Mac|Life - December 2009

WACOM BAMBOO FUN PEN & TOUCH GIVE YOUR TABLET HE FINGER Multitouch gestures add flexibility to the Wacom line.

If you’ve become accustomed to the MacBook’s multitouch capabilities, you’ll find yourself missing them when you use a desktop Mac. Wacom has an answer, care of its recently refreshed Bamboo line, which adds a new take on tablet input. We tested the Bamboo Fun, which recognizes the pen, as well as touch input from your fingers—including some multitouch gestures. For long-time tablet users who are used to pen-only control, the addition of touch capabilities is nice, especially in image editors like Photoshop and iPhoto, where using two-finger pinches and reverse pinches can zoom in and out of images. You can also use gestures to rotate images. It’s not a feature that comes into play all that often, but it’s welcome when you do need it. There are nine touch gestures in total, but they’re all limited to one- and two-finger motions—and that’s one to two fingers short of the three- and four-finger gestures supported by the latest MacBooks.

The Bamboo uses a proximity sensor in the pen to switch between Pen mode and Touch mode. The sensor does an admirable job of kicking into Pen mode whenever the stylus tip or eraser is within a quarter-inch of the tablet’s surface. For the most part, this works great. But since we’re used to leaving our hands resting on the tablet while working, we kept inadvertently initiating gestures with our fingers when the pen was raised above the surface. Fortunately, you can easily turn the touch feature off with one of the four programmable buttons along the side of the tablet.

Wacom has increased the sensitivity on the new Bamboo Fun, so the device now recognizes 1,024 levels of pressure. The difference might not be noticeable to casual tablet users, but creative types working in Painter, Illustrator, Photoshop, and similar programs will appreciate the increased flexibility.

The pen is sturdy and its two-button rocker feels solid and is easy to operate by feel. Wacom ditched the pen holder that was included with earlier tablets, which was basically a weighted base to store the pen when not in use. In its place is a loop of red fabric on the side of the tablet that you slide the pen into. The fabric loop is fine for securing your pen at the end of the day, but if you pick up and put down your pen often, placing it in the loop can be frustrating, compared to just setting it in the old holder.

The bottom line. The evolution of the Bamboo consumer line continues at a nice pace with the wonderful new touch feature. Even the lack of three- and four-finger gestures and the missing pen holder doesn’t take away from the Bamboo Fun’s new features and higher level of sensitivity.—Roberto Baldwin

Wacom

www.wacom.com

Price: $199.99

Requirements: Powered USB port, Mac OS 10. 4. 8 or later

Touch support offers increased input flexibility. 1,024 levels of pen sensitivity.

Pen holder is an awkward fabric loop. Touch-sensitive tablet can pick up unintentional gestures from your resting hand. No three-or four-finger gestures.