White can be a tricky color to get right: you run the risk of making your smartphone look oversized or, worse still, tacky. Samsung has nailed it with the Galaxy Note, however: the super-skinny bezel around the Super AMOLED HD display – running at a crisp 1280 x 800 resolution – and the 9.65mm thick chassis make for a device that looks distinctive rather than cheap. The matching white pen, with a discrete Samsung logo, is a nice touch too.

We were impressed by the inking experience back in our initial hands-on with the Note at IFA, and this latest software build doesn’t disappoint either. The touchscreen uses a Wacom digitizer, which recognizes pressure as well as touch, and the responsiveness and clarity is brilliant. Unlike, say, the HTC Flyer which can show some disconnect between the nib of the pen and where on-screen inking occurs, as well as jaggedness in the final pen-strokes, Samsung’s implementation is flaw-free and smooth.

Galaxy Nexus vs White Galaxy Note Hands-on:

We also asked about Samsung’s plans for the S-Pen SDK – set to be released in December - considering Ice Cream Sandwich has native digital stylus support, and the company told us that what, exactly, will happen is still up in the air. It seems that the Galaxy Note will indeed get Android 4.0 – Samsung pointed out that it had been working with Google ahead of other Android OEMs on the platform, for the Galaxy Nexus – but there’s no solid timescale for the upgrade.

As for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, we already had a good idea of how big a step up Ice Cream Sandwich was from Gingerbread from our hands-on playtime at the Hong Kong launch event, but it’s a platform that continues to deliver interesting tidbits each time you use it. A lot of the appeal is in the animations, such as when you tap the new on-screen home/menu/back buttons or swipe between panes, and which help to make the OS feel more consistent and thorough.

Just as we expected, the Galaxy Nexus will go on sale in Europe on November 17, and the US release of the Verizon LTE model is expected to be around the same time.

We’ve seen digital pens that can turn a notebook into a digitizer before – Livescribe’s smartpens leap to mind – but Wacom is keen to underline the differences between the Inkling’s focus and that of other products. Whereas Livescribe’s pens are intended to track a mixture of handwriting, brief sketches and other mixed content, the Inkling is dedicated to drawing.

In that respect, the promise is simple: clip the compact receiver box to the top of your notepad – it’ll handle up to A4 sized paper – and power on with the left button. A combination of infrared and ultrasound are used to track the special battery-powered pen, which means you’ll need line-of-sight between the nib and the receiver, but beyond that it’s a case of sketching away to your heart’s content. What makes it particularly clever is the layer button; tap that and the Inkling stores your subsequent sketches to a new layer (you can save as many as will fit in the receiver’s 2GB of storage, each a space-efficient vector file).

Wacom Inkling demo:

Those layers become useful when you hook the receiver up – via microUSB – to your computer. The new sketches are automatically sucked into Wacom’s Sketch Manager app, and you can then see the entire drawing as well as hide individual layers. It’s even possible to watch an animation of the whole drawing process, though you can’t currently export that as a video file; Wacom told us they are considering that functionality for a later upgrade. What you can do, however, is snip sections of one layer out into a new layer, isolating different parts of the picture.

From there it’s a case of exporting to one of the supported apps – Photoshop and Illustrator are the most likely candidates (both CS3 or later), but Autodesk SketchBook Pro and SketchBook Designer (2011 or later) are possible too – whereupon all the layer information is carried over and you can edit, color and generally tweak as normal. Quality is surprisingly high, with smooth curves even at high levels of zoom.

It’s not entirely perfect. The included carry-case/charging box feels a bit thrown-together, though it does at least have space for the (standard) black ink refils, USB cable, both receiver and pen, and allow you to charge each from a single USB hook-up. Wacom tells us that this is still pre-production hardware, so things will hopefully be more sturdy by the time the Inkling hits shelves.

Still, even as the merest amateurs of artists, we weren’t surprised when Wacom said it had been inundated with interest after announcing the Inkling last month. The simplicity of the capturing process and the ease with which even complicated sketches can be later managed is brilliant, and we can imagine that “proper” artists would be able to use the Inkling as a real tool rather than a gimmick. The $199 price-tag when the Inkling goes on sale imminently could be the biggest block to ownership, though if you’ve ever found yourself wishing you could keep whatever you doodled in the margins of your notebook it may still be worth it.

Even with the smaller models you’ll need to be used to a fair sized mousemat if the Wacom alternative isn’t to feel over-scaled. We can’t argue with the active digitizer’s accuracy, however; the lightweight (and battery-free) stylus supports both actual taps against the tablet as well as hovering, while the barrel mounted buttons are accompanied by some user-configureable buttons on the base unit itself. These can be easily tapped with a finger or with the tip of the pen, and are easily enough pressed so that we don’t expect they’ll blunt the nib.

Style-wise they’re all thin and, thanks to plastic rather than metal construction, lightweight. That’s important when you consider that Wacom is also offering an optional wireless dongle set, allowing you to scoop the tablets onto your lap and work remotely. All but one model is finger-touch enabled, and the MacBook Pro Wacom had its demo units hooked up to was happy to treat the Bamboo as an even bigger trackpad.

As we reported yesterday, the Bamboo Connect will be $79.95 (£49.99 in the UK), while the Bamboo Capture will be $99.95 (£89.99) and the Bamboo Create $199.95 (£169.99). The Wireless Accessory Kit will be $39 or £34.99.

As for the wireless option, that will consist of a plug-in USB dongle that hooks up with its counterpart slotted into the side of each tablet. There’s handwriting recognition support and various bundled apps, including Adobe Photoshop Elements and Autodesk Sketchbook Express on the Create. Both Windows and Mac are supported.

The Bamboo Connect will be priced at $79.95, while the Bamboo Capture will be $99.95 and the Bamboo Create $199.95. In Europe, the Bamboo Pen (which is basically the Connect) will be £49.99, and the Capture and Create will be sold as the Bamboo Fun Pen & Touch Small and Pen & Touch Medium for £89.99 and £169.99 respectively. Another version of the Pen, the Pen & Touch, will be $74.99. The Wireless Accessory Kit will be $39 or £34.99.

