Tablet over mouse?

[I'm a ROb]

The other day I saw a colleague working with a tablet. I could try for a couple of minutes and thought it was an interesting thing. I'm considering buying one, but I'm wondering:

- are people satisfied with their tablet?
- how long does it take to get used to it?
- how well does inkwell perform?
- are you only using it for illustrator / photoshop and alike, or also as a "normal" mouse?
- is your mouse still connected to you mac?
- how much effort does it take to switch between keyboard - tablet (assuming you can hold the pen while you type)
- any problems for left-handed persons?

Thanks!

PS: thinking of getting the Wacom Bamboo

 

[dops7107]

I have a Wacom Intuos2 A6, pretty much the smallest and cheapest one available. For drawing and photo retouching it is indispensable -being able to vary pressure is invaluable after using a mouse, and direction is much better improved. I would like a larger one but it suits my needs - I'm just an enthusiast and not a pro.

I mainly use the mouse that comes with it. Despite having a small tablet area I find it is perfectly adequate and I no longer notice it. It is effectively a wireless mouse too. I use the pen only for photoshop/illustrator. I love the eraser tool when I flip the pen over! But the small tablet size means the pen can be a little over sensitive to movement, and you need a steady hand.

 

[techlover828]

i love tablets, I wish that apple would make one

 

[wallaby]

- are people satisfied with their tablet?
- how long does it take to get used to it?
- how well does inkwell perform?
- are you only using it for illustrator / photoshop and alike, or also as a "normal" mouse?
- is your mouse still connected to you mac?
- how much effort does it take to switch between keyboard - tablet (assuming you can hold the pen while you type)
- any problems for left-handed persons?

-Takes about a week to get used to
-Don't know, haven't tried it
-I use it for painting in Photoshop, but it also works well for browsing and normal computing. I prefer a mouse in Illustrator so that I can rest points better.
-Depends. I tend to keep the pen in my hand and just use my left for shortcuts, but if I have to type then I grunt and put the pen down in its holster :-[
-Not at all. Most tablets are set to be completely ambidextrous, except for the 4x6 Intuos3s since their buttons are only on the left side. But for pen use, it makes no difference.

I have no experience with the Wacom Bamboo (because they don't sell it in the U.S.), but just make sure you get a Wacom something. When it comes to tablets, Wacom really is the only option.

 

[I'm a ROb]

Thank for the replies!

I'm still wondering if anybody can fill me in on the inkwell item and the tablet-keyboard switch. I prefer using the mouse over the keyboard, but I hate to keep swithing from keyboard to mouse and back again. How is that with a tablet?

 

[I'm a ROb]

A colleague is using a tablet as his normal mouse. He went on holiday, so I took over his tablet for testing. Today I bought a tablet myself and I am thrilled.

To answer my own questions (in case somebody is still interested):

- are people satisfied with their tablet?
- how long does it take to get used to it?
- how well does inkwell perform?
- are you only using it for illustrator / photoshop and alike, or also as a "normal" mouse?
- is your mouse still connected to you mac?
- how much effort does it take to switch between keyboard - tablet (assuming you can hold the pen while you type)
- any problems for left-handed persons?

- yes
- 1 day for me
- not too well in Dutch
- as a normal mouse
- no
- not great if you have to type very long, bet else it is ok
- no

Regards,

ROb.

 

[Babooshka]

The other day I saw a colleague working with a tablet. I could try for a couple of minutes and thought it was an interesting thing. I'm considering buying one, but I'm wondering:

- are people satisfied with their tablet?
- how long does it take to get used to it?
- how well does inkwell perform?
- are you only using it for illustrator / photoshop and alike, or also as a "normal" mouse?
- is your mouse still connected to you mac?
- how much effort does it take to switch between keyboard - tablet (assuming you can hold the pen while you type)
- any problems for left-handed persons?

Thanks!

PS: thinking of getting the Wacom Bamboo

I just bought a Wacom Bamboo off eBay and it's belter (that means it's damn good). Inkwell is OK, but i use the keyboard instead because it is easier. It takes no effort to switch between the keyboard and tablet. I just got it delivered today and I feel quite used to it. I too am a leftie but it's no problem really.

Hope it helps =D

Edit: Damn, you got there before me.

 

[I'm a ROb]

LOL
The more I use it, the more I like it. I had to rearrange my desk a little bit and I don't have figured out completely yet where to leave the pen when I'm not using it.

The panning / scrolling is really cool, although the fastest scroll speed is still too slow for me. Switching from typing to "mousing" is quite easy.

Inkwell has settings for English, German, and French. If I write in English it does a much better job than when writing in Dutch (duh...). I really have to pay more attention to my handwriting. The keyboard beats the handwriting. Accept for the gestures (which are really cool), I don't think I will be using inkwell that much.

I wish they had put some additional USB ports on there as well.

Tip: take a look at CocoPad. It's a nice app that should have been included!
http://projects.digitalwaters.net/index.php?q=cocopad