Wacom Intuos4 pen tablet spotted by Mr. Blurrycam
By Donald Melanson 
posted Mar 11th 2009 2:24PM
posted Mar 11th 2009 2:24PM
There's not exactly much official word about this one just yet, but it looks like Wacom could have a little surprise in the offing for pen tablet enthusiasts, with some seemingly legit pics of the hereto unannounced Intuos4 now surfacing courtesy of our old friend Mr. Blurrycam. Unfortunately, 'ol Blurry didn't actually go so far as to open the box, although he did at least flip it over to reveal a few specs, including a wide format tablet area, some customizable ExpressKeys, a user-defined touch ring, and an apparently new and improved pressure-sensitive grip pen. Head on past the break for a closer look.
[Thanks, CGTALK]
[Thanks, CGTALK]
it's pretty! i would love to have one.. i just don't do any real work to actually NEED one.
I bought this portable dvd player from www.digizo.co.uk which also have digital photo frames on sale , Of course, the built in speaker is no competition to the noise of an aircraft but the two headphone sockets meant that that was no real problem.
I've successfully played +R and -R DVD disks with ISO files and AVIs, standard DVD movies and MP3's on disk. I also plugged my camera's memory stick into the USB port via a USB card reader. The access time between photos was a little slow (couple of seconds) and it couldn't play the movies from my Sony camera but the photo display was excellent.
I looked a few other players (both cheaper and more expensive) before settling on the Sony and after a couple of weeks of using it I'm glad I went for this one.
I am still using intuos2 platinum edition, those glossy finish and extra buttons cost so much for an upgrade, after all, it is just another designer's accessories.
Its true, I just saw one today (3/21) at a Staples in Vernon CT. The clerk pulled in out from the back for me and I was expecting to see an Intuos3 but instead it said Intuos4. I tried looking for the active area size but couldnt find it, but I did notice that the front of the box had an indication of small, med, large, and xl. The one I was looking at was a Small and was priced at $199. I decided to pass on it in order to get more info from the web about the model compared to the Intuos3...I was very surprised to find that it is not officially released yet
It's actually very interesting to me. I understand Wacom owns the market and all, but their equipment is very, very pricey. You can get similarly functional (not identically, and with fewer bells & whistles) knockoffs with very high resolution, 1024+ pressure sensitivity levels and twist sensitivity for like $69 on eBay any day. Why buy the expensive Wacom for yourself is beyond me; my wife's father holds a Master of Fine Arts (I call it a Master of "would you like fries with that?") and he uses Wacom exclusively. When I whipped out my cheapo Genius tablet he didn't have much to say about why he needed a much higher resolution Wacom; he's not making billboards and he knows how to zoom.
Seriously doesn't anyone else think the best possible tablet you could get would give you perfect hand-eye coordination because it would have its own display built into the tablet surface?
I need to amend something I've written: I -can- understand, to a point, why the Wacom gives more flexibility and comfort, and I can also understand that alternative products have pretty crappy drivers. I do know Photoshop et al seem to play nice with the crappy tablets, but since I'm not an artist I can't get into the specifics. Though my father-in-law didn't have much to say, I am aware someone will; so seriously, what's the deal with them? Are they THAT MUCH better for all-around artist tasking? If so, why and how?
Re: Dan Fruzzetti's comments;
To a professional user, just about anything is a bargain if it improves your productivity and comfort. Pro users aren't spending money when they buy equipment, they're investing in their own productivity. For freelancers, time is money in the most literal sense possible and good kit will pay for itself, hour by billable hour. Wacom tablets seem hugely expensive compared to the cheapies on eBay, but either option is trivially inexpensive on a cost-per-hour basis for people who use their tablets all day every day. The Wacom tablets have higher accuracy and sensitivity than competing products, but that's only a small part of the picture. Something as seemingly trivial as the feel of the pen in your hand becomes a matter of huge importance when you hold that pen for 16,000 hours per year. The shortcut buttons might only save you half a second over using your keyboard, but if you perform a hundred actions an hour it adds up to three working days per year saved. The same logic applies to all sorts of gadgets - they can be either a really expensive toy or a really cheap tool. You see it all the time with high-end DSLR cameras - a $5000 camera is a horrendously costly way of documenting your vacations, but for a pro photographer it might end up costing as little as 2 cents per photo over it's lifetime.
nice! hopefully they'll be coming out with some new cintiq's soon, driving the other prices down.
Does it have this technology built in?:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/25/wacom-reveals-svelte-rrfc-capacitive-touchscreen-technology/
I don't think it would. The Intuos line is Wacom's high-end non-touchscreen offering, and don't have screens built in. The new RRFC touch applies to touchscreen devices, and (hopefully soon) would be featured on touchscreen tablets such as the Cintiq.
I work at an Elementary school and every teacher has a tablet. I also think these things are more trouble than they are worth.
if you work at an elementary school you aren't the target market for this device, kay?
Why on earth would your school get every teacher a tablet? Theyre made for digital art. Thats a big waste of the budget.
Can you imagine having your kid in a school where the damn teachers already think a drawingpad is 'more trouble than it's worth'? I bet those kids will have a fruitful and joyful stay eh.
Why don't you share some of those thought with the parents.
Sure is a pretty pad you've got there...
Tablets are a definite plus for architects/graphic artists like me, and the Intuos4's sound like the only pad to replace the Intuos3 in quality and features. I might just urinate myself if that new "improved" pen means more levels of sensitivity. Ooh, I'll be dreaming about it.