The Inkling is a new creative tool that will digitally capture what you draw as you draw it in real ink on real paper. It comes in a self-contained kit that consists of a receiver and a pen. The receiver can be attached to the edge of any paper medium you plan to draw on and detects the pen via an ultrasonic and infrared link.

The receiver records your strokes as you draw and can record up to 1024 levels of pressure. It can even record your strokes onto different layers with a push of a button, which comes in handy if you’re using layer-based applications like Adobe Photoshop. And since it uses a real ink pen insert, when you’re finished you’ll have both a physical pen drawing and a digital copy of it, that can be exported as either a vector or bitmap image.

Both the receiver and pen contain rechargeable batteries and are charged by USB while sitting inside the Inkling storage case. It takes 3 hours to reach a full charge, which offers 8 hours of drawing time. The Inkling kit is priced at $199 and will be available in mid-September.

[via Geek]

That camera, ASUS original suggested, could be used by students to snap photos of text and images and then annotate them directly on the Eee Note’s display. Ports include microUSB, a 3.5mm headphones socket and a microSD card slot, to augment the onboard 4GB of ROM. There’s also a mono speaker and integrated microphone.

ASUS reckons the Eee Note EA800 will last for up to 10hrs continuous use with the wireless turned on, or 14.5hrs with it turned off. Alternatively the 3,700 mAh battery is good for up to 10 days standby. It supports PDF, ePub, MP3, JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG, txt, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt and pptx files. No word on pricing at this stage.

[via Notebook Italia]

The Pocket eDGe runs Android and has WiFi b/g, Bluetooth, 3GB of internal storage, a 2-megapixel camera and a microSD card slot. There’s also a microUSB port and a headphones socket. The two displays work hand-in-hand thanks to Entourage’s tweaks to Android, so you can flip webpages over from the LCD to the E Ink for easier reading and annotation.

At $399.99 it’s still not cheap, but it’s an interesting alternative to the Huawei S7 and Samsung Galaxy Tab. More information in the video below.

[via Android Community]

Press Release:

WORLD’S SMALLEST DUALBOOK, POCKET EDGE, ENABLES MOBILE LIFESTYLES WITH MULTIMEDIA TABLET, NETBOOK AND E-READER FUNCTIONALITIES

McLean, VA – Consumers who crave portability, but don’t want to be weighed down by numerous consumer electronics can now easily read, write and surf the Web on-the-go with enTourage Systems’ Pocket eDGe – a device that gets users through the day with its comprehensive professional and entertainment applications, combining the functionality of a touch screen tablet, e-reader and notepad.

The Pocket eDGe is a compact, multi-purpose, WiFi-enabled device, weighing just 24 ounces as the smallest dualbook available on the market. It is comprised of hinged LCD and E-Ink screens that interact for better communication and engagement with multi-media materials. Available content includes a vast array of e-books, periodicals and music available through enTourage Systems’ Web store.

The 7” LCD screen is ideal for Web browsing or viewing videos. The LCD side allows users to send emails to quickly stay in touch and manipulate Microsoft Office documents. Users can take advantage of useful applications that are already incorporated into the software, such as the built-in calendar app which makes it easy for users to keep track of appointments. The Pocket eDGe also operates on the Google Android operating system, providing access to numerous helpful Android applications available at enTourage Systems’ application store and other third-party developer sites.

The other side of the product contains a 6” E-Ink screen for accessing any e-books and documents in EPUB. It is also compatible with PDF documents. The E-Ink screen is Wacom Penabled, allowing for easy annotation or note-taking with an included stylus, when the Journal function is activated. With this technology, users can mark up documents, such as notes, recipes or contracts, and then send them as PDFs to friends and colleagues.

The two screens uniquely interact. Users have the ability, for example, to search terms and key words from e-books in Google, a dictionary or via Wikipedia on the LCD side. The Pocket eDGe has built-in speakers, a microphone and a camera – letting users record lectures and meetings, or capture images, listen to music and watch videos. The mobile professional or student can also project presentations through a USB-Video adapter.

“Consumers are becoming increasingly mobile and demand technologies and information access regardless of their location,” said Asghar Mostafa, CEO of enTourage Systems, Inc. “The Pocket eDGe is compact and lightweight, but full of all of the features and tools an on-the-go user would need for work, school or recreation anytime, anywhere.”

To-date, enTourage Systems has secured more than 250,000 trade books and hundreds of New York Times best sellers, in addition to the more than one million free public domain books digitized by Google, that are all available at its e-book store. enTourage Systems provides access to over 1,300 newspapers from 82 countries and 39 languages, and also has enhanced its e-store with more than 8 million music tracks and albums from major and independent labels – creating a one-stop solution for digital content.

The Pocket eDGe inspires a green lifestyle, allowing users to store all notes, documents and books digitally to decrease paper waste.

The Pocket eDGe can be oriented to view the LCD vertically or horizontally, or it can be held like a book, propped open like a laptop, or opened the full 360-degrees to view only one screen.

The Pocket eDGe will be available in November 2010 at major online retailers for $399. For more information, please visit www.entourageedge.com, the enTourage eDGe Facebook page or @enTourageeDGe Twitter feed.

It seemingly won’t be ready in time for IFA early next month, however, so we’ll have to make do with the five models the company is willing to tell us about.  Both the Pro 603 and Pro 903 have integrated 3G modems and Wacom touchscreens, too, presumably for ebook annotation.

Each of the ereaders runs Pocketbook’s open-source software and have wireless access to the Bookland ebook store.  Onboard storage is 2GB – we’re guessing it’s expandable – and Foxconn are apparently the OEM tasked with building the new range.  No hard specifications on the Pocketbook IQ tablet, beyond that it will be available in a choice of three colors,

[via Lesen]

The two interactive open displays are now available to purchase. In case you don’t recall, the 21.5-inch DTU-2231 display has a resolution of 1920 x 1080. The 1631 has a 15.6-inch screen with a resolution of 1366 x 768. The two screen share several other features.

