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Wacom unveils Intuos5 graphics tablets

by Alistair Lowe on 1 March 2012, 10:01

Tags: Wacom

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Wacom's Intuos4 graphics tablet received much praise at its release three years ago. Aside from boasting pin-point accuracy, with a large 2,048 levels of sensitivity and pen tilt detection, the tablet was one of the first to offer up a surface that felt more like working with paper than plastic, with some serious grip, making the Intuos4 one of the easiest tablets to pick up and work with.

There wasn't much, then, that Wacom could improve with its new Intuos5 line-up and so the firm has focused on usability and value-added functionality.

Wacom Intuos5 Graphics Tablet

The new graphics tablets now feature a softer coating around the borders of the device, to improve upon the hand-gliding experience, offering up a more ergonomic solution. To add further value to the tablet, some tablets in the range feature multi-touch capability, allowing the tablet to double as a trackpad, which, if yesterday's Windows 8 press conference is any indication, will become more popular in the PC market over the coming years.

Other changes include the ability to insert a WiFi module to bring cable-free operation to any tablet in the line-up. Wacom has dropped the OLED displays of the Intuos4 and now focuses button feedback entirely on-screen through transparent pop-ups. Wacom has also restored the ability from past tablet devices to control the behaviour of the various pen sensitivity levels.

Backwards compatibility is maintained, with the tablet still accurate to 2,048 levels of sensitivity and pens and devices from the Intuos4 line-up all functional on the new tablet. The line-up should be immediately available in three sizes; Small (4 x 6 inches), Medium (6 x 8 inches) and Large (13 x 8 inches), priced at £200, £330 and £430 respectively. Currently there is only a single, fourth model that does NOT feature the multi-touch track-pad and that's a Medium-size tablet priced at £270 for those looking for a cheaper purchase.

For anyone looking for a larger option, Wacom recently launched its high-end Cintiq HD24, which is essentially a 24 inch touch-screen based around Intuos4 technology. Unlike its predecessors, the HD24 appears more practical and at last features a H-IPS panel display, with wide viewing angles, covering 92 per cent of the Adobe RGB spectrum with a boosted resolution of 1,920 x 1,200.

Wacom Cintiq HD24

 



HEXUS Forums :: 4 Comments

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Hopefully they have changed the surface, as the Intuos 4 was rubbish. The extra paper-like feel was all good, but the nibs had to be replaced after days. People weren't happy.

I sold one of my Intuos 3s (one at home and one at work) and was intending on replacing it, but I'm going to wait and see what others report, as there's no way on earth I'm going to replace it if the 5 has the shortcomings of the 4 - I'll just take my one remaining Intuos 3 with me.
I've got an intuos 4, and granted the only thing that lets it down is the rough surface. Everything else is sublime but the surface is that bad that I'd probably take an intuos3 over it! Lets hope the intuos 5 sorts it out!
Having gone from an Intuos3 to an Intuos4 and as someone who isn't a hard-core user of graphics tablets, I'd rather buy new nibs that learn to cope with the feel of older tablet surfaces, no matter how hard I tried in the limited amount of time I spent with the Intuos3, I preferred to work on paper, with the Intuos4 I was happy to work direct on the tablet for the first time.
Yes please, I love the 4L. Agreed about the inconsistent surface and nibs burn. I wander if the screened versions are better, the 21UX I had at work got sent back, it's so inaccurate.

cheers
brasc