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Interactive Displays
Review: Wacom Cintiq 12WX
The high-end interactive display goes mobile for around $1,000
12/12/2007
Whether you're participating in digital media instruction personally or merely supporting visual arts programs on your campuses, you no doubt have Wacom tablets up near the top of the equipment list. They're integral in the production of digital art, and they're ubiquitous in all realms of professional creative work--from animation studios to graphic arts shops to post-production houses. Economic realities may have limited your choices in the past, but that changed this month when Wacom launched its new entry-level Cintiq, the Cintiq 12WX, bringing a mid-range price tag to high-end graphics input.
If you're involved in digital art at all, you're at least aware of Wacom's more popular lines of interactive, pressure-sensitive tablets. On the high end, there's the Intuos line; at the entry level, there's the Bamboo line (formerly known as Graphire). Both lines make excellent additions to the artist's tool chest. Intuos tablets are more sensitive and have more functionality than the Bamboo tablets, and they're geared more toward professionals. But any kind of Wacom pen tablet is better than none at all. I personally have several models from each line, used for various purposes--some for the kids, a couple large ones for the workstations, a couple medium-sized ones for working in smaller spaces. I even bought a first-generation Cintiq way back when, although I don't use it anymore because it doesn't have the functionality of the newer, more advanced tablets out there, even though it is great in other ways.
With the new Cintiq lineup, Wacom has brought together the best of all of these without any compromises. The latest Cintiq generation has all of the advantages of Intuos tablets--including support for pen tilt and other functions--along with the killer feature that makes the Cintiq so sought after (and, until now, expensive): The tablet is, itself, an LCD display.
In the past, this feature has come with limitations. In the distant past (a few years ago), it meant you didn't get all the functionality of the regular graphics tablets (less sensitivity, no tilt support). In the more recent past, it meant simply a whopping price tag, along with a form factor that limited the device to a fixed location (unless you were a fan of hauling around a 23-pound monitor).
Now, with the introduction this month of the Cintiq 12WX, that's changed. Not only is this the first Cintiq to come in below $1,000 (just barely, at a retail price of $999), but it also comes in a form factor that's truly portable. It fits snuggly in a laptop case (measuring 16" W x 10.5" H x .67" D). And, at a total weight of 4.4 lbs., it isn't a burden to carry around or use on your lap.
Hardware Features
The Cintiq 12WX sports a 12.1-inch TFT LCD display--a bit smaller than a MacBook display, and about the same size as some PC notebook displays or the active area on an Intuos3 6x11 tablet. The screen (covered in a layer of durable acrylic) has a resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels (WXGA).
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