Both have a cordless pen that needs no batteries. The pen has 512 levels of pressure sensitivity and it features a tip switch. A pair of side switches are available that are customizable as well. Both have USB hubs and offer video pass-thru. The 2231 will sell for $1899 and the 1631 goes for $1249.

Fear not, if you are a DIY type, you can take your Wacom tablet and turn it into a Cintiq clone on the cheap. OK, maybe not cheap, but the kit costs less than the Cintiq for sure. The kit is available for four different Wacom tablet models and includes the enclosure and other materials.

Kits are offered for the Intuos4, Intuos3 A4, Intuos2, and UD starting at $221.55. The rub is that the kit doesn’t include all the parts that you need for the conversion. You will also need your own LCD screen sized depending on the tablet you are converting along with the enclosure kit and Wacom tablet. Only kits for the Intuos3 and Intuos4 are available right now.

[Via Hackaday]

Toggle buttons allow you to control up to four different features with each touch-strip, via the round control on the front.  That way you can cycle through multiple brush settings all with one hand, while actually using the stylus with the other.

That stylus has a tilt range of +/-60 degrees and Wacom reckon you hardly need to be pressing it to the display in order to begin painting.  The 21UX itself can rotate 180-degrees and tilt between 10- and 65-degrees, while connectivity is via DVI-I.  Of course, as with other Cintiq tablets none of this comes cheap; the 21UX is $1999.99.

[via Gizmodo]

The two new displays are the DTU-2231 and the DTU-1631. The DTU-2231 is hailed as the first interactive HD pen display for radiology, EMR and other applications. The screen is 21.5-inches wide and has a resolution of 1920 x 1080. The pen display lets users highlight areas for closer inspection and make handwritten comments right on images.

The DTU-1631 is a much smaller 15.6-inch display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 supporting 720p HD resolution. The screen is sized for capturing signatures and other tasks. Both displays use battery-free pens with 512 levels of pressure sensitivity. Both also feature USB hubs, video pass-thru, and can be set to provide a flat work surface. The 2231 will sell for $1,899 and the 1631 will sell for $1,249 with availability set for this spring.

Preorder customers – who ordered a DR800SG directly from iRex themselves – started getting their units back in late January 2010.  First impressions were of an excellent quality display with a touchscreen display that doesn’t obscure the E Ink panel, while build is strong though leading to a slightly heavy unit as a result.

In-store availability, meanwhile, will be gradually rolled out over the coming months, so if you want to check out the ereader before you lay out the cash it’s probably a good idea to call ahead.  A Kindle will be cheaper, but the iRex gets you the flexibility to buy titles from Barnes & Noble, NewspaperDirect and LibreDigital.

Video overview after the cut

Over at CNET they’ve already reviewed the Intuos4 Wireless, and reckon it’s certainly more convenient than the wired model.  However they also had some issues with Bluetooth pairing, and expressed concerns about battery life; if left turned on, the tablet can apparently drain the battery to the point where it can no longer be recharged, meaning a replacement (costing between $39 and $49) must be bought.

As with other Intuos4 models, there’s an OLED display, various shortcut buttons and a scroll-wheel, many of which can be user-programmed.  The pen supports 2,048 levels of pressure, and comes complete with standard, felt, stroke and flex nibs.  The Wacom Intuos4 Wireless is available in the US now, priced at $399; it’ll land in the UK at the end of March, priced at £359.99.

[flv]http://s3.amazonaws.com/wacombucket/Intuos4/VIDEO_I4Wireless_Intro_Flash.flv[/flv]

Press Release:

Wacom Intuos4 Wireless provides creative freedom

The ideal pen tablet for on-the-go professional creators of digital content

Monday 1st February 2010: Wacom today announces the Intuos4 Wireless professional pen tablet, a highly-anticipated product featuring Bluetooth wireless technology. The new Intuos4 Wireless is aimed at digital content creators such as photographers, designers and artists who seek the freedom of wireless technology as well as the control and comfort benefits inherent in Wacom’s professional range of pen tablets. The liberating experience of being able to move about the room and work “unattached” from a computer also makes the Intuos4 Wireless an excellent tool for use at a collaborative work session. In addition, the medium-sized Intuos4 Wireless fits easily into most computer laptop bags, offering an ideal input solution for mobile creative professionals.

By combining the successful Intuos4 pen tablet design with Bluetooth wireless technology Wacom is able to provide users with the flexibility and freedom to work in the most comfortable way for drawing, editing, painting, retouching or general computer work. The Intuos4 Wireless meets the intuitive nature and overall experience offered by the Intuos4 brand.

The Intuos4 and Bluetooth
Bluetooth wireless technology is a global communications standard found in millions of computers and mobile devices that allows these devices to communicate reliably over distances of up to 10 metres. Ideal for home, office, or remote-meeting use, the Intuos4 Wireless provides mobility and freedom when working with Bluetooth-enabled desktop or laptop computers. It can be charged directly from the computer via USB.

Breakthrough design improves workflow, boosts productivity
Whether on the road, at home or at work, the slim and ergonomic design of the Intuos4 Wireless pen tablet makes it the ideal creative tool for working with digital content in comfort. Available in one size (medium), the Intuos4 Wireless has an asymmetrical design that puts the Touch Ring and the customisable ExpressKeys on one side of the tablet, making them all available to the user’s non-dominant hand. The ExpressKeys are instrumental in helping improve workflow and boosting productivity by placing commonly-used commands right at the user’s fingertips. Illuminated (OLED) displays provide helpful reminders as to the function of each ExpressKey. These settings are application-specific, and the displays will immediately update as the user changes between applications. To switch the tablet from right-handed to left-handed use, the user simply rotates the tablet 180 degrees and changes the orientation of the illuminated icons within the Wacom tablet driver software.

