Wacom Intuos4 succumbs to peer pressure, goes wireless
By Vlad Savov 
posted February 1st 2010 6:46AM
posted February 1st 2010 6:46AM
posted February 1st 2010 6:46AM
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I could see needing it if you had some funky cubicle arrangement where the cable wasn't long enough or just kept getting in the way. I've got so much shit on my desk I could always use one less cable.
@sweet greggo
I can think of all sorts of times when wireless would be preferred.
@sweet greggo Amen! Most of the time I'm just using it at my desk but 1) one less wire would be GREAT and 2) I'm on a laptop so it would be perfect to use away from my desk too!
in before iPad
@fighterfelix
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
@fighterfelix
No, No, No!!
Do not give those wounded freaks a reason to slobber on a non i*** posting.
They are already too emotionally unbalanced to purposely provoke.
@LAY
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Its funny to watch PC fanboys go berserk....
@Wesscoast
It's even more funny to watch Apple fanatics go bat-shit insane trying to silence any negative comment about a consumer product.
What a disgustingly HUGE BEZEL for a premium priced item that is supposed to not take over a desk.
@DBx: Huh? Who the hell cares? Bevel size is completely superfluous when talking about a graphics tablet. When you're not using it, it's hidden in a drawer or on a shelf, where bezel size doesn't mean jack, and when you are using it, it's nice to have some area to rest your wrist on.
@tonicboy
Agreed, the bezel is nice to rest you hands on when working. This isnt a pretty toy, its a working tool.
@Solidstate89 Well, you can hardly blame him, since "huge bezel" is the most abused phrase on this blog. I bet 10% of comments are about bezels.
@DBx There is a reason that Intuos have a bezel that is relatively wide on smaller sized tablets. That reason is that the pen angel detection works by detecting both the nib and top of the pen, so the digitizer needs to extend beyond the active user area. If it didn't the user wouldn't be able to tilt the pen so that the top ended up outside the active area.
I also don't get this article. Has the writer even owned a digitizer tablet? I doubt it since it is quite practical to just grab one, use it for a while, and then put it away without worrying about a cable getting over your keyboard or spilling out a cup of coffee...
How is it powered?
[I have an older Bamboo that hooks up via USB - power via that]
I am so goddamn sick and tired of hearing devices going wireless for no damn reason or than the fact that these companies can't come up with any other way to "upgrade" their devices than jumping on that wireless bandwagon.
I had the hardest time finding a decent mouse a few months ago because 90% of the non-generic-shaped mice out there are wireless, and there is no chance I am going to waste batteries, nor money on a wireless mouse when a wired mouse is perfectly fine (and actually preferred).
@Hazdaz: You should at least realize that you are in a very small minority that prefers wired mice. The rest of world highly prefers wireless mice, which is why there are so many. You have rightly been relegated to the realm of specialty mail-order.
@Hazdaz There's lots of choice for wired mice though, is there not? They might call them gaming mice but really, they're just high performance wired mice.
@YpoCaramel
No, there really aren't that many wired mice left. I hit up all the usual suspects when it comes to computer peripherals - all the remaining big-box electronics stores, as well as the office supply stores and the sad fact is that the selection was maybe only 20% wired.
Mice are one of those few computer devices that you pretty much have to "try-out" before you buy to see if it's comfortable in your hand, so buying one online is just not practical.
For what it's worth, I've got a medium sized Intuos3, USB power/wired, and I would have loved it to be Bluetooth. Or at least, given a choice.
However, if you're going to have to keep changing batteries every month or two, that could be a dealbreaker.
Man, Engadget rage runs deep. You can't see a use for this being wireless? How about the computer is 10 meters away? Unclutter the desk? I use a USB cable for my intuos and I'm fine with that, but here's a great looking device with no wire. Why hate?
@saxdrummer You have to sit around waiting for this thing to charge before use, then you get a limited amount of time to use it before another recharge, and then there's the question of who sits 10 meters away from the display he's trying to work on. If what you're doing is drawing on the tablet, you'll want to unclutter the desk in other ways, not remove the one fundamental tool for the task.
And to quote a Honda advert, hate is good.
@Vlad Savov Not 10 meters from the screen, 10 meters from the CPU. In my office, the boxes are far away from the rooms where the work is done, more than 10 meters, but I'm just suggesting it could solve *someone's* problem. It doesn't solve any of my problems. Yeah, charging is an issue that I can get behind, and I would probably never buy this device. If it were one of the smaller pads then that would be pretty cool. Boy oh boy, I still can't believe people could get an angry at Wacom, a company who has managed to do more than one thing well over the last few years. Let them live and spread the love.
I recently picked up the Bamboo Touch and I couldn't be happier, it's big but not too much, it looks cool and glows when you touch it and allows a lot of convenient and time saving gestures...it's completely replaced my mouse without the thought of going back, but the one that that bothers me is the wire. I saw this and got annoyed/excited, since I just bought mine, but I plan on simply drilling a hole in the middle of my desk, hidden by my keyboard, and putting the wire through there. It ruins the wireless look I have going on as it is now, even though it's worth it.
