User Reviews

1. Review Date: 2009-11-24

   I use the Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch with a late 2008 iMac 24". I replaced my Mighty Mouse that came with my computer with this tablet. This was my first Wacom tablet.
   I love this tablet! I mostly use the touch and not the pen, but I got the pen and touch because it was only a little bit more and it saves space to have one device that can input two ways rather than two different devices. I also plan to use the pen for more precise things like Photoshop and image editing. Like I said, I never had a Wacom before. The last Mac laptop I had was an iBook which was before they got the fancy "trackpad" with the multi-touch gestures. But I've read a lot of people saying that they love the multi-touch gestures so much they never want to go back to a regular mouse.
   I have been having major problems with my hand and wrist hurting from too much mousing. The Mighty Mouse is really too tiny and painful and not at all ergonomic, and the buttons are a real pain to use. I got the Bamboo so that I could give my wrist a rest. I also got a gel wrist rest which I rest the heel of my hand on while I use the Bamboo.
   The Pad is really big if you are used to using a trackpad, which is really nice. My iMac is also really big, so I can't drag something from one corner of the screen to the opposite corner - the Bamboo just isn't big enough. But how often do you need to do that anyway?
   I love the multi-touch gestures. Before I used the Bamboo, since like I said I had never used multi-touch gestures on a trackpad before, I watched the Bamboo tutorial video. It was helpful, and taught me a bunch of gestures I would not have otherwise found on my own. I would say it took an hour or two for me to really get used to using the multi-touch. Scrolling, dragging, right clicking all work beautifully. You can even pivot in certain programs. Being able to scroll in all directions is really nice, and I use the forward and backward swipe all the time. The right click took a little getting used to, but now it's natural and I don't have to use my left hand to hold down the ctrl button as I used to with the Mighty Mouse.
   The surface is matte, which I really like. I'm glad it's not a glassy surface since for touch that would mean that the oils on your fingers could mess up the tracking. (I put a matte screen protector on my iPod Touch and it made using it so much nicer!)
   One thing I noticed that you might not think of if you never had a tablet before is that it can get dusty, and dust can confuse the device if you have a lot of it or really big pieces. I recommend covering your tablet when you're not using it, or wiping it clean with a clock. Your hands should also be clean (no eating!) so as not to get residue on it.
   This tablet is such a joy to use, I'm thinking of asking if I can get one for work. I don't even mind having to pay for it myself. My hand will appreciate it!
   
   User: Ms. Angel
   Rating:
   Summary: Great Mighty Mouse replacement!
   Helpful Votes: 0
   Total Votes: 0
   

2. Review Date: 2009-11-22

   I like touchpads, especially Apple touchpads. I prefer the way they work vs a mouse or trackball, and I prefer my Bamboo Pen and Touch to my Kensington trackball. The tablet only gets 3 stars because it's too sensitive (-1 star) and there's been no software to adjust it (-1 star), which is problematic for a $100 device.
   
   I bought the Bamboo Touch and Pen as trackball replacement. I chose it because it's 2-finger multi-touch and I wanted to know if the pen interface would work well with Internet white-boarding.
   
   As a touchpad it is VERY sensitive - too much so. It's easy to do unintentional double-taps, and dragging things around the desktop or in a document without accidentally dropping them requires concentration, which is distracting from the work at hand. Working on my MacBook Pro's non-glass touchpad is much easier, so I've used it as a baseline reference for comparison.
   
   The pen-interface is registered to your screen - Wacom makes a point of this in their intro video. Touching the pen to a specific spot on the pad will ALWAYS go to the associated specific spot on the screen, regardless of where your previous pen touch was. This is neither good nor bad, it just is. I'm not quite use to it yet, mostly from lack of practice, but the pen tablet is still better for Internet white-boarding than the trackball.
   
   I see that WACOM has just released an updated driver and will get it installed. We'll see if that changes any of the above.
   
   User: David Tribble
   Rating:
   Summary: Too sensitive, needs better software, but still better than a mouse (if you like touchpads)
   Helpful Votes: 0
   Total Votes: 0
   

3. Review Date: 2009-11-21

   I bought the Bamboo CTH-460 for doing drawing and art touch-up in Photoshop and other graphics programs. The pen is a little wide for my liking (like holding a medium Sharpie pen) - I had an older Wacom tablet that had a thinner pen that felt better.
   
   The pad doubles as a touch pad that works like the Macbook touch pad (ie. one finger moves the mouse, two fingers scrolls the page). The pad is very sensitive, but nice once you get used to it.
   
   Other than the pen being a little bulky, I'm quite pleased with the product and the transaction went smooth. Fair price, fast delivery, great product = happy customer!
   
   
   User: Ken K
   Rating:
   Summary: Nice product!!
   Helpful Votes: 0
   Total Votes: 0
   

4. Review Date: 2009-11-21

   I am a graphic designer. I've used a touchpad instead of a mouse for years so this is just what I've been looking for! I am now ditching my tiny old Alps touch pad and an old tablet for this sleek one-piece solution which, by the way, gives me all the surface area I need so I won't run out of scrolling room again! The quality of the device is great and the tablet is aestheticly beautiful. The thing is even beautifully packaged... like a gift from some alternate past in a futuristic oriental universe.
   
