Wacom Bamboo: the pen is mightier than the mouse

Wacom’s Bamboo is a new consumer pen tablet targeted at PC and Mac users in non-graphics markets such as home users, office workers and business professionals. Like its namesake, Bamboo is extremely versatile, unlocking powerful pen-based features found in current operating systems, especially Microsoft’s Windows Vista, for freehand writing, annotating and navigating on computers.

Taking advantage of enhanced pen-based features found in Windows Vista, Office 2007 and MacOS, Wacom’s patented battery-free and pressure-sensitive pen technology offers natural freehand writing, annotating and sketching. Bamboo offers a simple, natural way to take notes, personalize emails and documents, and create photo letters from digital photographs by taking advantage of searchable digital inking ability in Windows Vista. Inkwell in MacOS and the JustWrite Office software package (bundled in Asia Pacific) for Windows XP also offers similar ability to create greater impact in popular applications such as Microsoft Office, Journal, Notebook, Adobe Acrobat and much more.

Windows Vista’s intelligent multilingual handwriting technology is also activated by connecting Bamboo. Scribbled notes from a telephone call or meeting are accurately converted into typed text at the touch of a button. The ‘Flicks’ feature in Vista offers eight customisable, time-saving gestures to generate an action such as scrolling up and down a web page or copying text. The pen also offers a digital eraser which will automatically erase highlighted text on any Windows platform.

PC navigation is also made simpler with the Bamboo’s ExpressKeys which will bring up the desktop, flip through applications, move back and forward through websites and presentations and is fully customisable to any keyboard shortcut. The Touch Ring offers high speed scrolling or zooming in and out of documents. The pen’s precision 1:1 correlation to the monitor will also increases efficiency in navigation.

Award-winning design

The wide-format, A6 size of the tablet echoes the trend towards widescreen PCs and laptops in the marketplace today. The tablet’s surface has been designed to deliver the most natural handwriting experience in cooperation with the pen’s pressure sensitivity. The ergonomic design of Bamboo’s pen and tablet not only helps to reduce the risk of repetitive strain injury (RSI), but also improves productivity and efficiency by providing a much faster and accurate way to navigate around computer applications, due to the precision of the pen.

Wacom Bamboo pen tablet

Bamboo has been awarded the coveted ‘red dot’ award by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Europe for high design quality in the product design category. The internationally recognized commendation is awarded annually for superior design quality and innovation. Designed by SIGNCE (formerly Ziba Europe) to reflect a new attitude towards computers, Bamboo creates a more natural, personal and human experience. Beginning with appearance, the sleek, black Bamboo impresses with contrasting high gloss finish and elegant matte surfaces, and its ExpressKeys are graced by cool, blue illumination.

Price

The RRP of the Bamboo is $129. To purchase, visit the DVDirect website (link will open in new window)

But wait, there’s more…

There’s a second Bamboo model, the Bamboo Fun, which is both for more creative pursuits, as it contains a lot of graphics software, plus is equipped with a mouse, so it’s a product that will find a use for everyone at home. Read the next page for details of the Bamboo Fun.

Source: Wacom