Genius MousePen 8 x 6-Inch Graphic Tablet for Home and Office
by Genius
|
List Price: Our Price: $59.95 You Save: $40.04 (40%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $50.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Genius MousePen 8 x 6-Inch Graphic Tablet for Home and Office
Customer Review: First Impressions - installation problems
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought the Genius MousePen 8x6 tablet for the purpose of writing mathematical equations on a Whiteboard, for free volunteer homework help ([...]). "As soon as" I got it installed, it works very intuitively and I think I will be able to write most anything on the Whiteboard. The one trick to learn (through practice) is to lift the point high enough off the board between strokes of a letter. The location of the cursor on the screen tracks where you are holding the pen, even when the pen is not in contact. To draw something: raise pen, move to starting point, touch pen to board, draw.
The key phrase above was "As soon as ...". Installation was rather painful, as the supplied software was incompatible with my WinXP system and caused deep trouble that took some hours to undo. I recommend these steps:
1. The most significant documentation is on the packing material: "Install driver before plugging in."
2. Hide the software disk at some distance from your disk drive. Don't load it! Set it aside until l after step 8.
3. Look at Fig. 1 in User's Manual, then set it aside until after step 8..
4. Go to [...]--> Service&Support --> Tablet --> MousePen 8x6
5. "Select Platform" for your system, and click Download. The download seems to contain ALL of the drivers, put the Setup is personalized for the selected system.
6. UnZip the file in a convenient directory, which could be the root directory of your system. The UnZip will create a folder called \MousePen and additional subfolders.
7. To see the current manual, open file \MousePen\DrvManual\English\Pen Tablet for PC-ENG.pdf.
8. Execute \MousePen\SETUP.EXE
9. During the installation you will be asked to plug in the USB cable to the tablet. To get enough power to run the tablet, use a USB-2 port directly on the computer rather than a serial port further downstream.
10. Install a battery in the pen. Somewhere in the first time I attempted to install there was a picture - but I can't find it now. It is missing from the new manual! I'll describe it in words.
a. Pull the cap straight off
b. Place the battery with the "-" end on the spring, and snap the "+" end under the end of the long arm
c. Align the ridge in the cap with the metal arm and push the cap back on.
11. If you want to use the mouse, put a battery in it also (I didn't).
12. "Verify the Installation" as directed in the User's Manual.
13. The tablet appears to Windows as a mouse, and it should be ready to use now.
14. It should be safe to look at what else is on the software disk. The "bells & whistles" will be found in "Pen Software."
Bottom line - well worth the effort.
Customer Review: Quality Graphic Tablet for an affordable price!
Summary: 4 Stars
I was primarily looking for an affordable graphic tablet for my daughter to use with Corel Painter Essentials 4 (Win/Mac). She loves to create computer art but I knew she was limited by the mouse. This fit the bill very well, but it did take a couple of days to get proficient with the pen.
One nice thing about this tablet is that it is extra large, allowing for very fine detail work without the need to scroll in too much on an area. Although the mouse is very small, it works wonderfully as a mouse/mousepad combo replacing your current mouse if you would like. We have found that even when we are using our regular mouse, that anytime we want to switch to the Genius mouse all we need to do is left click on the mouse and it immediately switches over and we can begin using the tablet and mouse. The pen has a nice recessed area at the top of the graphic tablet for pen storage, and we haven't yet lost it.
When working with the graphic tablet, the overlay sheet has easy access buttons that can be accessed by placing the pen tip onto the following functions: new, open, save, print, exit, cut, copy, paste, undo, back, forward, email, and www. It also has customizable buttons down the left and right hand sides that can be used with your graphics program.
I found the graphic tablet coming in handy the other day when I needed to sign some forms. I was able to fill them out and sign them right online and then email them back without ever needing to print, write, sign, scan, and then email. It was a big time saver.
One thing I wish Genius had incorporated was a tablet stand so this can sit upright and out of the way when it's not being used.
In Windows Vista, after installing the Genius graphic tablet, a little program showed up that has a small bar on the side of my screen, about 1" long, and just a few pixels wide. When I click on it a handwriting screen opens up and I've been able to scribble down quick notes such as phone numbers or notes from phone calls. Using the Genius tablet it converts my hand written notes into typed text and is incredibly accurate. Clicking on the help button in the Tablet PC input panel, it indicates this is a Vista program, so that may come in useful for the non-typist to convert their handwriting into typed text using this graphic tablet.
Overall, the quality seems just below what you can get for triple the price, but I love the large work space and the price.
Customer Review: beware of negitive reviews
Summary: 5 Stars
I was searching for a less expensive version of a wacom. If youre reading this odds are you are 2. I read many reviews on the genius tablet. some good, some bad. For 50 buck I could afford to risk it.
Its a good thing i did, because I love this device.
Lets start off with the cons: Alot of the reviews i read said the pen didn't work out of the box. Well, neither did mine. However, I replaced the battries right off. Since the originals were preinstalled i figured on a slow power drain to be the root cause.
second, alot of bad reviews said the drivers were old, and sucked. I took their word on this and went to the website. a driver search revield 2 drivers available. the first one had "vista" in the file name dated 2007. And another one dated 2004. Since my search was winXP specific. I downloaded the newer 2007"vista" file. It works flawlessly.
