New Bamboo Pen Tablets from Wacom
Bamboo Fun Tablet
© Wacom
The Bamboo standard tablet is intended for office and home use, while the Bamboo Fun is designed more for creative users. Both tablets offer the following common features:
- wide-format active area
- thinner body style compared to previous Wacom models
- a textured work surface that is designed to feel like pen on paper
- 512-levels of pressure sensitivity and 2,540 LPI resolution
- four programmable express keys and a finger-sensitive touch ring
- a 5-foot long detachable USB cable
- a two-button pen with stand
- one year warranty
- Mac and Windows compatibility
Bamboo Tablet
© Wacom
The Bamboo tablet has an active area of approximately 6x4 inches and comes in black only. Its two-button pen has no eraser and it does not come with a mouse. Bamboo includes driver software, but does not come with additional software and is intended to be used with the built-in pen features within Windows Vista, Office 2007, and Mac Inkwell. Bamboo's suggested retail price is US$79.
Bamboo Fun
Digital photographers and creative users will be more inclined to go for the Bamboo Fun model. Bamboo Fun comes in two sizes--small, with an active area about 6x4 inches; or medium, with an active area about 5x8 inches. It is also available in four color choices--white, black, silver, and blue. It comes with a two-button eraser pen, 3 replacement pen nibs, and a mouse that works on the tablet surface. Bamboo Fun also includes a software DVD containing full versions of Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 Win/4.0 Mac, Corel Painter Essentials 3.0, and Nik Color Efex Pro 2.0 GE. Bamboo's suggested retail price is US$99 for the small size and US$199 for the medium size.
I hope to get my hands on a Bamboo Fun tablet very soon to provide a more detailed review. For graphics software enthusiasts, the Bamboo Fun tablets looks like a nice replacement to the Graphire line. The new tablets look sharp, and I like the idea of the textured, wider work surface, and the detachable USB cable.
Check Prices on Bamboo Tablets
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Thanks for your review.Infact this product recently and have to saw if you every need a Graphic Tablet – Wacom is the answer!
My Wacom Bamboo comes tommorow and I can’t wait, thanks for review, you convinced me in buying it!
I own the Bamboo and it DOES NOT come with a mouse. Also, the pen DOES come with an eraser. It is an awesome product to use with Windows Vista.
I just got the Bamboo Fun Medium sized- Silver – for my Christmas present. It is amazing and I love it. It was only after looking at the reviews, my dad was convinced that it was the right choice to buy me. Thank you!!
CONS: does NOT recognize pen tilt
your articles fail to mention useful comparison metrics for tablets like tilt and acceleration
why?
Wacom Intuos and Cintiq are the only tablets I know of that support tilt sensitivity.
Cons: Does not come with required software to use the writing Ability In office 2007. They advertise on their web page that Bamboo fun with write in microsoft office 2007 and that you can also do hand written emails, but fail to supply the software.
Scall: The capability is built into Windows Vista. This is stated on the Wacom site: “Combine Bamboo with Mac Inkwell or Microsoft Windows Vista and Office 2007 to handwrite email, enter text by hand anywhere typed text is accepted, navigate your desktop with a flick of the pen, and more.”
I don’t know that the writing features work with other versions of Windows and I don’t think tablet features are included with Vista Home Basic edition. Yes, Wacom could make all of this clearer. If you have Windows Vista, make sure you have the tablet features installed and enabled and you should be able to use handwriting anywhere.
Question: Is it good with making and animation with adobe flash?
Seth: Certainly.
I want to get a graphic tablet specifically for drawing, paintng and design and animation purposes- amateur – it’s actually for my son, who loves to draw, but I would also use it for photos. Is the Wacom Bamboo Fun the most adequate for this? or is more for office stuff?
Rox: As I wrote in my Bamboo Fun Review, “For creative work like painting, drawing, and touching up photos, the medium size Bamboo Fun tablet is ideal.”
Does it come with a case? Or do they have case to buy?
I don’t know of any case for it and I’m not sure why you’d need one. If you plan to travel with it, it fits nicely in a compartment of a laptop bag. For some extra protection, you could wrap it in the foam sleeve that comes in the retail packaging.
Thanks for the review. As a novice, i’m looking to get a tablet as i want to learn to draw on the computer, and make all the graphics for a personal website. Would you recommend this over the Bamboo Fun? I already own graphics software, and to be honest, this looks so much nicer than the Bamboo fun.
Are there any differences in the pens between this version and the Bamboo Fun?
Thanks!
I am a bit confused about the eraser function of bamboo vs bamboo fun,
Dos bamboo have different pressure levels for eraser….
refer…http://techgage.com/article/wacom_bamboo_fun_tablet/
oops…the link in wacom site is http://www.wacom.com/BambooTablet/compare.cfm
Would the “Bamboo Fun” be appropriate for use with the “selection” tools in Photoshop? instead of using a mouse? (with lasso tool, for instance??)
for creating photo composites?
