimes I click a button on accident. The battery is complicatedly simple: you slide the pen, place the battery, and slide the pen back along the groove. Make sure not to twist it or it'll break and you'd have to buy another tablet (the pens aren't sold separately). As mentioned before, take out the batteries at night or place the pen horizontally so the nub isn't pressed on. If it's pressed, the battery is used and will run out.

The screen is small but easy enough to use. There's a little flap for the diagram (which you can remove but shouldn't because it shows where the shortcuts are on your tablet's screen) which you can lift, place a photo, and trace. It's sort of hard to trace as long as you move your photo and it's small. You'll see what I mean when you try it. It really is pressure sensitive, it makes my sketches look like I drew them on paper.

I forgot, the packaging is similar to Wacom's. BUT it is made of cheap material. But it doesn't matter since you're not going to use the box to draw!

In all, I love this tablet. It could use a better presentation, though. Like a removable USB, a no-battery pen, different material for the tablet, more comfortable pen, and stuff like that. I definitely recommend this to people who can't afford a Wacom because it is the exact same thing but less fancy-looking.

DigiPro WP5540 5x4" USB Graphics Tablet w/Cordless Pen (Black)
Review by Deedum : Not Wacom but okay

If you can't afford a Wacom tablet, this is a good alternative. My Wacom was too old to work with Windows 7 and I really couldn't afford a new one. The DigiPro installed easily and seems to be working fine. It definitely is not as good as Wacom, but not everybody can afford the best. The software seems to work well and allows for fine adjustment of touch and buttons. If you've just learning or on a tight budget, this will certainly work. Keep in mind it does require a battery for the pen, which may or may not turn into a problem. I haven't had it long enough to find that out. If you have kids, this would be a great idea for them as long as they don't bang on the tip. It does come with three spare tips but, again, I haven't had it long enough to know how long each tip will last. One warning-support is very limited. The DigiPro site is in China and there is no way to register your tablet. I tried to contact them to ask about registering the tablet but kept getting a message "All connections busy". I tried their email contact and just kept getting the message "Your email not sent". Still, the product is worth the low cost and will at least get you started.

DigiPro WP5540 5x4" USB Graphics Tablet w/Cordless Pen (Black)
Review by LDenny : Good Graphics Pad

This is our second graphics pad. It is used on a computer for my 11 year old daughter. It is not bad. It is not high-end, though. Recently I purchased one from Monoprice and it is excellent. This one does not respond as well as the Monoprice, but is used more as a mouse pen, rather than a drawing pad. I would recommend this product just on price. The quality is good compared to it's price. Although, the Monoprice pad was very low priced and very high response...you decide.