Home > Consumer Reviews > Bamboo Fun (Small) Blue Tablet with Pen, Mouse, and Graphics Software

When I think drawing tablets, I think Wacom. I have been using the Graphire series of tablets for many years. This past fall Wacom replaced the Graphire tablet line with the Bamboo Fun line of tablets. (The Graphire BT, or Bluetooth, is still made). Before trying the Bamboo Fun tablet I expected the same user experience in a different package. I was wrong.

The Bamboo Fun has improved on the Graphire tablet line, and made it better. It is available in black, silver, white and blue. The 512 levels of pressure sensitivity allow for a drawing experience with the tablet is more natural and smooth. The pressure sensitivity is much better allowing for a better drawing experience. The drawing area itself is proportional to a widescreen format. I have also noticed the Bamboo Fun is a lot light then the Graphire tablets.

In addition to the drawing experience the tablet has four programable buttons, and a touch ring. The touch ring is really cool- or should I say fun? The touch resembles an iPod click wheel, and scrolling your finger around the wheel zooms in and out of an image in Photoshop, Painter, or whatever program you are working in There are also two buttons on the ring for scrolling up and down a page.



The tablet comes with a detachable usb cable, the pen (with 3 replacement tips) and a pen stand, and a mouse that works on the tablet. I've never been a fan of the mice that work with the tablets. They don't have the same feel as a standard mouse.

In addition to the hardware, the tablet comes bundled with great software which bought individually would cost more than the small tablet, and come close to the price of the larger model. You get Photoshop Elements (v4 on the Mac), Painter Essentials 3, and Nik Color Efex Pro 2.0 GE.

My only complaint about the new Bamboo Fun is a minor one. There is no overlay for the tablet drawing area. In the past the Graphire tablets have come with a protective overlay or in the case of the Graphire4, a plastic shield. This allowed you to trace a drawing and not worry about getting the material on the pen tip.

Aside from the above issue, I really love the Bamboo Fun. It is a great drawing tablet for the student, or professional on a budget. I highly recommend the Bamboo Fun.

MyMac.com rating: 5 out of 5

In the market for a higher end/professional tablet? Stay tuned to MyMac.com for my review of the Intuos 3 tablet.

Bought this for a Christmas present for a 15-year-old girl, that is quite an artist. Within a few minutes, she was hooked up and producing some beautiful stuff with the software included. I am anxious to see what uses she will put this little "gem" to. She loves it so much, that the guitar hero and DDR games she recieved are still in their packages. Oh, don't worry, she'll get to those too! (But, in the meantime, those reviews will have to wait...wink wink.)

Wacom has brought this technology a long way. This product is more affordable than the higher end Intuos3 models, yet powerful enough for many pros.

For me, the small size is perfect and will fit most users needs. The "medium" sized tablet is suited for hard core graphics people who need to work at the pixel level for large images. Those using this for the mouse also may prefer the medium size. Either way, the tablet maps to your screen size for any of these models.


This unit comes in a variety of colors and configurations. I prefer the look of the black tablet, but there are silver, white and blue ones also.
Bamboo Fun (Medium) Silver Tablet with Pen, Mouse & Graphics Software
Bamboo Fun (Medium) Black Tablet with Pen, Mouse & Graphics Software
Bamboo Fun (Medium) Blue Tablet with Pen, Mouse & Graphics Software
Bamboo Fun (Medium) Silver Tablet with Pen, Mouse & Graphics Software
Bamboo Fun (Small) White Tablet with Pen, Mouse & Graphics Software
Bamboo Fun (Small) Silver Tablet with Pen, Mouse & Graphics Software
Bamboo Fun (Small) Blue Tablet with Pen, Mouse & Graphics Software
Bamboo Fun (Small) Black Tablet with Pen, Mouse & Graphics Software

Upon plugging in the device, it works immediately! The pen works as a mouse or as a pen/brush for drawing applications. The tablet also has function buttons.

The mouse is nice because it allows you to free up a USB port if you're using a USB mouse. Power users will need more from a mouse though. If you're anything like me, you prefer a mouse with many more options than this one provides.

Installing the drivers and software allows you to access the settings and tools that make this device versatile and customizable. Be prepared to spend some time tweaking this unit to your likes. The Bamboo software allows you to customize the mouse or pen buttons. Left-handers will greatly appreciate this!

The software included with this device is a nice to have. Many people who buy this will already have or need full blown Adobe Photoshop. Adobe Elements gives you everything casual users need. The Corel application is nice to play with. But other than a few "macro" type functions I have yet to find anything I can't already do with Adobe. Perhaps newer users may find the Corel product more user-friendly.

Pros
+ USB connection
+ Works on XP and Vista almost plug and play - before software installation
+ Nice customizable software
+ Nice bundled applications - Adobe Elements and Corel Draw
+ No additional power adapter needed
+ Traditional or pen mouse for casual users

Cons
- The scrolling zoom function does not work uniformly on all applications
- The mouse with this model will not suffice for power users
- Default settings require a lot of adjusting for graphics editing
- The tablet would have been ideal with several additional USB ports

Overall, the graphic artist or visual junkie NEEDS one of these. If you are a casual user, it is worth getting one on sale.

Enjoy.

I bought this for my girlfriend for Valentines day. She had been trying to win one off of the facebook graffiti contests for a couple of months now because she didn't have the money to spend on it. So when I did some research on this thing and found that it fit right into our limit to spend on Valentines gifts...I was thrilled. She loves it and said it will take some getting use to, but she has already messed around with it and bit and loves it. She is an art major and this is a good tablet for starters. The software that comes with this tablet is awesome! It's well worth the $100.00!

For someone as computer illiterate as myself, the idea of working with technology can be very daunting...not so with the Wacom Bamboo. I trusted my computer savvy sister and went ahead with the purchase, not knowing that something so technical could be so easy to use: plug it in and you're off and running. No installation disks (the system does come with their own graphic software for anyone who doesn't have a program system installed) and no huge manual to memorize.

While I would prefer a larger workspace when using the pad at home, the small pad size makes it convenient to take to school in my book bag and is completely up to the tasks you could demand from a larger pad. The cordless mouse handles great (and apparently never needs batteries!) and the pen works smoothly. Wacom has made a happy buyer out of this girl!