Wacom Graphire2 Pen, Mouse & Tablet Set (Steel-Blue) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Wacom brand was the first one to come to mind when thinking about a graphics tablet - which I initially thought would be for graphics alone, but which has reached the stage after just two months of use has almost replaced my mouse.
Based on the tablet wizard, my ideal tablet would have been the Intuos2 for twice the price and twice the pressure levels. But I studied the Graphire2 very carefully, and opted for that instead, being half the price. It features a customizable pen with 512 levels of pressure (which is enough for most people), with an eraser, programmable duo-switch and very accurate pointer. At first it might feel strange using the pen to hover over the active area to move it around, but then it becomes natural. When you hit with the pen, the tablet it acts as a mouse click, and when you move along the tablet it acts as a click and drag. You can program every button on both pen and mouse for every application that you use, for a really custom fit. I can position the pointer in Word, and just flip the pen over and erase text, or I can be painting in Photoshop, and just flip the pen over and start erasing any mistakes without changing tools in the toolbar.
The tablet using absolute positioning, and each point in the active area (4x5 inches), corresponds to a position on your screen. I read previous reviews that considered 4x5 too small, but I looked at my mouse swing, and I rarely made long movements with my mouse, and this active area is quite sufficient for me. In some programs you can re-map this active area to a portion of the screen. The mouse is also absolute, and only works on the active area of the tablet. There is an overlay on the tablet for tracing, which could be quite useful, but I rather scan images and trace them on the screen - however, for people without a scanner, it can be sufficient.
The 4x5 tablet fits well on my desk taking up as much room as my mouse pad. I suffer from RSI, but this ergonomic pen creates no strain on my wrist though it took a little getting used to - luckily there is a tutorial and exercises to teach you, and you'd be up and running with the tablet in no time. The pen feels natural, as we're used to holding pens more than using a clunky mouse, which we had to learn a long time ago anyway. I tried using the tablet on every computer I could after that, so I won't have to use a mouse again - it works on Windows 2000 laptops, which make presentations really nice, as you can make annotations and drawings during a Powerpoint presentation, and you can even hold the tablet like a notepad, so you don't have to bend over to use the "mouse" again if you're standing. Since it is a USB tablet, it doesn't need any extra power source, which is a plus for me, as every other peripheral I have has taken up all six sockets in my power strip. The tablet doesn't work under Windows NT 4.0, as a warning to business users who still have that running at work.
The included software alone is well worth over $100USD. Think about buying Adobe PhotoShop 5.0LE and Corel Painter Classic and you'd have already spent over $100USD. I've heard problems with other USB tablets, but never with the Wacom tablets, they're even endorsing Opensource development of their drivers to get the tablet working under Linux (which it does now). The tablet comes included with a battery-less, cordless, scroll mouse that works on the tablet as well. I've so far used my tablet/pen/mouse for everything from surfing the web, helping me edit programs that I write, manipulating images and drawing some personal masterpieces, in less time than I took before. Wacom's website features a tip archive, a list of all the software that has hidden features for a stylus, and even special offers for discounts on products for Graphire2 owners.
There is no question that this tablet lives up to its brand name.

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Graphire2 is for anyone who wants to get more from their photos. Have fun moving people around in photos, colorizing old black and white images, or just cleaning up scratches and imperfections. Graphire2's pen has 512 levels of pressure, so you can easily edit your digital photos or make a quick sketch. Graphire2's cordless, batteryless mouse has no ball to clean so it never skips. Combine all this with the stylish Graphire2 tablet, and you have the perfect solution for all your input needs - in a space no bigger than a mouse pad.

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