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  Wacom Intuos2 9x12 Tablet

  Gagan Gupta, Aug 26, 2004 0000 hrs IST

  Intuos2 is the latest in the series of Wacom tablets. Let's check out what the fuss is all about.

  Excellent Features, 1024 pressure levels

  A bit expensive

  Expert Rating :

  

  

Page 1 - The Tablet Page 2 - Functionality/Conclusion

Functionality
After a quick driver installation, the pad area was set directly proportional to the desktop area, which made the pen very easy to use. We used the pen in Photoshop and noticed an instant difference in the level of refinement in the brush strokes created using the Intuos2. The 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity clearly show in the thickness of lines created using varying pressure.

Though tablets are usually friendly with handwriting, there aren't too many that can boast of perfect accuracy. The Intuos2 on the other hand was perfect in that aspect. There are two buttons on the pen that by default are set to the right-click and double-click functions. You can, however, change that to something that will be more useful to you like cut, paste or even undo.

The mouse was perfect in its accuracy. Since you have to use the 9" x 12" tablet as the mousepad, you get enough room to use even if you're playing a game with it. The mouse consists of four buttons, two placed right behind the standard left and right click buttons. The two extra buttons can be assigned to common tasks through the control panel. The most impressive part about the mouse was its scroller that acted more as a jog dial than a traditional rotating wheel.





Conclusion
By just looking at it, any home designer would get an idea that this one is way too bulky for personal use. Its size, build and features clearly say that it's meant purely for professional graphic designers (with a huge desk space to spare). For that purpose, the street price of about Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 22,000 doesn't sound like such a major blow. The number of features on this tablet will ensure that you never go to any other pointing device for a very long time. The ergonomics, the comfort level and the sheer size of the tablet will definitely spoil you.

Test Unit sourced from Unicorn Infosolutions Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.

Page 1 - The Tablet Page 2 - Functionality/Conclusion

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