Tablets and multitouch

Brother Mon

Brother Mon

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So, with a new multitouch ipod out there my mind started spinning again. I've been craving a screen with good tablet features for ages and with all these new gadgets popping out it seems closer than ever before.

Nothing of this is "new" but don't hang me just yet. My question is basically, which ones do we know of so far? Could we gather some of the neat ones and sum them up somehow?

Wacom:
Wacom produces a number of tablets with visual display.
Cintiq 21UX
They do make some quality stuff, and I bet this monster is just as good. The price is not cool however. Some day maybe.
http://www.wacom.com/cintiq/


Microsoft:
Surface
Most of us have heard of the Microsoft surface I guess (a.k.a. the coffey table). Still in pre-production.

Cheap alternative
This idea seems like a great one. Still in it's cradle though.


Apple:
Mouse
Apple is rumoured to work on some type of multitouch screen for a computer. (Well, duh)
But in the meantime they might even do a mouse

Rosie ("Apple powered")
Another coffee table!


Sharp:
12"
They are only doing smaller screens at the moment. Sharps multitouch LCD
Somehow, sites are reporting that this thing can SCAN, too. Strange, and unconfirmed, at least by me.
Click to expand...
weird, but cool (?!)


Sahara Slate PC
As the name says
Sahara is designed to be a lightweight slate form factor Touch Screen Tablet PC with built-in support for wireless networks and long battery life
Click to expand...
Not exactly what I was looking for, but still a pretty cool way to present it.

Pico:
Pucks and magnetism
Pico is a computer interface that can move electromagnetic pucks, merging the digital and physical worlds.
Click to expand...
Still looks way to unpolished to be useful but who knows, Pico at Innovation


Homemade:
There are numerous ways to build your own device, but for us with a repair of 1 we should either turn to ebay or wait.
1. so... bulky
2. Interesting to say the least. But can one do it?
Googleing "multitouch" will give you several examples of this.


These where just a few examples I've come across lately. Have anyone of you ever tried a tablet that you could recommend?
I am basically on the hunt for more info regarding any type of tablet where you get visual feedback directly at the point of pressure (like a screen).
I am still looking for examples made by asus, since they have made some pretty neat tablet pcs so far.
 
the best of those that i know of so far is by far the cintiq, it is a great tool for anyone who would need a tablet/


I personally love tablets to death, its so much more intuitive than a mouse, plus for my graphics design and art new media work nothing vcan beat it.
 
Myeah.

I'll still wait a few years before buying a Cintiq, thankye.

Anyway, care to show off your art, newb?
 
Ugh.

So, anyway, I was thinking of getting a tablet for sketching purposes. I like the pen with built-in eraser concept that I've seen some places, other than that I don't know anything at all about tablets in general. Not sure what price range I should go for. Any suggestions?
 
Pick up a Wacom Graphire to start with. If you're into serious business, pick up a Wacom Intuos.
 
I study Industrial design, but I'm at the early phase of my product sketching career, so I don't need high tech stuff, probably never will. These seem pretty cool, despite the pretty big price difference between them. What's the major advantage of widescreen over 4:3? Is it unnecessary if you have a 4:3 screen(s)? Which one do you have?
 
The wha?

I've got an Intuos 3 A4, and an absolutely gargantuan Eizo T965 monitor which rocksors major bocksors.

The thing with tablets is that there really isn't an alternative to Wacom. For sketching purposes, a Graphire tablet is both affordable and good. Cheap tablets have so little Pressure Points per Inch that they don't make a straight line, it goes all wobbly even if you draw it with a ruler.
 
Ok. so what's the minimum pressure points per inch I'm looking for, considering I'll need to draw plenty of very straight lines? Oh, and I want good colouring capabilities.
 
The Overseer said:
Ok. so what's the minimum pressure points per inch I'm looking for, considering I'll need to draw plenty of very straight lines? Oh, and I want good colouring capabilities.
Click to expand...


The general rule is to go look at the wacom pads, check the wire resolution, and use that for the basis of comparison
 
The Overseer said:
Ok. so what's the minimum pressure points per inch I'm looking for, considering I'll need to draw plenty of very straight lines? Oh, and I want good colouring capabilities.
Click to expand...

Dude. Buy a Wacom Graphire. End of story.

About the colouring capabilities, that depends on the program you use to draw, not on the tablet.
 
Wooz said:
Myeah.

I'll still wait a few years before buying a Cintiq, thankye.

Anyway, care to show off your art, newb?
Click to expand...

You know, there's a little community devoted to building inexpensive, home-made Cintiqs. Some of the projects can get pretty technical but you might want to check it out.

I'm planning on building one of my own in the coming weeks. I'll post a link to my build log when I finish.
 
I have a Wacom Volito and a Wacom Volito 2. They are the cheapest ones out there (especially that first Volito, I only paid 30€ for that, I think), but they do what I want them to do, so I'm not complaining. I only need them for colouring anyway.
Follow Wooz' advice, he's in the know.
 
Hmmm. Interesting link, but I'm curious about those things' capabilities, lag time, and whether they sense pen tilt.
 
I haven't read about any problems w/ pen tilt or lag on the bongofish forums (although the DIY multi-touch stuff i've seen has terrible lag). The big problem they seem to have is electrical interference. Some of the projects suffer from the pen "jittering" and "clicking" (which i think means the buttons on the pen register a phantom click). You have to make sure you shield the extra electronics with out shielding the tablet sensor. Most of the builds I've seen eventually get around this problem. A good way to fix the problem is to replace the back-light with LEDs (which don't require a high voltage inverter).

Personally, I think the boost in intuitiveness could easily justify a minor drop in quality. But then again, I'm not a professional.
 
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