Bamboo One tablet – review

Picture borrowed from wacom.com

Some time ago I realized I need second tablet – in case I would feel sudden creativity flow late in the night or during the weekend. Since it was supposed to be “second” tablet only – I’ve chosen the cheapest option available – Wacom Bamboo One.
I had some doubts – would tablet for 50 Euros be suitable for anything serious? Let’s find out.

Opening the package
Bamboo branding is very nice and clean – there are loads of stuff in the box, which makes you feel cosy about buying Bamboo. From the more usable thing – there’s full version of Art Rage 2.5 (value $25). Personally I’m not a fan of this painting software, but it has some good opinions over the web.

Checking the tablet
Bamboo design and workmanship is also very high, “wacom” standard.
The pen feels solid and handy.

Let’s draw something
And here’s where it all goes bad.
First of all – in my case Bamboo drivers messed up with Intuos drivers, which caused both to stop working. After solving all this mess it was even worse.
The biggest problem of Bamboo is that the working space is very small – one small hand movement – and suddenly the cursor is in the other side of the screen.
It’s even worse than that – if you move the cursor fast, the cursor starts to jump. If you were drawing a line – it’ll appear dotted.

The final line
If you plan to use Bamboo as secondary tablet (like in my case) – I guess it’s doing ok.
(my Bamboo lies peacefully on the shelf for the most of the time – or children play with it).
But if you’re looking for professional tablet – it’s far better to save for Intuos.