Aaaaaaand I just started saving up. Maybe I can sell off my Intuos3 for a decent chunk of change before this makes its way out.
Really interested in their capacitive technology too. I'd kill for a good quality Cintiq I wouldn't have to sell body parts for.
I mean, I'm all for upholding the tradition of prohibitive costs of professional grade equipment and software, but the Cintiq's have always been ridiculously priced.
Dammit!
No screen.
...and the Cintiq is too expensive.
Oh well, at least my Intuos 3 isn't jealous.
It is probably a great product for those who either don't have a tablet or have some lower rank model like bamboo, for me as for Intuos 3 owner only new Cintiq would be interesting, i have tried 12WX few months ago and while the concept is great it needs improvements a lot so that's what I'm waiting for... or may be an 21UX update...
I wanna see some of Mrs. Blurrycam pics.
I really wonder what levels of sensitivity you need over those provided in Intuos 3, Intuos 3 itself is a perfect product and i know artists who still work on models before "3" and are absolutely satisfied, next step would only be an updated cintiq line and in few years an e-ink tablet...
cool and all but i want to know when the replacement for the cintiq 20/21 is coming out!
Wireless, damn it. Make it wireless!!!
Have you tried using for example Logitech's top of the line wireless mice? They lag when selecting text, let alone do gaming or photoshopping, I wouldn't want this to happen to my tablet work.
Well, that sounds like the difference between Logitech and Wacom, not wireless devices in general.
Mark 2000, I am insanely in agreement with you, man. Make this bitch wireless and I'll buy it the month it's out. I love my Intuos II, and I take it to work with me everyday.
wht re you talkn abt. I'm usn a lgitech wireless keybrd and mse right nw ad its jst fne.
Wacom already has a Graphire that is wireless and reviewers love it. Lets see that on the intuos.
I hate the wire on my Intuos and love my (lag free) wireless mouse, but the Intuos has such an insane DPI and other things sending data like pressure levels that I dont think it would work well without a wire. But maybe if they use a special wireless technology.
The Intuos3 sucked a lot of power. That alone probably makes it hard to be wireless. If I hook it into my laptop, my battery goes from 2-3 hours to 30 minutes. And this was the 4 X 6 model I tested.
Is there anything like this, but that has an actual screen that I could connect to my laptop in class and write notes with?
Wacom is for professionals, so yeah, there's the cintiq 12 inch but its a thousand dollars and more meant for digital art applications than taking notes with. If you really want that sort of thing you could get a tablet PC or wait for that macbook touchscreen to arrive. Or you could just, you know, buy a regular book and a pen to write with.
Yes, a tablet PC.
The most appealing thing for me would be the wide screen format. It really sucks to lose a good chunk of the real estate to the 3:4 to 16:10 conversion.
I picked 5 Wacom 6x11 Intuos3 tablets up from Best Buy a couple weeks ago for $149 a piece. They were on clearance and I bought every one they had, kept one, and sold the rest on ebay for $100 profit each. Check your local BB and see if they still have them.
Doesn't seem to be much change except for cosmetic appearance. The ring is just the touch strip except with an ipod inspired redesign and different modes (I'm sure someone needs them, but I can't think of what I'd use it for other than zooming in and out of adobe documents like I do with it now), they added an additional button from the 5 the intous 3 had, and they redesigned the OEM pen.
I mean, its cool if your new to the game I guess, but as a current designer, I can't justify an upgrade. I'll just keep saving up for the cintiq. One day baby.
Hm. I'm kind of scratching my head as to how useful that ring thing would be. I guess if I played with it for a while, I'd figure it out sooner or later. That'swhatshesaid.
But whatever. I love my 12" Cintiq. :)
I for one would uses the ring to scroll through MRI and CT series. These tablets are a MUST when segmenting
Will this one have controls on the right-hand side as well?
I have a 6 year old Intuos2 that I have yet to upgrade, it still works great and I've been itching to get a 3... now I have reason to wait! Wacom makes a great product!
Meh, I dont see the ring being used that much, for me anyway. I use a 6x11 Intuos3 and, since Im left handed, I have a Logitech NuLooq on my right so take care of all the functions I need. For any graphic designers, I highly recommend this combo.
Interesting, so that comes to 4 gadgets on the desk, NuLooq, tablet, keyboard, mouse, gotta look into that.
I dont use a mouse. I use the tablet for all navigating. I cant stand mice.
yessssssssssssssssssssssssssss! I love my life!
I wonder if it would be possible to use the ring as jog/shuttle for video. I use an Intuos 3 all day every day and it's great, I'm certain I would have carpal tunnel syndrome by now without it.
Dammit and Just bought and intuos3!!!
look at the guy's photobucket, it's full of dragon porn!
I knew something was up when I saw all those intuos3s on clearance at best buy. looks like its time to sell my intuos2 and buy an intuos3 off of ebay (the intuos2 pen annoys the crap out of me)
I'd love to get a scroll wheel and back button on the pen itself.
Dolphin Porn in the photobucket page is hillarious. I'm squinting out some details: 2048 levels of pressure? "Reversible tablet" for right hand or left hand use? Anybody picking up anything else?
Why oh why did I look at that from work!?!?!?! Ouch my eyes!
Mr Blurrycam appears to be a furry.