The Touch Ring on the Intuos4 Wireless is capable of controlling up to four different functions in any application. A button located in the centre of the ring “toggles” the ring between application-specific functions such as zoom, scroll, brush size adjustment or canvas rotation. The position of the illuminated LED located along the perimeter of the Touch Ring indicates the current function.

With all these features, the Intuos4 Wireless provides the perfect tool for an individual, ergonomic style of working, free of any cables.

The Intuos4 Grip Pen
The Grip Pen that comes with the Intuos4 Wireless features Wacom’s proprietary Tip Sensor technology, offering users near-zero (one gramme) starting pressure for the most sensitive Intuos pen tablet performance to-date. The pressure-sensitive support starts with a light touch, emulating the same feel, response and result derived from working with traditional creative tools such as brushes, markers and pens. Additionally, the Intuos4 Wireless pen has 2,048 levels of pressure, doubling the resolution of the pen’s pressure curve to further enhance feedback and expand creative control within software applications that support pressure sensitivity. The Grip Pen also features a pressure-sensitive eraser and two customisable side-switches that can be set for commands such as double-click and right-click. The Intuos4 Wireless ships with a handy clip-on pen holder for securing the pen to the tablet when not being used.

Intuos4 Wireless pen stand
A weighted desktop pen stand not only provides a convenient pen holder, but also functions as a handy twist-off storage compartment for pen nibs and a handy nib extractor. Standard, felt, stroke and flex nibs ship with the Intuos4 Wireless, allowing users to simulate the feel of working with a variety of traditional art and design materials.

Available software
Purchasers of an Intuos4 Wireless pen tablet are entitled to a choice of one application from a selection of three creative applications offered by leading software manufacturers Adobe, Autodesk and Corel. Users select their applications via download. In addition, Intuos4 users will appreciate the significant upgrades to Wacom’s powerful, user-friendly driver software, including precision mode and radial menus for even more precise and accurate work.

Additional accessories
In order to provide the best pen tablet experience possible, Wacom has created a range of accessories that includes several different types of pens. For example, the Intuos4 Art Pen supports the barrel rotation feature within such applications as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and Corel Painter 11, allowing users to create natural brush effects by rotating the pen, much like a calligraphy pen. The Intuos4 Airbrush has a similar form and finger-wheel control as a traditional airbrush and enables users to create and define paint patterns within certain creative programmes.

Pricing and availability
The Intuos4 Wireless is priced at £359.99 (including VAT) and will be available from end of March 2010.

In fact punch in your location and BeBook’s UI will automatically show you what ebook retailers are offering their wares.  There’s also Wikipedia and Google access, together with a sketchpad app (albeit monochrome), and the Neo will display ePub, PDF (DRM/non-DRM), TXT and various picture formats.

The battery is tipped to last up to 7,000 page turns and BeBook reckon their Freescale processor makes the Neo 2.5x as fast as rival ereaders.  There’s 512MB of onboard storage, an SD slot (happy with cards up to 16GB) and USB connectivity, along with a 3.5mm headphone socket.  Preorders are being taken now for £279.99 ($453), with general availability expected in February 2010.

Press Release:

BeBook’s Neo is world’s first touchpad WiFi eReader with access to eBook stores worldwide

Endless Ideas, specialists in eReader technology, today launches its exciting new eBook reader the BeBook Neo. Following the success of the BeBook One and Mini, the Neo includes WiFi technology to allow users to find eBook retailers wherever they are in the world, download an eBook and even surf Google and Wikipedia whilst on the move. The Neo is available for pre order and will be available to buy in the second half of February.
The Neo provides users with a unique and extremely easy way of locating and purchasing eBooks. The eBook portal shows a world map and users click on their country of choice for a clear overview of third party eBook retailers. As the Neo supports all the most popular file formats, including ePub, pdf and even JPEG, the user can make sure they get the best deals on their eBooks.

There are several new attractive features available with the Neo, for instance, it has a powerful battery, supporting up to 7,000 page turns. The Freescale processor makes it currently the fastest eReader on the market, offering up to 2.5 times quicker browsing and operating speeds. The Neo also features the latest WACOM touch panel technology, which allows users to sketch, mark up and annotate text.

The open architecture of the BeBook Neo makes it possible to expand its capabilities. Keep an eye on www.mybebook.com for firmware updates.

Popular file formats

Just like the previous models, most popular file formats can be read, including ‘ePub’ and ‘PDF’ (both with and without Adobe DRM), txt and even popular picture file formats, like JPG, are included.

Additional information

The BeBook Neo is available for pre order and will be available second half of February.
More information can be found at the new website: www.mybebook.com

Video demo after the cut

Like the eDGe, the Astri device – which appears to be called the MID, or My Interactive Device, just to confuse things – is targeted at the education market.  It’s based on an unspecified Marvell chipset (in fact was on display at the Marvell booth) and is currently a reference design being shopped around to OEM/ODM customers.

Basically, you can read ebooks and other documentation on the E Ink panel, making annotations and notes with the Wacom active digitizer, while navigating the Android LCD display on the other side for web access, multimedia and email/IM.  No final word on connectivity, but this is a far more portable device than other similar form-factors we’ve seen.

[via ARMdevices]

New Modbooks are now available from $1,599, which is still reasonably expensive but a far cry from the $2,249 you’d have paid a year ago.  Meanwhile the cost of converting your own MacBook 13-inch – including shipping in both directions – is from $649.99, and they’ll even throw in a GPS chip while they do it.

[via Gear Diary]

In the Bamboo Pen & Touch Fun’s favor is its responsiveness and switch to 16:9 aspect, useful considering the tablet area represents the screen as a whole, rather than just moving the cursor independently of where you touch.  Since most people have widescreen displays rather than 4:3, that’s an improvement over the Graphite.  Multitouch works as you’d expect from a laptop trackpad.  Less successful is the pen holder, which is seemingly the Levis-style Wacom loop on the side.

