Wacom Bamboo Pen review
Wacom Bamboo Pen: Affordable Entry-Level Tablet with Solid Build and Performance
The compact design, decent specs, and easy-to-use design make the central points of this Wacom Bamboo Pen review. Meanwhile, the absence of the shortcut keys and somewhat hard pen nib could become a deal breaker for the advanced users.
The tablet belongs to the entry-level Bamboo series by Wacom manufacturer. These models mainly serve for basic artistic activities like quick sketches or first-layer editing, coloring, etc. They can also be useful for office work to personalize the papers or put quick written remarks or sketches into the presentation. Their price, however, is higher than competitors’, while these tablets are usually praised for consistent overall performance and solid build quality.
Setup
The tablet features a simple setup, with the quick installation of drivers and comprehensive customization options. The drivers can be loaded from the supplied CD or from the Wacom’s website, and are installed without issues. The tablet is compatible with MacOS starting from 10.4.8 version and embraces the most popular Windows versions including XP, Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 10. The tablet can be programmed for right- or left-handed use. This model works with pen only, meaning both drawing and control functions are performed through the pen. This leads to faster wearing of Wacom Bamboo Pen nibs. The latter are the middle-hard type and let get used to the tablet drawing quickly.
Features
The tablet represents a basic model and, therefore, doesn’t have advanced technologies like Touchpad option or programmable hotkeys. Still, it is good for drawing, writing, and editing and easy to use. The active area takes 9.8 X 6.9 inches, which is enough for both drawing with the middle level of detail and handwriting. The resolution is quite high for the entry-level tablet making 2540 lines per inch and enabling various editing tasks like coloring, reshaping, shading, backstage changing, etc.
The Wacom Bamboo Pen specs mention the pen sensitivity equaling to 512. This allows working efficiently in Photoshop and other editing software. The lighting, tonality, and other parameters can be tweaked immediately by harder or softer pressure. While the read speed of the tablet isn’t too high, the signal is transferred without lag, resulting in the accurate lines of the intended thickness.
The built-in software includes the painting edit app featuring multiple options and working fast. The tablet is also compatible with the most popular editing tools like SmartDraw, Epic Pen, etc.
Design
The tablet is small while featuring quite good active area (9.8 X 6.9 inches). Its light weight (just above 1 pound) makes up for its portability and usage during travel. It’s made of the solid plastic with the textured surface serving for the hand non-slipping while drawing or holding the device. The back side has small stands additionally ensuring a stable position. The tablet is equipped with a single USB port for PC / laptop connection. The pen is thick enough for a comfortable grip and can be stored in the fabric loop attached to the tablet’s side.
Conclusion
The tablet is a sturdy entry-level model with a good build and appealing design. It’s quite sensitive and has a big drawing area, while the refined editing tasks mightn’t deliver the desired level of accuracy. The tablet hasn’t any buttons or keys and is controlled by pen only. The Wacom bamboo pen replacement is rather pricey, while the overall reliability of the tablet and drivers is high.