When I was offered the chance to try out the Bamboo it didn’t take much persuasion. The mouse is so old skool! And let’s face it, they are ugly and have been around way too long! It’s about time we had a good affordable alternative and now we have…The Bamboo!

10 years ago when I was a technical illustrator I sampled a Wacom, but back then it was not really up to much. So I was curious to see what the Bamboo could offer me…
The moment I opened the box I fell in love with the look and feel of the sleek, black Bamboo tablet. For drawing, painting, handwriting, and as a mouse substitute, it performed better than expected. I wasn't expecting it to be such a big deal, but the surface texture of this tablet is a wonderful improvement over past Wacom models.

Now…like any change in life there is an adjustment period. Just like when you get a new pair of shoes. There is some breaking in to do before they fit comfortably. It took only a day to fit comfortably into my Bamboo. It soon became second nature and I could feel the benefits also for my neck and shoulder. Having sat at a desk for almost 20 years I have suffered with some repetitive strain. The mouse is often in the wrong position which can aggravate my injury, but with the Bamboo you have more movement and your arm relaxes closer to your body thus reducing the strain…

Like all new gadgets there are a few issues I had with Bamboo. These involved the finger-sensitive touch ring. I found it was often slow to respond, scrolling was usually jerky, and depending in the application I was using it in, and it didn't always perform the assigned function. For instance, in Photoshop, it scrolled but didn't zoom. Many times, it didn't respond at all. This unexpected behavior made the touch ring nearly useless to me in Windows. On the Macintosh, I found it much more reliable. I also had a few instances in Windows where I lost pressure-sensitivity and had to restart my system in order to get it back.

Thankfully scrolling can be done easily with the pen alone, and zooming can be done in other ways, so ignoring the touch ring is not a big loss. The small size of this tablet should not be considered a disadvantage since the tablet maps to you computer screen no matter what size it is.

The moment you open the package, you feel like you've got something special. The tablet performs well, looks great, and the controls panel offers just enough customization for this tablet's intended user. I am converted…and as a creative professional or an administrator the benefits of the Bamboo totally squash the ugly mouse! So common people…lets look sharp at our desks and bin the old mouse and replace with a Bamboo! In fact, I am so impressed with it, I have asked Alex to investigate us purchasing one!

SRP: £74.99 see www.wacom-europe.com for more details.

Available online from Amazon and other retailers.