Wacom Intuos4 Small Pen Tablet
Review by Nerd Alert : Pretty On the Inside.

Honestly, the place I work doesn't look very impressive. It is full of cobbled together machines, with mirrors askew and wires everywhere. I am comforted by the knowledge that it is accomplishing high-end science, and perhaps professional tools simply shouldn't be pretty. The Intuos line seems to have followed that logic quite closely in the past, with very sterile and clunky looking tablets that delivered impressive results. With that in mind, there may be some trepidation about this flashy update, all covered in shiny black plastic and LCD screens. I assure you, though, that they have not forgotten where they will be used or who they will be used by.

The Basics:

A modern tablet is expected to do a few things. It should give touchscreen-like functionality (with a pen rather than a finger). That means that I should be able to draw as I would with a real pencil/paintbrush/etc. To this end, the tablet must have pressure sensitivity. For example, pressing harder with a simulated paintbrush should create a larger blob of paint. Really, these are all that are required, and the Wacom does them excellently, giving both an extremely precise (high resolution) X-Y position and pressure sensitivity. It is very enjoyable and intuitive for use in Photoshop, which is my primary use. Will the increase in sensitivity resolution over the Intuos3 demand that you upgrade? For all but the most demanding, I would say no. With that said, you will surely enjoy it when you do decide to upgrade. Specifically, I enjoy the ability to use very light strokes, which did not register as anything on older tablets. For people who enjoy using very faint lines in art, this is a very appreciated addition. Also appreciated is the nib holder in the pen base, which houses a good number of nibs, preventing the "missing sock" phenomena you may have experienced in the past, as the small guys tended to mysteriously disappear. Regardless of which nib is chosen, the surface of the new Intuos gives a very natural feel that Wacom has really perfected at this point.

As you would expect, there is also the intuitive ability to use the other end of the pen as an eraser as with all Wacom tablets. This end can also be customized for other purposes. The customization in general is quite extensive. Every button can be mapped as desired, as well as tilt sensitivity, tip feel, and tip double-click distance. Additionally, the surface can be set to pen or mouse mode. I saw another reviewer critique that someone had not set the tablet to mouse mode, which is why the mouse felt sluggish. Actually, this is not what these modes represent (the tablet automatically detects if a mouse or pen is being used and responds appropriately). Pen mode, which most people will prefer, creates a 1-to-1 mapping between the tablet and the screen. So, if I touch the lower right corner of the tablet, I will click the lower right corner of the screen. Mouse mode is so named because, like a mouse, the pen movement will simply move the cursor in an unmapped fashion. I will need to move the pen down and right, then, to get to the lower right of the screen.

The Mouse:

Speaking of the mouse, it is a handy peripheral to have around. The tablet can take up a lot of space, leaving no good place to have a mouse on the work surface. The Wacom mouse, which works on the tablet, solves that issue. I can not say it is the most ergonomic design, but it looks slick and functions well as a standard 5-button mouse. The scroll wheel is inferior to those on Logitech mice I am used to, but it is functional. The bottom of the mouse seems to be covered in felt, which allows it to slide across the tablet without scratching it. As with the pen, the buttons can be fully customized, in addition to the speed and acceleration of cursor movement.

A very nice feature of the mouse is that it detects the orientation that the tablet is set to (buttons on left, buttons on right, buttons on top, or buttons on bottom) and behaves accordingly. Unfortunately, this is the only notable feature of the mouse. If you are planning to purchase this tablet because of the mouse, I suggest you think again. It feels like it is a bit tacked on for the sake of workflow, but is not really the focus of this product.

The Buttons:

The flashiest aspect of the new Intuos by far is the slick set of 8 buttons with LCD labels. I am happy to report that this is not just a gimmick, however, as the button labels are immediately useful. Without them, the buttons are completely ambiguous and would take some effort to memorize. That is fine, but in the process, it would become too much effort to change them as needed over time or for different programs. Speaking of the latter, the buttons can also be customized to be program specific, which is great. Additionally, as with all functions of the tablet, the labels can be set to function properly for both right- and left-handed tablet positions, so do not be concerned about upside-down letters. One of the button options is to open up a star menu, in which you can press the button and motion in a particular direction with the pen or mouse to choose a function. This creates even more options to avoid having to use the keyboard. If you choose a larger tablet size, the keyboard may be pushed to the side or below and so this will be quite beneficial. In addition, it's just cool.

Speaking of cool, there is a central wheel which can be toggled between four functions easily. The wheel is not new to Wacom, but the toggle feature allows more functionality at a quick pace. This tablet has clearly been thought out in real-world terms.

But, I do have one qualm here. The buttons feel terrible. They are mushy and don't click at all. I feel unsure of whether or not I pushed the button when I push it. Perhaps this is a matter of taste, but I was immediately turned off by the buttons, and their strange and unnecessary angling does not help. I think this angling is the result of using two long LCD screens, rather than eight individual ones, presumably to cut costs. This means that the buttons can not be separate; rather, they are shoved right next to each other. The angling is a makeshift solution to allow us to differentiate the buttons from each other, avoiding the potential of hitting the wrong or multiple buttons. It is a functional solution, but one that could have been avoided altogether by separation of the buttons.

Conclusions:

Why the five-star rating? Because this tablet is not about the mouse, which is admittedly mediocre, and I can not drop an entire point for mushy buttons. The thoughtful design for modern workflow is amazing, and the real functionality we all care about - the pen - is near perfect. I can see room for improvement, but for all practical purposes, I think this is going to serve exactly the purpose you want. Please enjoy it and your work.