Still, Wacom are selling the Bamboo Pen & Touch Fun for just $99, so it doesn’t have a prosumer price.  It’s not as art-focused as their Intuos range, but then it doesn’t cost as much as those tablets do, either.

Finally there’s the Bamboo Fun Pen & Touch, which has both multitouch and pen-input and is slightly larger together with being aimed at the home and art markets, and the Bamboo Pen, which lacks the multitouch support.  Different models are supplied with different app packages, including handwriting recognition and art software such as ArtRage and Photoshop Elements for the pen-enabled Bamboo tablets, and a search tool for all models.

All of the new models will be available from early October 2009.  UK pricing starts from £49.99 for the Bamboo Pen, £59.99 for the Bamboo Touch, £74.99 for the Bamboo Pen & Touch, £89.99 for the Bamboo Fun Pen & Touch small, and £169.99 for the Bamboo Fun large.  In the US, the Bamboo Pen & Touch will be $99, while the Bamboo Pen and the Bamboo Touch will each be $69.

Press Release:

Get a feel for Bamboo’s new multi-touch technology

Wacom introduces first interactive tablet combining multi-touch and pen input, ushering in a more intuitive, simple and inspiring way to work with computers

Thursday 24th September: Wacom today announces Bamboo second generation – the first interactive tablet that merges multi-touch functionality with pen tablet technology in a single device. Based on current consumer trends and the introduction of touch devices such as the Apple iPhone, Bamboo provides a simple and spontaneous way of using a computer. It is operated by either multi-touch (finger-based input) or the digital pen when tasks require more accuracy and precision. Four different products are introduced in this range – Bamboo, Bamboo Fun, Bamboo Pen and Bamboo Touch.

Bamboo is aimed at consumers who use computers as part of their digital lifestyle to communicate, share and create content. It enables anyone to be creative. It is the perfect tool for self-expression and personalisation when producing everyday documents, presentations and blogs, or when communicating with friends, colleagues and family through social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter.

Merging pen and touch technology into one device brings the best of both worlds, making it even easier, quicker and more fun to use a computer. With Bamboo second generation, a simple tap with a finger on the digital pad will select an icon, open a menu or start an application. In addition, a gesture using two fingers enables users to simply rotate an image or document, flip through a digital photo album or presentation, scroll through a blog or an excel sheet and zoom in and out of a photo or map.

The advanced pen technology built into Bamboo means that the pen is still central to the Bamboo experience. A few simple strokes with the pen can add a doodle, signature or comment to any digital document. The process is similar to using a traditional pen and paper and provides pinpoint accuracy, helping users to easily draw natural strokes or retouch digital images, enhancing anyone’s creative flair. It is the ideal tool to activate pen-based functions of current operating systems and to use with creative software that supports pressure sensitivity.

Users can alternate between the touch and pen functions easily and quickly. If the finger is in contact with the tablet surface, touch works. If the pen tip is brought near the surface, touch is automatically turned off and pen input works instead.

The Bamboo experience is enhanced through Bamboo Dock and Bamboo Minis, an ever-increasing series of small but useful applications that enable users to do anything from digital doodling and sketching, to adding handwritten notes to a map or playing addictive little games.

Bamboo second generation is ultra slim (8.5 mm), optimised for right and left-handed use and provides an integrated pen holder for useful storage of the new and lightweight digital pen. In addition, there are four customisable short cut keys.

Bamboo
With a sleek, black design Bamboo offers pen and multi-touch input in a single device and is ideal for consumers in the home office or workplace. It can be used to customise emails, letters, spreadsheets, presentations and documents with signatures, notes, doodles and scribbles. In addition, it simplifies navigating around the computer and the Internet. Bamboo is priced at £74.99.

Bamboo Fun
Styled in silver and also combining pen and multi-touch input, Bamboo Fun comes in two sizes – small and medium. It is a versatile device ideal for consumers who are keen to develop their creative skills. Users can easily produce more natural and authentic-looking paintings, sketches and drawings as well as retouch, improve, manage and share digital photographs. Bamboo Fun Small and Medium are priced at £89.99 and £169.99 respectively.

The range is completed by the Bamboo Touch (touch input only) and Bamboo Pen (pen input only) which cost £59.99 and £49.99. All prices include VAT.

Software
Each product of the range (except Bamboo Touch) offers Bamboo Scribe – a powerful handwriting recognition; Bamboo Explore – an advanced search tool for Windows and Bamboo Space – an online application to collect and share ideas. In addition, Bamboo Pen comes with ArtRage; Bamboo Fun Small offers ArtRage and Photoshop Elements; Bamboo Fun Medium comes with ArtRage, Photoshop Elements and Painter Essentials.

Bamboo works with current Windows and Mac operating systems including Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Mac OS 10.4, 10.5 and 10.6.

Video unboxing and review after the cut

While the new Bamboo Touch may slot into a line more commonly associated with graphics tablets, it does not come with a pen for art input.  Instead, it’s a larger replica of the multitouch trackpad found on MacBooks and some Windows notebooks, works with Windows 7 and OS X, and can recognize (at least) two finger input and gestures.

According to reports from the Best Buy that prematurely sold the Bamboo Touch, it retails for $69.  Supported gestures include scroll, zoom and rotate, plus there are four “express keys” that can be user-programmed and the whole thing connects – and is powered by – USB.

Wacom Bamboo Touch unboxing:

Wacom Bamboo Touch Mini-Review:

The LCD itself boasts an 800:1 contrast ratio and 300cd/m2 brightness, and has a 5ms response time.  There are also two 1W stereo speakers integrated and the whole thing weighs a not-especially-lap-friendly 6kg; ports include VGA for the display, a 3.5mm jack for the audio and a USB for the tablet functionality.

