Wacom impressed us at NAB with a preview of its new Bamboo mini-graphics pad, and that Bamboo will ship later this month at only $140. For those who might not be familiar with the concept, Wacom’s pads plug into your PC or Mac’s USB port and act as a graphical input device: You draw with a special stylus, and the pad-aware software on your computer (Illustrator, for example) responds. The stylus has other features like built-in tools and a pressure sensor, so you really get a pen-and-paper-like experience. Handy for designers.
The Bamboo takes the concept to a new place with the edition of an iPod-like scroll wheel at the top. this supposedly makes it simple to scroll through tools, settings, and menus that the pads haven’t really addressed well in the past. Anything to make digital art easier for us non-artsy schmoes is welcome.
Wacom Bamboo consumer pen and tablet [Tech Digest]