Wacom Technology has been in the forefront to tablet technology. It is not surprising that many tablet PC’s contain Wacom’s patented Penabled sensor technology. For many years Wacom has been consistently updating and improving its tablets. In the beginning there were the Graphire, Intuos, and for the serious graphic designers, the Cintiq. Today we will have a head to head comparison between Wacom’s original Intuos 12"x12" table and its latest Intuos3 6"x11" model.

Intuos3 6"x11" Tablet

The software bundle contains Adobe Photoshop Elements 3, Corel Painter Essentials 2, Nik Color Efex Pro 2 IE, and Wacom Brushes 2. Even though on the box it clearly states the 6"x11" tablet as “for the serious photographer, designer, and artist” there is a coupon code inside the box for Adobe’s Photoshop for $300. Seeing that the cost of the tablet is nearly $300, and Photoshop already is $600 – a different way of thinking is the tablet as being free.

The original Intuos 12"x12" tablet is massive in its drawing area, footprint, and thickness. This new Intuos3 tablet is sleek and streamlined compared to its older silbing. The thickness is half the size, the drawing area, though slightly smaller in width and half the height, is still remarkable. For instance, the stylus holder is no longer part of the tablet, which shrinks the Intuos3 by half an inch. This new stylus with a rubber grip is slightly thicker but more comfortable to hold than the original. Included in the Intuos3 package is a five-button wheeled wireless, battery free mouse, which the original Intuos does not include.

Even the general appearance of the Intuos3 is completely different than the first generation Intuos. The new style has a slate grey finish with clear plastic around the entire tablet except for the drawing area.

Intuos 12"x12" Tablet

I have owned the original Intuos 12"x12" tablet for nearly seven years now. and it has worked perfectly since day one. That being said, I have had a lot of fun with this tablet. I never purchased the optional mouse because I did not need it. However, after working on my project for art class of Curious George, I have thought about it because I need the precision of the zoom level to crop him out of the background. Another point that must be stressed is Wacom’s undeniable level of customer support. As previously stated, this 12"x12" tablet is now almost seven years old, but if you visit Wacom.com and browse through the online store, you will be able to find all the replacement parts for this "ancient" tablet. I am impressed to see any vendor to support products that have reached the end of life like this.

As seen in picture below, the Intuos measuring at twe centimeters is twice as thick as the new Intuos3.

Comparison

The Intuos3 pen as shown is longer and thicker. The extra rubber coating provides more comfort than the old Intuos pen. After working with this new pen, my hand did not cramp once. I have had to take several breaks while using the older pen. One end of the pen is the eraser and the other is the pen point. Not shown is a button that has a dual function switch for left and right clicking.

This new pen stand is now detached from the tablet itself and reduces the tablet size by half an inch compared to the original model.

Another noteworthy new feature found in the Intuos3 is the wire management. As one can see, the user has the ability to route the cable straight out or up. Depending on placement of the pad, the direction of the wire greatly influences how the setup will be, as prolonged bending of the wire will cause failure to the device.

Both sides feature a touch strip and four programmable buttons. The buttons that I have programmed are New, Open, Save, Close, Copy, Paste, Delete, and Undo. The touch strip on the left side provides scroll and zoom features when necessary, like working in Photoshop. The right touch strip functions solely as a scroll.

Like the Intuos that shines a red light and becomes green when it registers contact, the Intuos3 glows a beautiful blue and also turns green during contact.

Using the new pen on the original Intuos does not work due to different operating frequencies.

The plastic pen nibs are the same, again, proving Wacom’s excellent product support. Replacement is easy with a pair of tweezers.

Upon inspecting the zoom pictures, the original Intuos 12"x12" tablet (left) is not nearly as sensitive and precise as the new Intuos3 6"x"11 tablet (right) when cutting Curious George to dance the Macarena from the background. The precision from the Intuos3 is more pronounced even without the zoom. Visit my personal website to view the complete animation of Curious George dancing the Macarena.

Conclusion

All the article pictures that were cropped unless otherwise stated were done by the Intuos3 because it was such a blast to work with. I had so much fun working with this tablet that I may decommission my Logitech MX518 mouse. The Intuos3 is versatile and comfortable, plus offers vast functionality. On Wacom.com under the tips sections there are many tutorials and guides that I suggest reading and doing as a great way to learn about the Intuos3. There are plenty of tablets that cater to every one from an amateur to an enthusiast to the professional, such as the Graphire4 tablet that can be found around $100 at many major electronic retailers, but anyone spending the extra cash for the Wacom Intuos3 6"x11" will not be disappointed.