Both Windows and Mac systems are supported, and Green-House are pointing out that the GH-PTB17-E isn’t just good for digital artists but for anybody wanting to browse the web more naturally or mark up documents in pen-enabled Microsoft Office.  Set to arrive in Japan this month, if it can come in under $1k then it might present a tempting alternative to the expensive Wacom systems.

[via Akihabara]

Video demo after the cut

The open-source project uses Pure Data and GIMP to mangle together the two art-forms, and different areas of the tablet affect different aspects of the sound.  You can also have some fun on the fret-board, too, though it’s not incredibly clear in the video.

One preset uses the X-axis to control octave and Y-axis to control different effects; there are both analog and digital inputs, and an infra-red distance sensor that can act as another trigger.  Interestingly the USB guitar doesn’t even need drivers, as it has a custom bootloader.  Right now the source-code isn’t online (because Coulombe isn’t sure there’s all that much interest in it) but if enough people decide to weld their art equipment to their instruments then he’ll upload it all. 

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/5212424[/vimeo]

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/5596196[/vimeo]

[via Hack a Day]

Video demo after the cut

The MacBook donated its working internals, but not a screen – that was damaged – so a replacement LCD was sandwiched in-between it and the Intuos digitizer fascia.  The optical drive still works, and the ports have been re-routed to a new side panel; there’s only one available USB, though, as the second is used for a permanent hook-up to the digitizer. 

There are some nifty design touches, too, such as using the broken display’s magnets to hold on an Apple Remote.  The whole thing apparently cost less than a brand-new low end MacBook (thus far below what Axiotron would charge for a Modbook).

[via GottaBeMobile]

Video unboxing and demonstrations after the cut

The smallest Wacom Intuos4 offers a 6.2 x 3.9 inch active area; the medium enlarges that to 8.8 x 5.5 inches.  The large has 12.8 x 8 inches while the extra-large comes in at 19.2 x 12 inches active area.  Each can track pen-nib tilt as well as hovering up to 10mm above the desktop.

The Wacom Intuos4 Small is priced at €224.90 ($302); the Intuos4 Medium is priced at €369.90 ($497).  The Intuos4 Large is priced at €479.90 ($645) and the Extra-Large at €799.91 ($1,076).  More videos here.

Wacom Intuos4 Video unboxing:

Wacom Intuos4 overview:

The PL-900 is the latest addition to company’s PL series pen interactive display with an enhanced visual quality- a much wider viewing angle and anti-glare finish. The high-resolution LCD of 19-inch screen is fabricated with a digital pen enabled screen for writing, annotating and navigating directly with the pen on the screen.

It supports video connectivity of DVI-I for both analogue and digital sources, and its content can be display though similar connection via DVI-I output for external displays or projectors.

The Wacom PL-900 is compatible with Windows or Mac OS, and is available now at £1,249.99 ($1,713) including VAT and comes with a two-year warranty. U.S. pricing and availability have not yet been announced.

Some of the updates affect the system’s hardware controller board. This has made for overall improved system performance, better battery life and an improved sleep function. Radio frequency shielding now also improves the digitizer’s responsiveness, making it so the tablet is not as susceptible to interference.

The Modbook AnyView LCD panel has also gotten an upgrade by means of a new bonding process and a ForceGlass screen cover that improves contrast ratio. Plus, it now features the QuadCoat process, which protects the top shell with a liquid metallic coating. Apparently, this process was taken from the auto industry and reduces the overall weight down to 5.3 pounds. Other added features include full Bluetooth, improved compatibility with Mac OS X, improved GPS, Autodesk SketchBook software and more. You can get the new and improved Modbook now for $1,299 for just the modification of a MacBook or $2,249 for a MacBook and the modification combined.

According to Wacom, their capacitive system – which uses Reversing Ramped Field Capacitive (RRFC) technology – surpasses rival touchscreens in a number of ways.  Accuracy problems around the edges of the screen, drifts in calibration and sensitivity to electromagnetic interference have all been bypassed in CapPLUS; it can also be used when wearing surgical or other thin gloves.  In addition, a CapPLUS panel can be combined with Wacom’s existing active touchscreen technology offering a choice of finger or stylus control.

The technology could have interesting effects on the Tablet PC and mobile device markets.  Currently laptops with capacitive touch panels are rare – the Dell Latitude XT being pretty much the only example – as is seeing larger-scale capacitive panels marketed for individual customers in general.  Combining pen and finger input in this way, without having to use a resistive touch panel, could give a huge boost in usability.  HP have already confirmed their intention to launch iPhone-style touchscreen technology in notebooks within the next 18-months.

[via GottaBeMobile]

Conversions will begin in November, and will be carried out not by Axiotron themselves but by OWC, the company’s authorized system manufacturer and the official US distributor for the Modbook.  The new components have a one-year warranty, and Axiotron will soon be offering a warranty extension covering both their and Apple’s hardware in the modified machines.

Unfortunately the offer does not apply to the new Apple MacBook which, with its slick aluminium casing and flush glass display, would make for a very attractive slate.  A brand new, pre-modified Axiotron ModBook starts at $2,290.

[via Notebooks]

Particular areas of praise are the display and the performance.  The 17-inch panel is capable of showing 72-percent of the NTSC color gamut (compared to most laptops showing around 45-percent) and, using the color calibrator, it’s straightforward to getting it looking its best; Laptop Mag noticed a “marked improvement” with bolder colors and deeper blacks.  As for the performance, the CPU and 4GB of RAM combined to give them the best scores out of PCMark Vantage that they’ve seen to date.  Similarly 3D graphics performance was outstanding, scoring 10,428 in the 3DMark06 benchmark.

It’s not all ideal, though.  The digitizer, though a bonus, is perhaps not as ergonomically sound as a separate pen-input panel; the lower portion is particularly difficult to use, as you have nowhere to rest your wrist.  Laptop Mag describe it as suitable for light work only.  What’s a surprise is battery life, the nine-cell pack keeping the W700 running for 2hrs 41.  So, an expensive niche product, but one that for many will still be tempting.

