Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I’ve been a Wacom user since the mid 90s and I’ve seen their products go up and down in quality. This device is pretty near the bottom. I make my living doing design work and using a tablet 8-10 hrs a day. And while other Wacom product I've used in the past have felt like serious working tools, this thing feels like a toy for making unicorn doodles. My number one beef with the Intuos is the pitifully cheap pen. The pen is really so bad that whatever else this device might have going for it is ruined by the pen. 1. the thing is just too narrow to hold comfortable. At just 10mm diameter, it might work if you have squirrel hands but if you’re a full grown human, you’ll be cramping in no time. 2. there is no weight to the pen. It feels like you’re holding a McDonalds drinking straw with a point. 3. the rocker buttons are so small and thin that you can’t easily locate them. Previous pens had more of a profile and a small dip in front of the buttons so it was quite easy to register the buttons in your hand without looking. (See my close up photos) 4. the surface of the pen has a very, very, VERY subtle texture, but because it’s only hard plastic it provides no grip at all. The pen wants to slide from your fingers as you work. Previous pen versions had a grippy rubber material at the end that worked far better. (see photo) 5. It just looks and feels like a 10-cent toy you’d get at the bottom of a box of Cap'n Crunch. So that sums up the crummy pen. How about the tablet itself? Well that's got it's problems as well. The multi-touch feature is really very finicky. I find that I am constantly triggering accidental actions with the side of my hand. Maybe once I’ve used it more I’ll figure out the subtle nuance of how to position my hand to prevent this but so far its making e crazy. Also, there are four programmable buttons placed 2 at either side of the top of the tablet which doesn’t make them particularly useful as modifiers since you have to reach across the tablet to even use half the buttons. If you have uses for these buttons other than as modifiers then perhaps they would be OK as they are. Another “feature” that is kind of comical is the little fabric loop at the top of the tablet that is intended to store the junky pen. Trouble is the fabric isn’t elastic so jamming the pen into this little loop requires the strength of Popeye; and once in, it’s even harder to extract. If as a kid you ever played with a little novelty called Chinese Handcuffs. It’s pretty much exactly that. The USB cord may be the one thing Wacom nailed on this device. The cord is nice and long but it is also thin so it stores well and is easy to tame with wire management gizmos so it allows for a tidy desk. It’s also removable which helps when stowing it in a bag. Its clear to me that WACOM has slipped yet again into one of its we-just-don't-give-a-crap phases. Too bad because when they try, they can produce good stuff. This is NOT that. If you do buy this cheap-o toy,hang on to the packaging, because you may - like me - want to send it back once you experience all it shortcomings.