Merci!
Karen: Certainly. You will have much better control using a tablet instead of a mouse for making precise selections.
I do texturing for games aswell as concept art for my uni course, obviously my tablet of choice would be the Intuos3 or 2, however those are far more expensive. Would you recommend the Bamboo for this or to pay more for the intuos?
Ben: I wouldn’t go with the Intuos2. If you can afford Intuos3, go for that, but if not, I think the Bamboo or Bamboo Fun will serve you well.
Does the Bamboo Fun work well on Windows Vista Home Basic?
Sarah: I don’t see whay it woulnd’t be. Is there something that gave you that impression? A tablet will work anywhere that a mouse does as long as there are drivers for the operating system. I don’t know if Home Basic has the handwriting recognition and other tablet features that Home Premium and Ultimate have, but that does not mean the Bamboo will not work.
Well, when I looked them on the ebay, it said that it works with any other Vista edition but Home Basic.. Though there wasn’t anything mentioned about that in Wacom’s offical site.
But thanks, that really helped. (:
My 12 year old daughter wants an overhead projector for christmas for playing school with her friends. I was looking at this product and was thinking it might be a better choice. Can it be used as a simple whiteboard with the display being on the computer screen?
Keith: That should work fine. You could use the Journal program that comes with Vista as your “white board” or even MS paint.
I guess they don’t use blackboards or even dry-erase boards in school anymore!
I am looking at getting a tablet for audio editing with music software similar to cubase. I can get the bamboo fun for a little more than the bamboo so i was wondering, apart from the software is there any difference between the two? Precision is important for detailed editing and i’d rather pay a little bit more for something better and a good tablet is important for what i do. So is the software the only real difference? Thanks!
Fun is larger and the pen has an eraser. There may be some other small differences, but I think the resolution and sensitivity are the same. Go to Wacom’s site and have a look at their comparison chart.
I went with the bamboo. Apart from the software which i don’t need there are very few differences and it turns out the bamboo has a slightly larger active area than the fun even though the fun is larger overall. The bamboo has an eraser afaict but it’s not pressure sensitive. Anyway graphics are not my main purpose so overall the bamboo should be great. Thanks!
I want to use a tablet w/ stock trading charts that are updating live over the internet. Can I draw directly on them or do I need some other software? I use XP Pro. Also, I want to use a tablet to draw on PowerPoint 2003 slides while showing this app in a live GoToMeeting virtual environment. Can this be done w/out some other software? I’ve been told I need something like Notateit to do these things. So, would it matter which tablet I use if I wanted to do these things? Thanx!
Can you use the Wacom Bamboo tablet just as you would a tablet pc? Does the handwriting feature work in Microsoft Works using Windows Vista Home Premium? Can you convert your handwriting to text just as you would on a tablet pc? I am looking for an alternative to a tablet pc that can be used on any of my computers. Is Windows Journal software available for download on computers that are not a tablet pc?
Kim: I have not used a tablet PC< but my understanding is that it is basically the same except that you are putting the pen to the tablet instead of the screen. That means you are looking at the screen while writing on the tablet so the experience might not be exactly the same. The handwriting features in Vista work in all programs, as far as I know. That includes converting handwriting to text. Windows Journal comes with Vista, but I don’t think it can be downloaded for older versions of Windows. Hope that helps.
I am looking for a pen and tablet for digitizing machine embrodiery. I need to be able to zoom to 600% and accurately click on the artwork to determine where stitch points are placed. I will be tracing my artwork with each click I make with the pen.
Would the Bamboo Fun be the best tablet to start out with, and would the smaller size work or should I go to the larger size? Most of my designs are larger than 6″, however I will be zooming in on only areas to place clicks (stitches). I noticed no one has
inquired about the best tablet and pen for machine embrodiery. I am just starting out and don’t want to invest a lot yet, but want to have a good product.
Thanks, Sandy
I too am looking for a tablet for embroidery and drawing. I’m anxious to hear your response. Tanks, Betty
difference between electronic and dizitizing tablet
I am looking for a tablet to use for making grahpics and such. Is this right for me? What elements of photoshop does it come with?
Wow, the Bamboo Fun sounds perfect for me. The only problem is I don’t have $200 to spend on it yet, although apparently the price is very fair.
I have Windows Vista. Do i need photoshop or any other software to work the bamboo tablet.
Goldyn: No, it will work just like a mouse replacement in any software, and you will have pressure sensitivity in any program that support that. Have a look at my article on graphics tablets for more info: http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/aboutgraphics/a/graphicstablets.htm
Hi,
I have a bamboo pen n touch, but i m not able to find out how to write an email with pen and also how to use the pen for writing on any pdf file.please help me, if it needs some soft. then please give me the link for that..thanks