On initial inspection, the W700 looks to have two trackpads; however on the left is the traditional trackpad and on the right is a 120 x 80cm Wacom digitizer that works with a special pen stored in a size-mounted silo. Intended for graphic artists, CAD/CAM workers and other people involved in digital content creation, it allows for image editing without having to plug in an external tablet.

Color calibration normally requires an external ‘puck’ that the user presses to the screen; it then adjusts the settings to a standardized level, meaning that everyone looking at the same image sees the same colors. On the W700, a calibration sensor has been added just above the digitizer: you run the included software, close the lid and in about a minute the screen has automatically been adjusted.  Resolution goes as high as UWUXGA with an optional 400-nit display that has a 72-percent color gamut.

The W700 has dual hard-drives that can be set in RAID 0 or 1 configuration, together with an optional Blu-ray drive. Alternatively, that can be replaced with a third HDD, giving almost 1TB of storage. System RAM can be configured with up to 8GB, 2GB of that supporting Intel Turbo Memory. Ports include DVI, Display Port and VGA, and there’s a 7-in-1 multicard reader and five USB ports. Wireless connectivity includes WiFi, Bluetooth and UWB, with optional WWAN and WiMAX. There’s also a full-sized keyboard with separate numeric pad.

We’re expecting the ThinkPad W700 Mobile Workstation to land beginning in September, priced from $2,978. 

Xavier from Notebooks.com sent over the following demo videos of the W700 in action:

W700 overview:

W700 digitizer:

W700 color calibration:
 

Press Release:

Lenovo Unleashes Highest Performance Mobile Workstation with ThinkPad W700

Delivers Industry’s First Built-in Digitizer and Color Calibration Along with Ultimate Power, Multimedia and Display Technologies

 

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – August 12, 2008: Lenovo today unleashed the ThinkPad W700, the PC industry’s highest performance mobile workstation. Lenovo brings the first built-in digitizer and color calibrator to a mobile workstation and combines these innovations with technologies such as the latest NVIDIA Quadro graphics, Intel processor technology, dual hard drives with RAID configuration, up to 8 GB of memory, a range of wireless connectivity options including WiMax and excellent multimedia capabilities including an optional Blu-Ray DVD player for the ultimate power and performance PC tool. Lenovo designed the ThinkPad W700 mobile workstation to exceed the demands of the most data and graphics-intensive users, in fields such as digital content creation, computer-assisted design and manufacturing, photography and science fields like oil and gas.

 

“Lenovo has engineered a new breed of mobile workstations with the ThinkPad W700,” said Peter Hortensius, senior vice president, Notebook Business Unit, Lenovo. “No other PC manufacturer delivers the sheer quality, power and performance and cutting-edge innovation packed into this mobile workstation. It will truly change the way digital content and other application-heavy users work by simplifying and streamlining tasks to make them even more productive.”

 

As workers become increasingly mobile and demand desktop workstation performance in a notebook PC, the market for mobile workstations is growing. IDC reports that in the past five years, mobile workstations have grown to comprise almost 25 percent of the worldwide workstation market. By 2009, IDC forecasts mobile workstations to comprise 30 percent of the workstation market.

 

First-in-Industry Engineered Innovation

The ThinkPad W700 mobile workstation takes innovation to a new level with a built-in palm rest digitizer and color calibrator. Designed for digital content creators and users, the mobile workstation’s digitizer helps them easily configure an image, either mapping it to the entire screen or to an area defined by the user. Workstation users, especially photographers will benefit from the built-in color calibrator as color continues to play an important role in their work. The calibrator automatically adjusts the display’s color up to four times a month to help provide the most accurate, true-to-life images.

 

Super-Charged Performance Unleashed

Equipped with the latest Intel® Centrino® 2 processor technology, the mobile workstation can be configured with up to 8 GB of memory with 2 GB of that supporting Intel Turbo Memory. Lenovo also offers models with Intel vPro technology for complete manageability. The mobile workstation can be equipped with dual hard drives, with one of them being solid state drive storage. The mobile workstation also offers users wireless connectivity any way they choose to connect to the Internet, whether it’s WLAN or WWAN² or WiMax. Additionally, they can connect wirelessly to other devices using the mobile workstation’s Bluetooth and ultra wideband technology.

 

New Heights in Display Technology and Multimedia Excellence

The ThinkPad W700 mobile workstation delivers an unparalleled viewing experience with a 17-inch widescreen, optional 400-nit UWUXGA display. The display’s resolution provides more than twice the brightness of typical displays, and its 72 percent color gamut provides more than 50 percent greater color intensity than a typical display. These capabilities make it the ideal tool for 2D and 3D work. The mobile workstation offers excellent graphics with choices of NVIDIA graphics including the new Quadro FX 3700M PCI Express Graphics Solution with 1 GB of dedicated video memory. Users can easily watch high-definition video with the mobile workstation’s support for DVI, Display Port and VGA. A 7-in-1 multicard reader and five USB ports give users lots of flexibility in transferring content. Additionally, the workstation comes with an optional Blu-Ray DVD player.

Pricing and Availability
The ThinkPad W700 mobile workstation will be available beginning in September with models starting at $2,978. It is available through Lenovo Business Partners and www.lenovo.com.

The draw with these tablet-LCDs is the immediacy of drawing straight onto a screen, rather than using a plain tablet and looking at a separate display.  PC Authority aren’t entirely convinced with the 12WX’s 180cd/m2 brightness nor its color accuracy, but they heap extra praise onto its usability and accuracy.

