BIOS: Technology Means Business

Ideal for digital photographers, graphic design professionals and artists, Wacom's Graphire Bluetooth Wireless Pen Tablet offers a much more precise and natural way to draw freehand compared to a mouse. The tablet doesn't provide a 1:1 mapping ratio for most monitors, offers just 512 sensitivity levels, and may not be ideal for artistic styles that need full arm motion, but the ability to use the tablet wirelessly and without a power outlet is a real boon. In addition, the excellent bundled software make it worth its high cost for serious artists and designers.

Pros: Built-in Bluetooth; wireless pen and mouse; excellent software
Cons: Only 512 pressure levels and two programmable buttons

The latest member to Wacom's Graphire pen tablet family is the company's first product to incorporate Bluetooth wireless technology. The new model, named the Graphire Bluetooth (Best Current Price: £179), is pitched a relatively high-end photo enthusiasts who seek the control and comfort of Wacom's patented cordless, battery-free pen and the freedom of a wireless device. Mobile office workers, educators and aspiring digital artists should also appreciate the new device and the ability to work where and when you want at resolutions up to 2032lpi. The only problem is that Blueooth isn't perfect and when it fails, or when the signal drops, or when something suddenly causes interference, you lose responsiveness.

The biggest selling point of the Graphire Bluetooth (257x24.3x280mm, 209x151mm active area) is its cordless, battery-free pen technology that works with Bluetooth wireless technology. The supplied pen looks and feels like a regular pen - albeit a low-cost plastic one - and operates without batteries or cords. The benefit of this is that you can draw up to 30 feet from your computer without being tethered by cables. That is, of course, if you can still see your computer monitor from that distance!

Additionally, with 512 levels of pressure sensitivity and a programmable button, the Graphire pen provides a relatively natural and controlled way to retouch and edit digital photos and create original art. There's even a built-in eraser for fixing mistakes. You also get a matching grey wireless 3-button mouse with scroll wheel. Both the pen and the mouse have their own operating modes to which the tablet adjusts its sensitivity accordingly. Using the pen, mouse, and tablet takes some getting used to. For instance, in Pen Mode, the tablet's active area is a mapped representation of your computer screen, allowing you to position the screen cursor using either the pen or mouse.

However, the mouse has to be used on the tablet and using the pen to navigate menus and drag-and-drop is an intricate and time-consuming process - even those with good eye-hand coordination will probably struggle to keep the screen cursor following the same direction as your hand movements on the tablet. You also have to remember that the pen is activated as soon as it nears the surface of the tablet's active area (within 5mm), so you have to make sure that the pen is in the correct position to register the correct positioning of the pointer on the screen. To click, you can either tap the pen onto the tablet or press the pen tip with enough force to register a click. Double-clicking follows the same process, only repeated in succession.

Once you've mastered the basics of the system you will then be able to reap the rewards of a graphics tablet. Most impressive is the way that it responds accurately to your hand movement, which will be a real boon to those who want to create freehand images on their computer. The Graphire Bluetooth also supports pressure-sensitive tools, allowing you to vary brush characteristics such as width, colour and opacity by pressing harder or lighter with the pen onto the tablet.

Power autonomy comes thanks to a rechargeable lithium-polymer battery that provides up to 25 hours of wireless use between charges. A 12-foot cable on the universal power adapter also lets you use the tablet while the battery is charging, so there should be no downtime to your creativity. A typical recharge time is around 5 to 6 hours, depending on how low the battery's energy was depleted. A neat touch is that the universal power adapter accepts 110 and 220 volts, so you can use it in many countries around the world (may require 3- to 2-pin converter).

The fact that the pen and mouse are untethered offers more creativity and less hassle, but you'll have to be more careful about losing or misplacing them. The supplied non-weighted pen holder is a welcome addition, and it's nice to see Wacom finally introducing a recess on the top of the tablet to store the pen in a less desk-cluttering way.

The Graphire Bluetooth incorporates two on-tablet programmable buttons called ExpressKeys which are designed to optimise workflow by providing quick access to commonly used modifiers, mouse-clicks, and keystrokes. The fact that the ExpressKeys are situated in the middle of the tablet means it accommodates left- and right-handed people equally. Both the ExpressKeys can be customised using the driver control panel.

With the ExpressKeys, you can directly access functions such as pan and zoom, cut, copy, paste and undo at the touch of a fingertip without having to move between the tablet and your keyboard. You can also customise the buttons, should you want to be able to reduce/increase brush size quickly. The tablet is also able to recognise the tilt angle of the pen by up to 60 degrees, which is great for realistic paintbrush simulation. The input device also responds sensitivity and precisely so that you can create smooth blends and masking effects.

The tablet comes with a few great software titles, including Adobe's Photoshop Elements 2 to quickly and easily edit digital photos and create original artwork, Corel's Painter Essentials 2 to create natural media art and organic effects, and nik's Color Efex Pro 2 GE to selectively apply photographic enhancements.

The excellent thing about Corel's Painter Essentials 2 is that it takes full advantage of the tablet's functionality. The easy-to-use software also supports multiple layers and allows you to start drawing straight out-of-the-box. Of course, professionals will already have their own preferred imaging software, but it's still nice to have a bundled application. [7]