BIOS: Technology Means Business

Wacom's latest consumer pen tablet, Volito2, is an entry-level product designed for general computing duties - particularly text input. With added enhancements including improved ergonomics, stylish modern design, and an interactive tutorial, the Volito2 is a neat low-cost introduction for painting, writing and editing photos. The tablet measures 201x205x12.9mm (340g) and has an A6 active area (128x92.8mm), which is ideal for the home user who may have restricted workspace or doesn't need the functionality or cost of an A4 or larger tablet.

The Volito2 (Best Current Price: £38.72) now comes in a dark grey, metallic colour that will look stylish in any home. The surface of the active area on the tablet has been specially treated to enhance the feeling of pen on paper and it also indicates in which area the pen can be activated. We really liked the low profile of the tablet, as well as the recess at the top of the tablet that houses the pen. The tablet is tethered by a USB 2.0 port, however, so you can't use it remotely, and there are no programmable buttons on the tablet itself.

The pen takes advantage of Wacom's patented 'penabled' technology and as a result is both battery-free and cordless. The benefit of this is that you can use the matching digital pen in a more natural way, which helps to provide a personal touch when creating digital communications such as greetings cards and invitations. It's also a neat solution for digitally signing documents. For ease of use, there are two buttons on one side of the pen, which by default are configured as right click and double click. However, these can be freely customised to suit.

Extending the functionality of its predecessor, Volito2 is easily installed, connecting to your PC or Mac via a USB port. For the first time, Wacom has developed an interactive tutorial that provides a step-by-step walkthrough through the features and capabilities of the device. Also included is a printed User's Manual and driver CD-ROM.

Many computer users prefer using a pen compared to a mouse because it provides a more natural movement than with a mouse. It also allows a more relaxed hand and arm position, and the entire screen can be navigated with much smaller, unrepetitive movements. The major benefit of this is that it reduces muscle use, and therefore reduces strain. The Volito2 has been designed with improved ergonomics including a rubber grip area on the pen for added comfort, and a hand rest on the tablet itself.

With the integration of pen functionality in more software applications and operating systems, as well as the fact that more and more people are using PDAs, the use of the digital pen will likely become more popular as computer input devices. When it comes to technical specifications, the Volito2 is actually very good. It offers a resolution of 1016dpi and 512 pressure levels - the more pressure applied, the thicker the lines become and the darker the colour appears.

The tablet comes with ArtRage Wacom Edition, a reasonable painting software by Ambient Design. The package provides an easy-to-use way to draw with paint, pens, pencils and crayons on a canvas. The software was specifically developed for Volito2 and adapted for the target group of an entry-level consumer tablet. Its functionality offers the option of painting an image from a blank canvas or loading in a picture to trace - the latter is ideal for getting to grips with the tablet.

Unfortunately, there's no plastic flap on the tablet to insert a traceable drawing. New features of the ArtRage Wacom Edition include the addition of cursors to represent different tools. For instance, you can tell which painting tool is being used from a glance at the cursor. The Volito2 pen, like other tablet pens, responds to the nuances and inflection of your hand movements, enabling you to create natural-looking pen and brush strokes. If you don't get on with the bundled software, many leading programs have drawing tools that respond to the pressure you place on the pen.

For example, in some drawing programs, sliders are used to vary brush characteristics (width, colour and opacity). These characteristics can be controlled much better by the pen's pressure sensitivity compared to menu options. You can, for instance, vary all of these setting simply by changing the pressure you exert upon the pen, thus eliminating the need to move from your work and wade through software menus.

Wacom also sent us a copy of a brand-new piece of software that compliments the Volito2 perfectly. JustWrite Office 4 (£20.52 inc. VAT). The program lets you mark-up documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and even e-mails. Adding your date-stamped signature to an e-mail or creating handwritten notes in a document is simple, and it works seamlessly with Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Anything handwritten is saved in your Office documents, so other users don't have to have JustWrite Office installed to read the files.

The JustWrite Office 4 toolbar gives you drawing and mark-up tools including three different types of pencils, choices of colours and line thickness, highlighter, eraser, and buttons to clear or save ink. You can even customise the tools that appear in the JustWrite Office 4 toolbar to fit your needs, and there's even a screen mark-up application that allows you to highlight, mark-up, or annotate on top of any application - even your desktop. [7]