“Drawing on the screen is a dream – it’s responsive, precise, and with practice it’s possible to generate some spectacular results” PC Authority

Thing is, SlashGear has heard a very much conflicting opinion on the Cintiq 12WX, from reader Tom Wingo.  Tom had to send his 12WX back after ongoing problems with poor accuracy and jitters along the edges of the display:

“Well after spending a month with my new WACOM Cintiq 12 WX I found that I could indeed live without it. While it’s the perfect size and what I’ve always wanted, reality has shown me that WACOM dropped the ball on this Cintiq terribly. The 1280×800 screen squished down to 12 inches was tough on the eyes when using FLASH. However, the biggest issue that I’ve also heard from other users is the poor accuracy and jitter of the pen in the corners and along the edges. I’ve used the larger Cintiq and am used to a small amount of jitter but the 12WX was terrible. In fact when I contacted WACOM their tech support who had a tablet near the phone reported that theirs was just as bad. They attributed it to the internal switched power-supply for the display and that there was no way to fix the problem.” Tom Wingo, SlashGear commenter

I’ve got a request for comment in with Wacom’s press department; it’s possible that since Tom sent back his Cintiq they’ve changed the power supply or otherwise fixed what sounds like interference between the wireless pen and the tablet layer.  I’ll update this post when I hear back.

Wacom’s technology has been widely used by most Tablet PC manufacturers, including Lenovo, HP, Toshiba and Motion.   It relies on a battery-free, cordless pen and a digitizer layer sandwiched under the display.  E Ink, meanwhile, have recently announced their Vizplex e-paper technology, that offers sunlight readability and low weight in an ultra-thin, low-power package.  E Ink displays are used in many of the eBook readers on the market, including the Amazon Kindle, Sony’s Reader and iRex’s range.

The first commercial products are yet to be announced, but E Ink have updated their Broadsheet AM300 prototype kit with a Wacom option for developers to experiment with.  It will be available in June with a 6-inch 3-bit greyscale e-paper display, and other sizes available later in the year, and is based around the Gumstix single-board computer, which combines a Marvell XScale PXA255 processor with a Bluetooth transceiver, USB, a serial port and an MMC card reader.  It and the 5-inch version are available for pre-order now, priced at $3,000.

There is an express button that connects the tablet to your computer allowing you to use it with your computer. There’s a stand on the back, the power button is on the top, and there is a pen along with a precious base for it.

There is also a large box that comes with it for connecting everything, it received the power cable, USB cable, and DVI input and outputs it all through one cable for ease of use. The AVING guys seemed to like it and it looks like a thing of beauty, let alone whatever art you are creating on it.

[via AVING]

That 1.3MB should net you about 100 pages, in A5 size, of normal text. But the battery only lasts for 3 hours, so if you can write 100 full length pages of text in 3 hours, give yourself a pat on the back and a gold star if you have one lying around, because I can type a lot faster than I can write, and there is no way I could hit 100 pages in three hours.

Anyways, they go on sale in 2 days or on the 20th for those with a calendar, and they will cost you $240 each, so a full set of them would probably be 1. You’ll also have to stock up on the special paper that the pen requires, sure, you can write in ink on anything, but the stuff won’t be recorded unless it’s on this special paper.

Nokia Digital Pen with Bluetooth [via Ubergizmo]

The greatest pen interactive display manufacturer is back with a new Cintiq family – Cintiq 20WSX. Wacom announces a mammoth 20.1″ widescreen LCD (WSXGA+ 1680×1050 resolution) desktop pen display. The 20WSX is cordless and battery-free. It accepts Hd15 VGA as well as DVI-A input. Aspect ratio is 16:10 and priced at $1,999, a healthy $500 drop compare to the last 4:3 model, 21UX. Both the finger-sensitive Touch Strip and ExpressKeys are programmable and cleverly designed for accessibility.

Cintiq 20WSX [via Wacom]

Comprising both the company’s 1,024 pressure-level tablet and a 12.1-inch LCD display running at 1280 x 800, the 12WX carries over the same touch-strips and programmable keys from the Intuos3 range; it also has pen-tilt sensitivity and “input device rotation support”.  Compatible with Windows in XP and Vista flavours, as well as OS X, different types of pen – such as brushes and stencils – can be preconfigured to load automatically when particular software runs, and of course the pen is wireless for ease of use.

It’ll be available in the UK from November 1st, priced at £829 ($1679).

Wacom [via Engadget]

You can’t always judge a book by its cover, and you can’t judge a gadget by its name. The new Bamboo Fun is not made of bamboo, though it may be pretty fun to use. I know my old Graphire was. The Bamboo Fun comes in two sizes, each of which is available in black, white, silver and electric blue. You get the usual accessories with it, such as the mouse and pen, and their bundle of software, as well as some nice big programmable buttons. The Bamboo Fun will set you back $99 for the small, and $199 for the medium (you’d think that having a medium would imply there was a large).

They are also releasing the Bamboo, which isn’t fun. It’s for use with boring applications like digital signatures and annotation. Good thing they didn’t call this one Fun. The boring Bamboo only comes in one size, one color, and no apps.  It will only set you back $79.

Wacom Graphire gets new nom de plume: Bamboo [via crave]

Built around a far more budget-friendly 15-inch LCD panel, the PL-521 still has Wacom’s illustrious 512-pressure-level active touchscreen and carries some of the positioning flexibility over from its pricey older siblings.  Standard VGA and USB connections – handling image and pen communication respectively – make for an easy addition to any desktop, and both PC and Mac compatibility should keep everyone happy (aside from Linux lovers, and we all know they’re never satisfied).

Yours for the princely sum of $1,624 in the US or £699 in the UK.

Wacom PL-521 [via Electronista]

GPS will also be included, with the SiRFstar 3 chipset. This thing will cost a lot of money! Mac tablets have been created before by other companies, but cost a lot of money, and were only done on a custom basis. This is the first time that a tablet will be mass-produced that has OS X on it. It is going to be released at Macworld on the 9th, so stayed tuned, as we have live coerage as it unfolds!

ModBook Press Release [Via: Axiotron]

A set containing a white Graphire4 A6-sized pen tablet, software such as Manga Studio Debut 3.0 and Corel Painter Essentials2, and online resources such as downloadable project files, it’s available in European markets for £74.99 ($142.62).

Wacom press release [via UberGizmo]