This is Wacoms second wireless tablet, the first one was in 2008 ?
http://macs.about.com/od/graphicstablets/gr/wacomgraphire.htm
I switched from a Graphire BT to the Intuos4 Medium and I did kind of miss the wireless capability. The Intuos4 does have a REALLY long USB cord, but sometimes it gets tangled when I lean back in my chair. I'm going to assume it is going to come with a wall wart and a li-po battery that wll give it about 10+ hours of continuous use when unplugged. It will be more useful wireless than my Graphire BT. The Intuos4 has the benefit of hotkeys on the left side to control ALT, CTRL, etc., making the dependency for a keyboard slightly less when in PS. I like to lean back a little bit when I'm working a long time.
Article is somewhat daft, to be honest. I mean, sure wireless might not be the most amazing thing for the intous, but then wireless keyboards and mice are of relatively marginal benefit when attached to desktop PCs... doesn't stop people from wanting to buy them though.
For $50 extra wireless is an excellent addition if you want to use the tablet on more than one PC, and be able to switch between them with ease.
There's your "freaky workplace scenario right there", an office that only needs the expensive tablet every now then then, but on multiple PCs.
The interesting thing about this release is that they've now got the wireless tablet tech in place, so it could be foreshadowing the release of a wireless cintiq (which would be the most awesome thing in the world, I use one currently and wireless is the #1 thing I'd like to see in the next version)
Wireless cintiq would probably appeal to non-artists too... all the power of your desktop PC beamed straight to a tablet.. I'd pay a small fortune for the thing if it was lightweight and had an OLED screen, too.
Yeah. . . I don't get some of these articles. What point of view are you writing from? Do you use a Cintiq? Being able to put it in your lap and rotate it around with freedom is a great addition. And how about hooking it up to a bigger monitor and being able to sit back from it? And what about using it with a laptop and having one less chord to hook up? And how about the two computer guy? Please!!!! This makes sense, and to call it a nominal upgrade is kinda ignorant.
I'm not sure why there is such disdain for the graphics tablet world. A graphics tablet should be included with most computers; it is a device that opens up a whole new functionality to your computer. It is no different than a mouse or a keypad and is crucial to getting the most out of your computer. So why shouldn't it be wireless?
I haven't owned a wacom tablet that I haven't ended up soldering a new wire onto in an emergency "crap I have a deadline to make and this wire died on me" situation. you might think I'm rough on my tech, but I've never soldered a new USB cable onto any other gadget. Wacom just makes shitty wires. 'bout time.
@soylentdean Oh... except the Bamboo. Which has a mini usb port, so you can just plug a new wire in when the one they give you inevitably dies.
@soylentdean FYI, the current generation of Intuos tablets (4) uses a user-replaceable mini usb port wire.
And, yes, if they had had a small intuos tablet with bluetooth when I got mine, I would have definitely preferred it. My CPU is about 9 feet away from my monitor, and I use a wireless keyboard and mouse, which make a huge difference in desk and room clutter. Fortunately, the monitor has 2 usb ports, so I can plug the thing in there, but wireless would really have been a bonus.
I use a tablet very frequently. I'd love to be able to move it around freely like it was a pad of paper, or just file it on a bookshelf when it's not in use. I think the Bluetooth connectivity is a major plus, and I'm surprised it hasn't been done sooner.
Nobthanks I'll stick to ipad $499.
I have the Intuos4 and my #1 request would be wireless. I won't buy a new one just for that, but I would have gone for the option. I like to sit back from a very large screen to save my eyes and that makes wired peripherals a mess.
Wish they'd bring back the older Bamboos. Those seem a lot more useful than their new Bamboo Pen & Touch. If only on the Pen and Touch that Touch was activated with the stylus(tip) away from the tablet then it would make touch much more useful than having to turn it on and off with a button all the time.
It's just additional choice. Why bothering complaining if you can get a wired Intuos4 anyways?
I HATE the cord on my Intuos. HATE IT. These tablets are huge and the last thing they need is a big ass cord sticking out of them taking up another few inches of usable space and knocking crap around. I dread pulling out the intuos because you have to wrangle it around things with its 20ft cord.
I would much rather have a wireless Intuos that any of the other crap theyve been adding to it. It would be nice to have more flexibility on where to put the monster on a desk instead of having to worry about where the cord should go.
Wireless for a graphics tablet...really? Why?
Also why does every single blog I go on have these stupid hidden replies now, with no way to automatically show them all. I really DON'T want to keep clicking to show each individual group of replies, it's stupid.
Good. I got tired of the wires years ago. Maybe it's time for me to give Wacom one more try before Apple puts them in their grave.
I love that there is now a wireless solution. I use my wacom with my laptop and frequently I will take it on the go. This is a major convince to eliminate the wire. Maby not for everyone, but I'm glad they are offering it. Now if they will just come up with a wireless Cintiq 12.
Love this option Wacom, been waiting for years for it! Thank you.