A Rant About My Computer’s Drawing Tablet- Part 1

Last month, while trying to get my new-ish computer ready to start working on my Inktober drawings, I tried to used my Wacom Bamboo drawing tablet. I was very excited to start using it again… until I plugged it in and realized it didn’t work. I thought it would be a simple fix by using the programing disk to install the software onto my computer… and then I discovered the operating system my computer runs on is not compatible with the tablet’s software or with the tablet at all.

It’s been a few weeks since that happened and I can honestly say I’m still upset about what happened. Since I wanted to start posting my finished versions of my sketches from Inktober around this time, I decided to use this time to rant about my tablet and how irritated about my search for a new one.I cannot express how angry and frustrated I am with my drawing tablet and my computer, but mostly my tablet. Although my computer is new, my old computer had the same operating system. Although I figured there could be other reasons why my Wacom tablet doesn’t work, including needing certain software on my computer, I had some problems with my tablet working on my old computer. Since I thought I needed a new tablet with the ability to work with more modern computers (My old computer was a laptop and was 4 years old when it gave up), I began to search for a new drawing tablet.

That’s when I realized Wacom does not sell the Bamboo tablet anymore. I heard about this some time ago, but I was told it was just a rumor so I thought nothing of it. Now that I need a new tablet, and my favorite from Wacom was the Bamboo tablet line, I’m very upset I cannot find the Bamboo tablet line anymore. Instead, Wacom’s Bamboo line a line of smart pens that works with Microsoft Ink and/or Apple products.

Although I’m very upset the Bamboo tablet line is no longer being made, I realized it was only a matter of time until Wacom began to have problems selling their tablets. The first tablet I ever owned (Also a Bamboo) was around $70- $80 USD and served me well until I was forced to phased it out due to a new computer and it’s new, non compatible with my tablet operating system. That was when I purchased my second, and most recent, tablet, for about $120 USD.

The problem I began to see was the price points. Wacom’s tablets are excellent, but they are also very pricey. The tablet I wanted to buy to replace my first Bamboo tablet was a Wacom Cintq and the version I wanted cost over $2,000 USD without tax. (It’s now around $3,300.00 USD for the same size Cintq) Although I used the Cintq and can say it is a very good tablet, it is so pricey that I cannot justify using it as a replacement for my tablet, which I used with my laptop for working on art (And anything else I needed it for) away from my desk.

Although I’m angry that the next best Wacom option is a tablet that is smaller than the one I usually use that nearly costs the same as my first tablet, I have options. While browsing Amazon, I came across some tablets that are not Wacom brand tablets, but are the same size as my tablets but costs less than my other Wacom tablets. So, I’ll be looking into getting one of them instead of another Wacom tablet for my away-from-my-desk drawing tablet.

I’ll keep everyone updated once I figure out what tablet I will be using next. (Thus why this post is part 1 and I made a nice title image for this post)

Well, that’s all for now! Thank you for reading!