You'll have trouble swallowing this tablet (Wacom Graphire3 Classic)

Member Name: JJJJ

Product:	Wacom Graphire3 Classic
Date:	15/03/09 (154 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Precision Use, Well Made

Disadvantages: Can't buy them new anymore

The Wacom 'Graphire 3 Classic' is a drawing tablet which comes packaged with a wireless mouse, and is compatible with both PC and Mac.

For those of you don't know what a 'tablet' is (or at least not in a computing sense), it's basically an electronic drawing pad where whatever you sketch will appear on the screen. The use of a tablet makes a designers job considerably easier as it allows them to draw on the pad as if they were drawing on paper. Generally the tablet is used in combination with programs such as Photoshop and Illustrator - although they can be used in word processing software which utilises handwriting recognition.

Although the Graphire3 is a few years old, it is still widely available on eBay - expect to pay in the region of £30 - £40. You certainly shouldn't worry about buying a second hand one either, as Wacom products are generally well made and stand up to a few knocks and bumps.

Powered by USB and requiring no batteries, the tablet is dark blue in colour and has an A5 area in which to draw on. The included stylus / pen (which features two buttons that can be assigned to different tasks) fits into a slot on the back of the unit, which is handy as it prevents it from getting lost.

As well as the pen, the included wireless mouse is comfortable to hold and has a handy clickable scroll wheel. Unfortunately, the bottom of the mouse is made of a light grey fabric (presumably to allow it to glide over the tablet's smooth surface) which unfortunately gets dirty very fast, and also very bobbly.

As the tablet is A5 you would imagine that the working area may be a bit cramped to wok on - but on the contrary, this small size isn't an issue as a small movement on the pad relates to a bigger movement onscreen.

If you've never used a graphics tablet before, it may take you a little while to get used to it the process - that said, after only a short use, the technique should become second nature. Overall, the Wacom Graphire3 Classic is a great product, which is both well made and easy to use - don't be put off by its fairly small size.

Summary: Great Graphics Tablet

Processing/Quality:
Reliability:
Ease of use:
Speed:
Variety of features:
Precision: