Wacom's Cintiq Companion tablets offer mobile pen display chops for Android and Windows 8 starting at $1499
Back in March, Wacom teased a standalone tablet for the graphics-minded set. In the meantime, the outfit released the Cintiq 13HD: a slate-size pen display that nailed down the compact end of its Cintiq line, but must remain tethered to a desktop or laptop for use. Now, the peripheral company has officially taken the wraps off of the Cintiq Companion and Cintiq Companion Hybrid. Both units wield similar aesthetics to the 13HD and house a 13.3-inch TFT LCD display with 1,920 x 1,080 resolution serving up a 700:1 contrast ratio and 16.7 million colors -- that's 75% of the Adobe RGB gamut. As you might expect, the trusty ExpressKeys, Rocker Ring, customizable controls and multitouch gestures are all here alongside the Pro Pen, its 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity and an adjustable stand. The main difference between the two? The Companion sports either Windows 8 or Window 8 Pro while the Companion Hybrid runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.
The Cintiq Companion packs a third-gen Intel Core i-7 processor, 8GB RAM, Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU and SSD storage. Selecting Windows 8 will nab you 256GB of space while opting for Windows 8 Pro bumps that capacity up to 512GB with price tags of $1,999 and $2,499 respectively. As for the Android version, it features both a NVIDIA GPU and quad-core Tegra 4 processor, 2GB RAM and HDMI input with 16GB and 32GB options. The former will dock your wallet for $1,499 while the latter clocks in at $1,599. MicroSD slots are included on the entire lot, should the need arise to wrangle a memory card or two. Across the board you'll also encounter a 8-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front-facing shooter, WiFi and Bluetooth. Cintiq Companion Hybrid units will arrive mid-September and Cintiq Companion models will hit shelves in October, but the whole family is up for pre-order now. In the meantime, you can catch all of the details on both in the PR that resides after the break,
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Wacom's Cintiq Goes Mobile
New Cintiq Companion and Cintiq Companion Hybrid creative tablets for Windows 8 and Android respectively, deliver professional pen-on-screen performance for users longing to work wherever and whenever they want
Vancouver, Wash. – Aug.19, 2013 – Staying on top of evolving trends in the creative community and responding to frequent requests from professional customers, Wacom® extends the creative experience from the desktop to a mobile environment with the new Cintiq® Companion line of creative tablets.
The Cintiq Companion line, available in two models, enables creative professionals to work wherever they want. The Cintiq Companion runs Windows 8 and full versions of creative software and offers everything a customer would expect from Wacom's Cintiq products. The Cintiq Companion Hybrid, on the other hand, is a traditional Cintiq when plugged into a Mac or PC, but when used as a mobile device, works as a stand-alone Android® tablet with enough power to do light sketching and start creative processes with suitable apps. The new tablets were developed to bring unprecedented freedom to the creative workflow. They also ensure a distinct Cintiq experience even in mobile use, leveraging key elements of the Cintiq 13HD and Cintiq 22HD touch, for example, full HD display with touch control and the Wacom Pro Pen with 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity as well as tilt recognition.
Make the world your studio - Create anytime, anywhere with Cintiq Companion
Nowadays, creative professionals require high performance hardware and software that enable them to create in a variety of environments including studios, client offices, coffee shops, planes, trains and many more. The Cintiq Companion supports creative freedom by offering everything necessary for productive art and design work whether in the studio or on the go. Providing an all-purpose, mobile workstation, it is a fullyfledged Windows 8 tablet, powered by a 3rd generation Intel® Core™ processor and Intel® HD Graphics 4000 that pack a punch whether designing a character, or retouching a photo. For excellent creative results, Wacom offers two models. One with 8GB memory and 256GB SSD with Windows 8 and the other with 8GB memory,
512GB SSD with Windows 8 Pro.
"We are pleased that the Cintiq Companion has been designed with the needs of creative professionals in mind. With Wacom, we worked together to select the best combination of features to make it an excellent mobile platform for Adobe® Photoshop®," said Maria Yap, senior director of product management at Adobe. "The Cintiq Companion is optimized for the latest version of Photoshop Creative Cloud™ and gives creative professionals a way to get out of the studio and create wherever they feel most inspired."
"We are excited to have worked closely with Wacom over the last year to bring the Cintiq Companion to reality" said Chris Silva, Intel director of marketing for premium notebooks. "Intel's powerful yet compact processors together with Wacom's expertise in creative pen displays brought to life the Cintiq Companion, a product very different from any other in that it's designed specifically for people in visual arts who need a professional solution to draw, sketch and paint when mobile."
Cintiq Companion Hybrid - the digital sketchpad on the go
For illustrators and designers who want to draw, sketch and paint when mobile, but who also want to use their professional software when connected to a Mac or PC, the Cintiq Companion Hybrid offers a 'two-in-one' solution. The Cintiq Companion Hybrid functions as a traditional Cintiq when connected to a Mac or PC. When unplugged, it is perfect for light, spontaneous work using Android™ apps. The tablet comes with a powerful Nvidia® Tegra® 4 processor, Android Jellybean and specially designed software such as the new Wacom Creative Canvas for painting and sketching. For further refinement when back in the studio, rough images can be easily transferred to a computer or shared directly to popular cloud services with the easy and pre-loaded ASTRO File Manager™. Two versions of the Cintiq Companion Hybrid are available,
a 16GB version and a 32GB version.
All of the time-savers that professionals expect from a Wacom Cintiq are integrated in both the Cintiq Companion and Cintiq Companion Hybrid, including the customizable new on-screen controls, ExpressKeys, Rocker Ring and Radial Menu. To enable a truly mobile working style, the Cintiq Companion family packs some impressive mobile communications features such as WiFi connectivity, Bluetooth® (version 4.0 for Cintiq Companion and version 3.0 for Cintiq Companion Hybrid), front/rear HD cameras (2M pixels/8M pixels), stereo headset jack and microphone for hosting calls or streaming movies.
As creative professionals require comfort and ergonomics to offset long working hours, an adjustable and detachable stand is also included with both products, offering four working angles – from flat to upright. "The new Cintiq Companion line enables mobile creatives to carry out their jobs without compromising on the high performance required for delivering professionalgrade design and artistic output," said Don Varga, professional products brand
director at Wacom Americas. "This is a truly ground-breaking product line that redefines the way creative professionals work, empowering artists and designers to immerse themselves in their work without being confined to a traditional studio or office."
Pricing and Availability
The Cintiq Companion Hybrid models are priced at $1499 (USD) for the 16GB and $1599 (USD) for the 32GB. Both products will be available from Wacom's eStore in mid-September. The Cintiq Companion models are offered at $1999 (USD) for the Windows 8 with 256GB SSD and $2499 (USD) for the Windows 8 Pro with 512GBSSD. The Cintiq Companion models are scheduled to appear at the Wacom eStore in October.
To pre-order a Wacom Cintiq Companion or Companion Hybrid in the US, please visit the Wacom eStore and follow the ordering instructions.
