Wacom Intuos3 4x5 Tablet

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Page 2 Wacom's Intuos3 4x5 tablet features a digital pen, a mouse, and a tablet designed for artists and graphic designers who need a degree of control unattainable with a standard mouse. Regular computer users who suffer from repetitive stress in their wrists or anyone who wants a more intuitive means to work on their desktops will also appreciate its ease of use, though a street price of $220 may be a reason to shop for the consumer-level Wacom Graphire3 tablet released last year.

The Intuos3 tablet connects to your PC via USB (the old Intuos2 had only a serial connector) and includes an RF receiver for both the wireless mouse and the pen. Each component has customizable buttons, including a rocker switch on the pen, five buttons on the mouse, as well as a four-button keypad and a slide bar on the tablet. The Intuos3 comes bundled with the necessary software drivers on CD, as well as applications including Corel Painter Essentials 2.0 and Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0.

When you use the pen, the active area defaults to Pen mode (absolute positioning), which means it maps directly to the screen. In other words, if you rest the tip of the pen on the bottom-right corner of the active area, the cursor will point to the same place on the screen. The pen also features 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity (twice that of the Graphire3), letting you switch between different brushes and pinpoint precise areas onscreen. The pen is a bit thicker than a standard ballpoint pen, but the weight is similar. The gray-rubber grip feels comfortable, and the convenient rocker switch is easily accessible with thumb or forefinger. The pen comes with three nibs for a variety of feels; an eraser on the end makes it easy to clean up errors.

A smooth material covers the bottom of the ball-free and optics-free mouse (it works by touch), allowing the mouse to glide easily on the tablet's active area. When you use the mouse, the tablet switches to relative positioning, which treats the cursor like any other mouse would. If you imagine yourself using the mouse a lot, we'd recommend one of the larger models. On the 4x5 model, the mouse takes up half of the active area.

See more CNET content tagged:: Wacom,; pen,; tablet,; mouse,; positioning

User reviews

Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 4 reviews
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3.5 stars

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful

"Graphics and Mouse Capabilities in one"

on November 17, 2004

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4.5 stars

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

"A truly worthwhile investment even in 2008"

by aperry218 on April 17, 2008

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4.0 stars

2 out of 4 people found this review helpful

"a mouse? who needs it.. :)"

on January 12, 2005

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Wacom Intuos3 4x5 Tablet

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Reviews from around the Web

macformat.co.uk

Editors' rating: 100

Summary: The best things about Wacom in a small portable tablet

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digitalartsonline.co.uk

Editors' rating: 80

Summary: Having created such a stirling product with the Intuos3 tablet, Wacom is to be applauded for serving up specialized versions for creatives working across different sectors. The Intuos3 A3 Wide isn't for everyone, but those working in 3D, CAD, or video-edi

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pcplus.co.uk

Editors' rating: 100

Summary: A hard-to-beat performer, albeit one for the professionals

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computerarts.co.uk

Editors' rating: 80

Summary: This is not a graphics tablet for the faint of heart: it's large and powerful and aimed at serious graphics professionals. But if that's you, this could well be the ultimate balance between size, price and features. There's room for improvement, but this

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macworld.com

Editors' rating: 90

Summary: The Intuos3 (which comes in three sizes: 4 by 5 inches, 6 by 8 inches, and 9 by 12 inches) represents the latest release in Wacom's flagship tablet line. (I tested the 6-by-8-inch unit for this review.) In contrast to the more economical Graphire line, In

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