Wacom Graphire 2

I love this graphic tablet and it makes my computer graphics creation so much easier.

Wacom have been making quality tablets for the last 21 years, and the Graphire 2 one does not give me any cause for concern that over those years Wacom have changed too dramatically.

----- Items provided.

In the box, you will find a pen, mouse, tablet, driver CD, software CD (Dependant on the deal at the time) and user guide.

Wacom tablets used to need a separate power supply but since the intervention of the USB most devices are self powered and will happily work without the need for any additional power.

----- Setup

The manual and instructions are good guides to starting the installation. Once you put the Driver CD in the machine and run it then further instructions make for a completely automated and hassle free installation.

----- Software compatibility

When the tablet had been installed it becomes apparent that quite a lot of software has native support for it. Additionally if the application you are using does not support the tablet natively then the Wacom Pen and Mouse will perform normally.

----- Getting used to the tablet

When you first use the tablet it is hard to get used to drawing on one surface and seeing the image appear in another location. After you get used to this then it all becomes a breeze to use and seems more natural than using a mouse. The location of the second and third mouse button on the pen has always been a bit precarious for me but I have managed to get used to them and found that with time this is not such a big issue.

The tablet is able to autosense whether you are using the Wacom Pen or the Wacom mouse, allowing you to have different settings for the 2 devices.

----- Overall feelings

I have been using Wacom tablets for the past 10 years and have always found them to be of high quality and easy to use. The nice thing about the Graphire range of tablets is that they are very portable and extremely robust. Add to this the fact that Wacom provide a good warranty and you have an almost bullet proof user product.

The only downside when using the mouse on the tablet is that the working area can be quite restrictive and means you need to constantly reposition the mouse.

Another positive thing I have noticed over the last year is that the drain on the laptop batteries is very small and does not seem to cause me any issues when using the tablet away from the mains. Due to the minimal power of USB it is unlikely this will cause any problems to other people either.

Wacom has a very good web support site which seems to have some very informed people when it comes to the problems you may face with your tablet. If you cannot find a solution in the forum then a question that is sent into them will be answered quite quickly and accurately by one of the technical staff members in the company. I have some of the answers and never got the impression that they were in anyway bored with the person who had not been able to solve a problem.

Overall after a year of use I can find almost nothing to fault it on. It has been to many a location in my backpack and has never given me any cause for concern.

I got this Wacom Graphire 2 as a Xmas present and it's the biggest step forward in PCs for me for many years. If you use a tablet you don't need an introduction but for others you get a cordless (and battery-less) mouse plus a stylus (pen) on a approx 10cm x 10cm tablet. I don't use the mouse much as the stylus performs the same function. It's specifically for graphics eg editing, tracing, drawing like you would a pen on paper but I use it to navigate / click on IE, Outlook etc etc. It has reduced the strain I experienced with a mouse, you can hold it whilst typing. Instead of clicking, you tap the pad with the stylus. XP Pro has built in character recogition so potentially the keyboard could go. I paid about £70GBP but WACOM do a similar product for less than £40GBP. Remains to see how long the tip lasts before replacement though, I hope a long time.