Technology has always been a fast paced world that changes from day to day, new products are launched and with them new ways to achieve tasks that before were difficult.  About 7 years ago my dad bought a Graphics Tablet for the family to use for art and design.  This eyesore was about the size of the computer desk with a retro stripy silver design and for the purpose it served was quite temperamental to say the least.

Now everything we see has a touch screen of some variety and we live in a very reactive world and the mouse is slowly scurrying back to it’s hole in the wall.  This is where Wacom have altered the specific tasks of high tech graphics tablets, added a few things and compressed them all into a neat and sleek 10 x 7” multi-purpose tablet that still gives you all the capabilities you need.

But what is a graphics tablet?  Well, think of it as a giant mouse-pad you would get on a laptop, and you’re halfway there.  Add a special pen that the pad reacts to and you have a tablet.  Mainly used in the professions of art and design, a tablet gives you the ability to draw directly into the programme you’re using, such as ‘Photoshop’, ‘Illustrator’.  This means you can create beautiful pictures and artwork digitally, rather than scanning in a picture and trying to unsuccessfully trace the image in ‘Paint’, which by the time you’ve finished looks more like a cat than Warhol’s Monroe.

However, being a designer and artist myself, I use these programmes daily, and find that my abilities are somewhat stunted when using a mouse. This is where a graphics tablet comes in great use, and trawling across the internet trying to find a sensibly priced and sensibly sized one, I found the Wacom Bamboo series…Perfect!

The Wacom is a beautiful piece of equipment, in classic black matte and shine finishes, the tablet doesn’t look like an eye sore sat on your desk, and because of it’s size fits in just nicely beside your keyboard.  Easy to install and set-up, you will be using your new bamboo within minutes and with the great tutorial included in the software, you’ll never need a mouse again.

The combination of touch and pen works brilliantly, and is very precise.  As I mentioned before, using your hands to work the magic feels just like a laptop mouse-pad, tap to click and sliding your fingers in various directions controls zoom, rotate and other navigation techniques seen in latest crazes like the iPhone.  There are buttons on the left of the pad that you can use to click, however these can be altered to dedicated actions, for example switching between applications.

Moving onto using the Pen, and the story is much the same, although instead of using a combination of taps to right click, you use the two buttons on the pen, which are positioned comfortably under the index finger.  Using the pen in design applications is fantastic and I have created a number of designs that took no longer than half an hour or so, which with a mouse may have taken up most of my afternoon. The small size of the tablet does not interfere with how it performs either, the pen will work right to the edges and it hasn’t failed to impress yet.

Overall I rate the bamboo very highly and would recommend anyone looking for an alternative to the trusted mouse to consider the tablet.  Price wise the Bamboo will set you back about £60, but for the capabilities it brings it’s worth every penny spent.  Whether you are an avid artist, or just an amateur that wants to get into design, the Bamboo will suit every need you have.

To see the rest of the range and for more information visit: www.wacom.com/bamboo