Always sad to see them go

Some Wacom discontinued items

A lot of people are asking why Wacom has stopped production on some of their products. We hope this will help answer several questions and address some of the concerns.

Wacom Bamboo Graphic Tablet

Bamboo

For the second time in year 2009, another drawing tablet bites the dust to be replaced by a sleeker, slimmer model.  Gone are the rainbow of colors available, the Touch Ring, the matching mouse, and the retro-blue illumination of the ExpressKeys.

Pen holders have been replaced by integrated fabric pen loops, the erasers on the digitizer pens are no longer pressure-sensitive, the four ExpressKeys are now on the side of the new reversible tablet, and a modern LED status light glows white or amber, depending on the model.

Finally, after long-awaited anticipation, the fresh Bamboo tablet line introduces multi-touch input – an innovative way to command your cursor with just a touch of a finger. Three of these new Bamboo tablets have DOUBLED their pressure-sensitivity, placing them way up there in the stunning precision and accuracy scale.

As always, Bamboo suits a variety of needs and working styles by offering 5 fresh different models. The old Bamboo may be gone, but the new Bamboo / Bamboo Touch is truly a touch of simple ingenuity.

Intuos3 Graphic Tablets

Intuos3

After 4 marvelous years – a very long time by technological standards – the Intuos3 silently fades into the background as it is replaced by the new and re-engineered Intuos4.

However, Intuos3’s  lifespan was not in vain by any means for Wacom took the best features of this famous pen tablet, like Tool ID, Tilt sensitivity, high resolution and maximum report rate to name just a few, and incorporated them in the upgraded 4th generation Intuos.

Some of Intuos3’s small shortcomings also led to amazing improvements in the Intuos4:

-  gone are the days of accidentally activating an ExpressKey with the dominant hand, thus being obliged to disable them, which actually defeated the purpose of having so many ExpressKeys.  Instead, the new Intuos4 pen tablet is reversible with ALL  ExpressKeys and other controls located on one side of the graphic tablet, an absolutely wonderful feature benefiting BOTH right and left handed users.

-  never again will you waste time wondering “which ExpressKeys did what” because the new Intuos4 has a show-settings function or a display  which reminds you of every key’s customized functions

-  no longer will you have to press so hard to activate the pen – the new amazingly low activation level increases responsiveness and allows you to work with the lightest touch

-  incredibly enough, double the pressure sensitivity levels, bringing it to a whopping 2048, the highest of any pen tablet thus far,

- and many more time-saving innovations…

Many graphic tablet users around the world have been waiting a long time for the new Intuos4 and its technological breakthroughs.

Nevertheless, for those of us who are still very fond of our Intuos3 pen tablets, there is the consolation that the Intuos3 pens will continue to be manufactured because they are the only tools that work with the incomparable pen-on-screen Cintiq interactive pen displays.

Cintiq 20WSX

Cintiq 20WSX

Wacom had three wonderful interactive pen displays – ingenious computer peripherals that combine the qualities of an LCD monitor and the virtues of a graphic tablet all rolled into one allowing the user to write or draw directly on the monitor screen.

Unfortunately, the Cintiq 20WSX‘s magical presence in the technological field was short lived (2007 – 2009) due to a halt in the manufacturing of a critical component, found only in the Cintiq 20WSX.

Although this second prodigy of the Cintiq series will be missed due to a few differences like Touch Strips which were conveniently located at the back of the display plus more Express Keys (14 in all !) for keyboard shortcuts and personalized functions as well as its wide screen format of 16:10 , the bigger brother (Cintiq 21UX) with a higher native resolution remains top of its class while the smaller Cintiq 12WX is still a lightweight champion with its wide screen format.

 

Graphire Series

Graphire Graphic Tablet series

 

The Graphire pen tablet line enjoyed rave reviews and still has a very devoted fan base. But Wacom decided to upgrade this series.

Now the adorable Bamboo (designed and affordable for every-day use) and the Bamboo Fun graphic tablets (available in 4 different colors and 2 different sizes) replace the Graphire (EXCEPT for the wireless Graphire Bluetooth pen tablet which is still going strong).

For those who still have and love their Graphire graphic tablets, do not dismay. Bamboo Fun pens (available in four different colors) are fully compatible with ALL Graphire tablets. The same goes for Graphire Digitizer Pens – they will function very well with every Bamboo Fun graphic tablet

 

Graphire Digitizer Pen

Graphire Digitizer Pen series

 

All of the Graphire pens are regrettably following their tablet-partners out of existence EXCEPT for the Graphire Bluetooth stylus. But, the Bamboo Fun pens promise to be just as wonderful as their predecessors and will work with all Graphire Graphic Tablets.

 

Intuos2 Grip Pen

Intuos and Intuos2 Graphic Tablets & Pens

 

Technological competition is fierce and when the new and improved Intuos3 arrived on the market, the other previous contenders started fading out of reach. The same goes for the accompanying Intuos and Intuos2 digitizer pens.

While the Intuos3 is top of the line in the graphic tablet department, the pen tablets of every Intuos level 1, 2 and 3 will only work with their own “partner” pens 1, 2 and 3 respectively. They are not interchangeable. This can prove to be a disadvantage if someone needs a new Intuos pen for an older version of Intuos tablet.

 

Intuos Ink Pen

Intuos Ink Pens

 

As more and more people are becoming accustomed to writing or drawing while looking up at the screen instead of down on the paper or work surface, the ink pens are progressively losing their appeal.  Slowly but surely, all the ink pens will be phased out EXCEPT for the Intuos3 Ink pen which still has a lot to offer when it comes to tracing an original or hand-writing texts and signatures with the right software. It also comes with 3 black ink cartridges, 3 standard plastic nibs and a free pen stand.

Always sad to say goodbye

We all have our favorites and when they are discontinued, we can’t help but feel sad and even angry. But technology will not be held back … and with new technological advances come new, better and faster ways of doing things.

Without WACOM ‘s drive and passion to move forward, we would not be enjoying the freedom and reaping the health benefits of the new battery-free and cordless Penabled Technology which powers all Wacom graphic tablets and their digitizer pens.

Staff at www.DRAWitTablet.com

updated October, 2009