Wacom Intuos4 Small Pen Tablet
Review by Ray E. : Intuos4 Medium vs. Bamboo Fun

After writing this I was afraid of TLDR issues. Here is the short and sweet - if you are going to get a Wacom tablet, and you know you are going to use it, save your lunch money and get the Intuos4. End of story - if you get a Bamboo and later try an Intuos4 you'll kick yourself, I guarantee it. Higher accuracy, higher resolution, higher sensitivity, tilt recognition, higher data rate (more responsive), better construction, better warranty. If you want to know how I came to this conclusion, read on.

Please keep in mind: I have worked in the IT industry for over 13 years. However overall I am not a pro user of these products. I have about two weeks of use on each. I used the tablets on a Mac Pro with photoshop, corel, and sketchbook pro 2011.

I spent close to two weeks trying to decide on a Wacom tablet for Christmas - Bamboo Fun vs Intuos4 Medium. I kept reading about the pros of each. I could not find a comparison review, nor a single product review that pushed me solidly one direction or the other. Should I spend the extra money on the professional level product?

In the end, I started with the Bamboo because:
I didn't want to waste money. The Intuos4 medium was another $150 - almost twice the cost of the Bamboo. I am not a professional and people said the Bamboo had the same levels of sensitivity as the previous professional model (Intuos3). I wasn't 100% sure the kids would keep using it or get full value from it. If I didn't think it was for me, I could always trade up and try the Intuos4.

Initially we were very happy playing around with the Bamboo. There is nothing blatantly wrong with it at all. It has deservedly positive reviews. People make wonderful works of digital art with it. After playing for about 10 days, and watching youtube vids of people using Wacom tablets, I ran across a comment against the Bamboo that finally broke me. Someone pointed out that the USB cable was attached to the tablet, and cannot be replaced if it breaks. Toss it straight into the trash. Hmmm - bad news. If you look closely at the construction, you can also tell it would be very easy for the cable to wear out. I cannot believe I hadn't noticed that flaw myself. We have two lefties and two righties in the house and we are constantly rotating the tablet. I don't want to be replacing a 200 dollar tablet over a 10 dollar cable. I boxed her up that day and returned it for the Intuos4 Medium.

Let me tell you what people, the Intuos4 is worth more than the extra $150. Any day of the week. Even removing it from the box was a pleasure.

USB Interface:
Bamboo - Cable is attached, thin shielding, and not replaceable.
Intuos4 - Cable is removable, very well made, thick and several feet longer than it needs to be (2.5 m). TWO USB inputs on the tablet, so the cable can always be situated at the top. Also provides a spare port in case one breaks! As an IT guy, this alone was worth an upgrade. Well played, Wacom.

Buttons:
Bamboo has 4 buttons. One button is used to turn the touch functions on and off. Touch Pad functions can be used to pinch zoom, rotate, scroll, etc if the app supports touch.
Intuos4 has 8 buttons with LEDs plus a touch ring wheel. The touch ring can be assigned 4 functions for all applications. Fully programmable. The kicker - the touch ring can be used for all the touch pad functions that the Bamboo did, and does them better. Rotate, Zoom, Scroll, Undo, change your pen size - you name it. Spin the ring with your off hand while drawing. Another upgrade that was easily worth the 150 bucks alone.

Pens:
Bamboo accuracy .02 inch. A very light, plastic toy feeling pen. There were a couple extra nibs in a plastic bag.
Intuos4 accuracy .01 inch. Pen is noticeably heavier. It reminded me of picking up a very well made tool after using some crap made in China and getting that sudden realization that you've been doing it wrong all this time. The pen recognizes tilt - the angle you hold the pen at. The cool "ink well" stand is classy and holds 10 extra nibs and the nib replacement tool. You suddenly start signing your name with a flourish. It just feels right! The Intuos4 also includes a wireless mouse that can be used on the pad if you are not using the pen.

Pressure levels:
Bamboo 1024
Intuos4 2048
People said you can't tell the difference, but let me tell you I could, and so did my wife. It may not be the ONE thing you need to upgrade for, but it's one more reason to spend the extra cash, for sure.

Resolution:
Bamboo 2540 lines per inch
Intuos4 5080 lines per inch

Software packages:
Are basically the same, Intuos4 software package must be downloaded though - Bamboo has physical media.

Tablet itself:
Basically same review as the Pens, the Intuos4 is heavier and feels much sturdier and like a professional tool.

Warranty:
Bamboo - 1 year
Intuos4 - 2 years USA and Canada

Wacom Intuos4 Small Pen Tablet
Review by Ruben Ortiz : Review for Tablet Intuos 4 Wireless

I use the tablet for sketching. I love the 2048 levels of sensitivity, because the pencil feeling is closer and also the multiple functions on the tablet make it a very functional and versatile tool. However, I use sketchbook pro which is a very simple program, but very practical and agile, and in this program I found very disappointing the delay shown in the wireless tablet. It make the tablet useless, due that this delay disturb the sketching and you can't sketch as agile as you normally do on paper. I have to use it wired to be able to have the quick response I expected. If you use this tablet on Photoshop or Illustrator, you have no problem with it. Is wonderful, but if you use, sketchbook Pro, Corelpainter, ArtRage or some sofware similar, wireless tablet is definitely not the choice.