A little tip for you xp installers. after install you reboot. after reboot, plug in the tablet. If it doesn't work restart the pc again. this time unplug your mouse. (once you get the hang of the pen, you'll never use it again anyway. it should work just like a mouse on your desktop.
photoshop complaints. My biggest concern about the tablet was the photshop complaints I read. Again I don't completely trust reviews (good, or bad). so i visited the website (before i used the tablet!).
So, heres the deal with pressure sensitivity and photoshop. You need to set your brush to the largest pixle brush you intend to use. The max pressure you use on the pen will be that brush size. Don't set you brush at 9 pix and try to push harder on tablet to make it bigger. I played aroud with a 300 pix brush and was able to make very fine lines with the slightest pressure.
There were a few reviews about dead spots in the tablet. I'm not sure if those people realize that there is a hotkey section all around the edge of the tablet. that area on the is USER PROGRAMABLE. That right, you can program the tablet (if you used the driver version i told you too, it'll be in the system tray, control panel, and in your start menu, You choose)So yes those areas will not do anything until you tell it to. (these areas are clearly marked as little boxes around the perimiter of the tablet.
Ok, so its not a WACOM. Who cares. This device works great (once you get use to it). It does what it is designed to do, and do it well. Best of all it's only 50 BUCK!!!!!!
Highly recommended
Customer Review: Pleasant surprise
Summary: 5 Stars
I'd been wanting to try a tablet for quite awhile, I do a lot of utility graphic design. Most of the people I talked to and the reviews I read said that this was a nice tablet for the price.
The biggest complaint has been about the pen. I had no problems putting in the battery or setting up the software. Now I've only had it for a week so I can't speak to reliability, but usability is excellent. I've pushed my mouse off to one side, I rarely ever use it. Doing graphics seems so normal, and I don't understand what the more expensive pads could have that this one doesn't.
The buttons on the pen take some getting used to, especially since one of my programs switches them middle for right. The 8x6 area is actually more than I use, but the software can be configured to operate on a smaller portion of the pad or if you need the accuracy you can quickly change it and change back.
I suppose the mouse that comes with the pad works okay but right now it's sitting in a drawer. The pen is easier to use and if I get stuck I can always grab my old mouse. It operates nicely along side the pad if needed.
One misgiving I had was the look of the pad. If someone were to see it for the first time I could probably convince them I spent 4 times as much if I wanted to. From the pictures it looks like a toy, but when I removed it from the box I thought they had shipped me a more expensive pad by mistake. I had to get back on the website to verify that I had the correct one. It definitely is not a toy nor does it look like one.
I'm sure the add-on software programs are fine, but since I have better graphics software already on my machine I never even bothered installing them.
I was a little nervous about buying it but I can say that I have no regrets. Even if it were to only last six months it will probably have paid for itself 10 times over. I've owned many products made by Genius and they are a good and reliable company that generally make good products.
David
Updated: Nov. 6, 2010
I don't have a lot to add except that it's been six months and the pad is still going strong, I don't use it in place of the mouse anymore but anytime I need to draw I have it right there and ready to use.
I'm still very happy with this product.
Customer Review: It works wonderfully - Great Product
Summary: 4 Stars
This works great with 1024 pressure sensitivity. It is thinner plastic and not really designed for travel unless you can be very protective. The pen is all plastic no rubber at all. You must go to the website first download the operating system's specific updated drivers first. Then reboot before you connect it. I found that out after I did something novel; I read the manual then the manual on the CD.:>} That's the bad. The good is that it is more than adequate space and room to work with. I haven't found any dead spots. It works with MAC. Again, I read the manual then clicked and reviewed the setting's that popped up when you click the little green icon in the toolbar. if it doesn't show up when you connect the tablet then the drivers aren't installed right and you have to remove the drivers and install the correct one. In the settings menu you can map the pen and the tablet itself including the active tablet size, pressure sensitivity along with other features. After using it with Photoshop CS for a while I got real comfortable with it and also enjoyed putting a picture under the overlay and creating a caricature with it. I programmed some of my most used features to the side hot buttons which made my workflow a lot quicker along with the ones already pre-programmed at the top. The free software is cool too. Writing a handwritten signature and notes in my email and word documents and the pen commander looks like it will be fun to learn to control my desktop with a flick of the pen. I use the mouse for regular surfing as well with no problems. I would say this is the Honda Civic and Intous is the Ferrari. Both will get you there it all depends who you are trying to impress? I actually like this a little better as it has more programmable buttons and a built in overlay sheet. And no, I am not getting paid for this or am I affiliated with the company. I just hate being overcharged with overpriced products!
Oh, the four stars is for not having a better grip pen and having to find out from reviews to download the drivers and not putting a plastic tab in between the battery and metal tab in the pen to keep the pen from dying. It does not stay in the little cardboard cubby!Genius MousePen 8 x 6-Inch Graphic Tablet for Home and Office