Genius EasyPen and MousePen graphics tablets play on both sides of the fence
By Vladislav Savov 
posted Jul 8th 2009 5:33AM
posted Jul 8th 2009 5:33AM
Please note: If you're a current Engadget commenter, you do not need to re-register. Simply login and you will be prompted to select a username.
I have a genius pensketch 9x12 and it's totally amazing- the wacom tablet of equivalent size costs 3-4 times as much.
You get what you pay for.
Wacom > this pile of crap.
I'm honestly looking to know what kind of difference you get with a Wacom over something like this. Any experiences to share?
-Built quality
ie. The pen (I bought a Genius F610 the other day and the pen was horrible... you really had to hold it and draw with it to know what im talking about, plus the way you put the battery inside the pen is horrendous. (pen feels really really cheap) For a graphic designer/artist/etc this is really important....
-Software (UI friendliness)
2) Software (UI friendliness): This is probably the most important aspect (especially if you are a Mac user like me...)
ie. The software that came with my F610 was not compatible with leopard. When i bought it, it did have a Mac compatible logo on the box so I assumed that it would work with my MBP. After 2 hours of googling I found out that the software for a newer tablet worked for the F610 (How was i supposed to know that?!) so I had to go and download that and then blah blah blah.....
3) Shortcuts
ie. For a tablet (that does not have a display on it (like the cintiq)) shortcuts on the tablet are an amazing time saver. For my F610, shortcut buttons didnt work unless you had a secondary program active and I never understood how to change the shortcuts either.
Plus, the Genius F610 tablet user manual had absolutely NOTHING about the tablet itself. Only thing it had was how to install the driver in like 76 languages. I had so many questions about how to set up the shortcuts, how to change the pen nibs, how to clean it....
Im never going to buy a Genius tablet ever again....
Im so gald i got a intuos4 instead...
------
Sorry about the post above...
This is so old! I bought one of these a year and a half ago...
For any mac users looking at these, don't bother, they have the WORST drivers I have ever used on anything, they usually crash on book and need force quoting in activity monitor, when they do work it's badly.
Thanks for the info, guys. Very helpful.
*now one thing I have to DO is just learn how to draw...
I can draw but I also wouldn't mind being able to write text and view pdf files...do any of these tablets offer that or can you add on software so they can???
Purchased.
Sounds ok, but better off just getting a Wacom Bamboo from eBay for $40.
Worked for me.
Can I write text and read pdf files on it? If so I'm sold!
I played both sides of the fence in highschool. It was interesting.
@ratchetnclank a tad unfair calling em a pile of crap, I got one of the earlier models to replace the "pile of crap" Wacom entry level tablet I wasted my money on and didn't regret it in the slightest.
Yeah, they're not as good as the Intuos range, but mine worked perfectly, good pressure sensitive, good resolution, accurate, reliable and worked just fine with all my software,
Probably wouldn't buy one if I was a commercial artist, but for hobby it's perfect.
Genius still exist?
Yeah I know, how did they manage to survive the great purge of the 80's tech icons.
Anyone bagging Genius over that -too full of themselves- Wacom needs to go do some research.
Anyway, I will continue to wait for the fabled coming of screen based tablets that don't require your first born in exchange.
Almost every damn computer supplies shop in europe sells genius mice, would be weird if they would go under with a setup like that.
I can't help feeling that they didn't need to provide the optical mouse with the larger tablet - the customer almost certainly already has a serviceable (or better) mouse and not providing one would have kept the costs lower. Still, apart from that it looks fine to me for anyone in the market for a cheap tablet.
I recently bought the F610 and let me tell you what a piece of crap that was...
Next day i went back to the store and exchanged it for a new Intuos4. Short review: AWESOME tablet.
You get what you pay for. Sad to your wallet, but true.
Clever trick, buy a $90 genius tablet and exchange it for an intuos worth several hundred bucks.
@Wwhat,
What the hell are you talking about?
@joe23521:
Its ok. Just ignore him. Thats what im doing :-)
Okay, I'd like an opinion from someone who's familiar with them: I've recently decided to replace my aging Wacom, and I've been looking at the primarily at new Wacoms and XP Pens (I've had a previous XP Pen that was crap, but I've heard that they've massively improved since). With the information regarding this one, I might be willing to look at it as well if it's worth the recommendation. I have heard, however, that Addessos aren't worth the boxes they come in.
The tablet is primarily for artwork and as a backup mouse (in case something goes wrong).
wait why is the bigger one cheaper?
I've used wacom tablets and I'd agree with tadmorbid- if you don't do semi-serious graphics work (or better), there's absolutely no reason why you'd require a Wacom, let alone an Intuos. Wacom took a look at the market and came out with their own cheapie ... the bamboo. Same deal- it's not for serious or semi-serious artists. As always, it depends on the application. The Genius comes with many more programmable buttons, and twice the pressure sensitivity. It also has a larger working area.
So the deal might be ... has anyone compared the bamboo to the genius and the answer is no ... because it hasn't come out yet.
Your picture scares me.
Wacom Bamboo FT(cheap)W.
I paid $60 on eBay for my last two.
(one I left in rural Ghana with a computer lab we set up...I wanted the kiddies to play with it)
Some guy on this page says you can find them for $40 on eBay.
If you are going to do ANY kind of art just save yourself the head ache and get wacom. If you're just surfing the interwebs a cheap tablet will work. It all depends on what you wish to do with it. Let me warn anyone wanting to do art these pads are extremely hard to get used to. They do not provide a natural feel. The pen skates over the surface like ice on Teflon, and learning to look at the screen while drawing will take some considerable time to master. 99% of people WILL become frustrated and give up before mastering it. I've been a professional artist for 20 years and it still can be frustrating at times. I've used a intous 3 for four years and it still feels unnatural. Using the pen instead of a mouse helps the learning, but you can't just rotate it to get the propper wrist movement for the required line. The Cintiqs are a tad better, but the surface slickness is 1000x's worse.
I guess I'm saying if you get an art tablet be prepared for the frustration, and be willing to put in the time to learn to use it. For it will take some time.
I have a Genius on my PC and love it (paired with a 3DConnexion Space Navigator), but seriously...
If you're going to shell out the money for a Mac, why the hell would you NOT buy a Wacom?!?!?!?
I have a Wacom sitting around to eventually use with my laptop, because it's so small, but I agree that the build and quality is far superior.