Hasta La Gadget!

Wacom’s drool-worthy new tablets certainly made us lament our lack of artistic skill when we saw them online, but do they pass muster up close and personal? We just got a chance to play with both the Companion Hybrid, the one with Android, as well as the full-fat Companion (the one with Windows 8), and we thought we’d show you how they behave. Naturally, in order to do that, we had to unleash our creative side, so be warned — we may need to throw an artistic hissy fit after the break. %Gallery-slideshow81823%

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Artists, illustrators, and designers of all kinds rely on Wacom’s line of drawing tablets. Up until now, the devices only worked as peripherals. But Wacom’s new line of fully self-contained tablets are the only devices you need to make art just about anywhere.

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When Wacom teased a tablet-sized offering a few months back, our curiosity was immediately piqued. However, the next reveal from the pen-wielding-peripheral company was the Cintiq 13HD: a product more in line with the outfit’s existing offerings bearing the same moniker. We guess we’ll just have to keep waiting patiently for that truly mobile input device. At any rate, the 13-inch pen display sports the tablet form factor, but remains a dedicated tethered peripheral for artists, designers and photographers. While the device still offers the capable, user-configurable ExpressKeys and mighty Cintiq pen, are the omission of touch gestures and the need to remain wired to your desktop or laptop dealbreakers? Read on to see what we discovered.

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Wacom’s Cintiq line of drawing tablets is the cream of the crop when it comes to digital graphics editing and creation, and the 12WX long reigned as an impressive entry-level option for those with limited budgets and/or available work space. But the 12WX is over five years old, and both display and drawing tablet tech has advanced, which is why it’s excellent news that Wacom is introducing the all-new Cintiq 13HD today.

The 13HD has more in common with the recently-launched and larger 22HD and 24HD tablets than the outgoing 12WX; it features 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity on its 1920×1080 HD LED 13-inch display, versus just 1024 on the 12WX, which had a maximum resolution of 1280×800. The 13HD crams as many pixels as the 22HD boasts into a screen that’s 40 percent smaller, resulting in a much higher pixel density for crisper text and image rendering.

The Cintiq 13HD also comes with an integrated stand, which locks in at four viewing angles, including flat, 22 degrees, 35 degrees and 50 degrees, and can be used on either a hard flat surface like a desk or your lap. It’s the only Cintiq that’s really lap-appropriate, in fact, so if you’re looking for something with relative portability this is the way to go.

Wacom will begin selling the Cintiq 13HD direct from its own online store and through select partners at the beginning of April, and it will retail for $999.95. That might sound like a lot to pay for a drawing tablet that still requires either a Mac or PC to work, but it’s a bargain compared to the $2,000 you’ll pay for the next-level-up 22HD. I owned the 12WX myself, and was a huge fan, so I can’t wait to get one of these in for testing closer to launch.

Remember that Wacom has also teased a standalone drawing tablet to be unveiled later this year, so combined with this 13HD release, which has been hotly anticipated in the digital arts community, the company is shaping up to have a very big year indeed.

Hot off the heels of the more modest Wacom Cintiq 22HD’s introduction, the outfit has announced a new version of its 24HD pen display as well. Labeled the 24HD touch, the upcoming offering adds multi-touch functionality to the company’s 24-inch input device — just as the name would suggest. The added features don’t stop there. A touch-enabled 24HD also touts an improved display that shows 1.07 billion colors while covering 97% of Adobe’s RGB gamut and implementing RGB backlighting that improves on-screen color rendition. Similar to the sans-touch offering, you can expect to utilize Express Keys and Touch Rings to customize your workflow for maximum efficiency in addition to the touchscreen. When the 24HD touch hits shelves, it’ll play nice with Windows 8 and will work just fine without installing drivers. In order to customize those pricey multi-touch commands, though, you’ll need the requisite software.

If you splurged for the regular ol’ 24HD, we can understand your frustration. However, Wacom says that it intended for the touch model to be released at the same time as the pen-only version, but the development took a bit longer than anticipated. Part of the reason for the delay was the extra time needed to perfect features like palm rejection in the kit’s software. The peripheral company also hopes that software developers will take the gesture tech and create features that will showcase its full range of potential — your move, Adobe. Itchin’ to snag one already? Well, you’ll have to wait until sometime in August to get your hands on this model and be prepared to shell out $3699 for the pen display ($1100 more than the previous release). Need a bit more info before emptying your savings account? Hit the PR button for all the particulars or take closer look in the gallery below.

Continue reading Wacom outs the Cintiq 24HD touch, adds multi-touch controls and more to its largest pen display

Filed under: Peripherals

Wacom outs the Cintiq 24HD touch, adds multi-touch controls and more to its largest pen display originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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