Wacoms and cold feet

from WinCustomize Forums
First--this is the second time I have to type this cuz wincusto decided to freak out on me and log me off and erase my post when I hit submit. Moral of the story---copy your crap before you hit submit.

OK So here I was today sat down in front of my pc with my credit card (visa it's where you want to be) and typed in www.wacom.com.
I choose my desired intuos tablet and went to type in my details.
I didn't buy the wacom today.
I work my ass off for my money and if I can find a better deal I will do just that.
So I went out and went to a computer store, bought a few new outfits for work and such (a girl must shop) and then found this tablet by a company called aiptek. (www.aiptek.com)
So here is the breakdown.
Wacom = .25mm accuracy
Aiptek = .42mm

Wacom = 2540lpi max res
Aiptek = 3048lpi

Wacom = 9x12 drawing area (the one I was gonna buy)
Aiptek 8x6

Wacom = 1024 pressure levels
Aiptek = 512.

So my question is...wacom is $430.00 aiptek is $168.00
What would you do?
Have you delt with both? any? heard horror stories?
My desire for the tablet is to do the following (but not limited to)
AutoCAD
&
Photoshop - Freehand drawing and airbrush
Those are my main functions right now---there are more but those are the ones worth mentioning.
So maybe some of you can help.
Thanks so much.

5,405 views 10 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
In my experience...ahem..
I bought an acecad tablet back, when it was the only way to go... 12"x18", I also have an cheapy, type aiptek, that I bought for under $100, and it works fine for just about anything I throw at it.
The one thing that I do like about the aiptek, is the really cute little wireless mousey...



http://www.acecad.com

A-Series Physical Information:
(18" X 12" Specifications shown first.)

Active Area.............. 18" X 12" (458mm x 305mm) 12" X 12" (305mm x 305mm)

Dimensions.............. 22.4" (W)x 16.9" (D) (570mm W x 430mm D) 15.6" (W)x 16" (D)
(396mm W x 430mm D)

Weight.................. 6.45 Ibs. (2.93 kgs)
3.92 Ibs. (1.78 kgs)

Tilt Angle.............. 4.5 3.5 or 6.5
Power Switch............ Convenient On/Off toggle switch

Dual Transducer
Port ................... Allows you to connect up to two transducers simultaneously
Technology.............. Electromagnetic Inductive
Resolution ............. Up to 2540 LPI
Accuracy................ +/-0.01" (+/-0.254mm)
Jitter Control ......... +/-0.5 least significant digit
Proximity .............. Up to 0.27" (7mm) cursor puck Up to 0.27" (7mm) stylus-pen

Baud Rate............... 1200 or 9600
Sampling Rate .......... 135 PPS
Data Bits............... 7,8
Parity.................. Odd, Even, None
Data Format............. Binary, ASCII
Emulation's
Supported............... MM, Microgrid UIOF

Drivers/Utilities ...... Real & Protected Mode ADI Drivers, OS/2 Warp,WINTAB driver for Windows including multi-pointer support. Windows Tablet Control Panel.ATABLET Driver for DOS Mouse Emulation. ACEMode Program for easy on-the-fly emulation changing.Easy Test Program. Easy Auto Install Program.

Interface .............. RS-232C

Electrical:
Power Source............ Wall-mount power adapter, I2VDC output
Current Draw............ 200mA
Certification .......... FCC Class B, FTZ

Support................. Three-year warranty on tablet. One-year warranty
on accessories

Environmental :
Operating
Temperature............ 41 to 122 F(5 to 50 C)

Storage
Temperature............ 14 to 122 F(-1O to 50 C)



Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Phew, that's a lot of info now... didn't understand half of that
I can only say I got a wacom graphite (which is the cheaper version, if you don't want the intuos) and it works just fine. When I airbrush in photoshop very fast, it sometimes tends to produce less smoother lines, but I suspect my pc of being the problem here. I can't even run photoshop and winamp at once, slowwws down too much.
Sins of a Solar Empire II
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
bananafactor this is not your pc this is Adobe Photoshop's fault

I use my wacom in Aura and Photoshop and I only have this problem with Photoshop
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Before you buy go to http://www.pricewatch.com

I picked up my Wacom for about $50 less than If I had bought it from Wacom or the local computer store. And that was with shipping.

Just a tip.
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Another tip - if you're going to PriceWatch, also checkout ResellerRatings http://www.resellerratings.com/ You'll save a bundle AND have peace of mind when you combine the two!
Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Yeah, I would like to know about "Aura" too, is it some kind of CAD program?