Wacom Graphire3 6 x 8 USB Tablet -Graphite (CTE630GR)

Rating:
Summary: Why did I wait so long to buy this?
Review: I have been using my tablet for six months and I could not be happier with it. I had no issues installing it on Windows XP/SP1 and the pen has not worn out with daily use. I do not use the cordless mouse. I purchased the tablet because my wrist hurt when I used a mouse for more that two minutes at a time-- now I can use my computer for hours without any pain!

Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: I'm a 16 year old female high school student and i just loved this tablet. After just an hour of expermenting with the pen i found it very easy to navigate and draw..heck my 7 year old sister has no problem using it. It comes with a pen and a wireless mouse plus three excellent programs - adobe phtoshop elements 2 - corel painter essentials 2 - nik color elex pro. The feel is nice...and just pressing lightly gives you a small light line while pressing down as far as you go gives a nice dark, thick, line. It's just great overall, you won't be wasting your money ^^

Rating:
Summary: SOOOOO PERFECT!!!!!
Review: I'm a college student majoring in art and draw all day long. I didn't have a lot of money to spend but after hearing all the hype about wacom this sounded like a good one to start with, and was I right! I've only had my graphire 3 for a few days but am already using it like a pro! It's so smooth and sensitive, it's way more responsive than a pencil or brush. I can actually draw better with this! I would HIGHLY recommend this tool to anyone. It's fun and oh so easy!

Rating:
Summary: Hobbyist tablet. Pen does not last
Review: My experience is that this range (Graphire) is for hobbyists. As a professional illustrator and designer, I am currently looking around for better quality.

My old Calcomp Drawingslate had driver problems when I upgraded to a new PC with Win XP so I bought a Wacom Graphire 6X8 USB. I have used it for 3 months. The pen has given up the ghost already - after about 300 hours of use (I don't use the pen with all applications). Replacement pens are around $30 - which adds up to around $120 a year for pens. The problem is not that the nib wore out - the mechanism behind the nib gets jammed. I can see that I need a better quality device.

The pen life problem aside, I have experienced no problems with installation and use on Win XP without SP2. But I have read a few accounts of problems with this combination, so do your homework if you have XP and you installed the service pack.

The pen's handling feels good - very natural, although the reported 512 levels of pressure sensitivity yields no more variation than the 200 something levels of other tablets in this price range. In apps with great brush variations like Photoshop, Painter and Alias Sketchbook Pro you may be disappointed. It will be fine for vector drawing in CorelDraw and Freehand and with simple photo fixers like Photoshop Elements.

Hobbyists - by all means buy this product. Serious designers/artists will have to spend more money.

Rating:
Summary: Currently does not work well with Windows XP SP2
Review: The hardware is good, the drivers are awful. There is a serious bug which renders the tablet useless for a second user in XP SP2. Unless the first user logs out totally, the whole tablet is dead for the second user.

This is not the first major driver bug Wacom has allowed to hit its users. (Also worth noting is that when I complained about this to Wacom, they told me to "calm down.") So if you like to be told that your inconvenience is no big deal, go ahead and spend your money.