   Technically, the 1024 levels from the pen is more than enough for all of my work in Photoshop and everything works just fine in Illustrator as well! There are a very few times in some programs where a certain gesture isn't supported but it's not too often. The best features for my use are the extended two-finger capabilities, gestures and the swipe-scrolling which saves me a ton of time looking for the scroll bar, since there was no wheel area on my old Alps.
   
   There are only a couple of negatives in my estimation. First, the little red pen-holding cloth loop looks nice, but is inconvenient for regular pen users. Second, the little "chalk line" that indicates your active area fibs by nearly 1/2 inch on the sides. There may be a technical reason, and it made no difference in my actual use, but it just bugs me that they gave me a fence line but failed to tell me that my property doesn't go all the way to it. I will say that it makes the usable area look a little bigger on the photos as well. To show what I mean, the actual usable surface area is 3.4" x 4.9"...smaller the Graphire CTE-430 Wacom Graphire3 4x5 USB Tablet (Graphite Gray, CTE430GR) But the "active area" designated on the tablet by the white line measures 3.625" x 5.875". That bugs me. I checked the specs before I bought but I could see how some buyers might be TICKED OFF when they buy by sight alone.
   
   Anyway, it's STILL a fantastic item and I'm happy with my purchase. To those who know they have a reason to invest in this item, I don't think you'll be dissatisfied. To those who have no idea why they would want this, read the reviews FIRST and if you want a new way to mouse, a way to convert handwriting to text (in Vista and Win7), or just a really cool new toy, and you've got $90 to blow, by all means, get Bamboo!
   
   User: Jon Sharp
   Rating:
   Summary: Very sleek and cool graphics tablet... with touch!
   Helpful Votes: 0
   Total Votes: 0
   

5. Review Date: 2009-11-20

   I previously owned a Macally tablet that I got for very cheap, but it crapped out after about a year. After waiting forever, I finally sprung for a Wacom when the new version came out (also bundled with a newer version of Photoshop Elements for Mac - PSE 6.0).
   
   I'm so glad I waited! I love it. The tablet is just the right size to use with my Macbook, and I do sometimes use the touch feature in place of my laptop touch pad (no too often, though). There are buttons on the tablet to toggle these features on and off and there are also programmable buttons on the pen which uses no batteries - plus!) I generally use the pen/tablet for drawing and tracing in Photoshop et al, and it does the job just fine. I've only had it for a couple months, but I anticipate this one holding up much better than the cheapo one.
   
   Definitely recommended and a great value for the money - spring for the Wacom instead of a cheap one. You won't regret it.
   
   User: kj
   Rating:
   Summary: Great value
   Helpful Votes: 0
   Total Votes: 0
   

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Editorial Reviews

Included pen features 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity for precise drawings.

Large, textured work surface and customizable keys give you artistic control. View larger.

Multi-Touch lets you scroll, zoom, and rotate your screen with simple hand gestures.

The tablet comes with a battery-free pen with an easy-to-grip design, so you can have maximum control over your drawing. The work surface is textured, providing a pen-on-paper feel. It's also reversible, so you can use it comfortably whether you're right- or left-handed.

The Pen and Touch is simple to set up. Simply plug the tablet into your computer via a USB port, install the provided drivers, and you're ready to go. You'll be doodling, writing, and painting in minutes.

Enhance Creativity with Multi-Touch Technology
With the Pen and Touch, Wacom has implemented a new technology called Multi-Touch. Typically, tablets require you to use the stylus for navigation, but Multi-Touch provides a comfortable hands-on alternative. It allows you to quickly navigate through your computer with a single finger. You can also scroll, zoom, and rotate your screen with simple hand gestures. It's intuitively-designed and easy to use -- even if you're new to the touch experience.

For precision work, you can use the included pen. When you use the pen, the screen will automatically recalibrate for more precise use. In your hands, the pen quickly becomes an all-purpose art tool. It features 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity, allowing you to perform tasks ranging from fine hand-writing to wide-brush painting. You can add hand-drawn embellishments to your favorite photos, add life to your digital sketches, or provide a personal touch to your scrapbooking pages.

First-Class Visual Editing Software
The tablet also comes with a full suite of visual editing software, including Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.0 Win/6.0 Mac and Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0 WE3--valued separately at several hundred dollars.

Pen and Touch is compatible with Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP (Service Pack 2) and Mac OS X (10.4.8 or higher.) It requires a powered USB drive, a colored screen, and a CD/DVD drive.

What's in the Box
Bamboo Pen and Touch tablet, Bamboo pen, Quick Start guide, installation CD (includes driver software, interactive tutorial and user's manual), software DVD.

Product Details

1. Two sensors for precise pen and Multi-Touch input
2. Pressure-sensitive pen tip for natural pen and brush strokes
3. Quick access to user-defined shortcuts with four ExpressKeys
4. Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.0 Win / 6.0 Mac for editing, retouching, enhancing and sharing digital photos
5. Battery-free, ergonomic pen with two switches