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I've been looking for a tablet for quite a while now, but I recently feast my eyes on the new Wacom 6×11 intuos3 drawing tablet. This is a gorgeous tablet that is absolutely drop-dead when you first see it. You'll see why.

First, in the box, you get, the tablet (of course), the grip pen with three pen nibs (replaceable tips), a five-button mouse, and bundled software from Adobe and Corel. So let's explain why the tablet is such an odd size. The 6×11 size is made in part for widescreen/dual-monitor display setups like myself, who owns a Dell 20.1" widescreen LCD. Wacom also distributes a 12×19 tablet for larger displays such as the 30" Apple Cinema Display.

This is my first time with a tablet, and it really does change the way you work. Believe me, it's much more ergonomic than you think, since you can also use it as a mouse rather than using the included five-buttoned mouse, which is really just useless if you already have another wireless mouse like me, but your more than welcome to use it in pen mode for more accuracy.

A regular drawing tablet works the same way, minus the LCD display and protective glass. In addition to regular drawing tablets, Wacom also distributes the Cintiq, a tablet with an LCD display built in, much like a tablet PC, which is way cooler than the intuos3.

Ok, so enough babbling about tablet PC's, let's dig in to the good stuff. The tablet works very well for things from illustrations to 3D animation. The tablet also sports ExpressKeysâ„¢ and Touch Stripsâ„¢ for quickly using keyboard shortcuts/modifiers and scrolling or zooming down a webpage. The tablet has an excellent response, but the surface of the tablet can get scratched easily if you press hard enough, but isn't that noticeable, in addition, some of the larger Wacom tablets include transparent overlays that lay over the top of the tablet. The intuos3 also sports 1,024 levels of pressure, that's twice that of Wacom's Graphire, which means as you press harder in most graphics applications, such as Adobe Photoshop, the objects drawn get darker.

The three replacement nibs included are, three plastic (factory-placed) nibs, a spring-loaded nib, and a felt-like nib (feeling more like a pencil). The software features of the Wacom driver on both Windows XP and Mac OS X are equal and excellent. You can change sensitivity to modifying the ExpressKeys and Touch Strips to do different actions while you're at work.

Overall, this tablet is an exceptional product and is excellent for any designer or photographer. The Wacom intuos3 6×11 tablet retails at $329 USD and can be ordered directly from Wacom or an authorized dealer. The intuos3 is available in three various sizes: 4×5, 6×8 and 9×12, going for $219, $329 and $449 as well as 6×11 and 12×19 sizes which are $369, and $749. Trust me, getting a tablet, changes the way you work in terms of ergonomically and productivity, a whole lot. I give this product, 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Spark'd rating: 4.5-out-of-5.

Editor's Note: Expect more reviews to be posted here temporarily.

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