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Genius G-Pen M712 Pen Tablet Review
| Author | Cliff Smith |
| Published | 21st Jan 2009 |
| Manufacturer | Genius |
| Price | £78.26 (Exc VAT) |
| as reviewed | £90.00 (Inc VAT) |
| Latest Price |
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7 comments
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TrustedReviews NewslettersIf you're a keen digital photographer, you'll probably spend a lot of time working with graphics editing programs, adjusting, editing and correcting your photos. By now you'll also probably have realised that a traditional computer mouse is not an ideal tool for this sort of work. Even a good quality mouse simple isn't accurate enough for pixel editing, and using one for a long period of time can leave you with an aching wrist, and can cause long-term health problems such as carpal tunnel syndrome and repetitive strain injuries.
The best solution to both of these problems is to use a pen tablet. They usually have several times the movement resolution of even a high-quality mouse, and making small precise movements with a pen places far less strain on your hand than the same action using a mouse. It's a lot easier to make precise movements with fingertip pen control than it is when moving your whole hand.
The big name in pen tablets is Wacom, best known for its excellent Intuos3 series, but professional-standard Wacom tablets are very expensive, especially for the larger sizes. An A4-sized Intuos3 costs nearly £400, and even smaller A5 models cost over £130. The cheaper consumer-oriented Wacom Bamboo series of A6-sized tablets are around £30-£40, but are really too small and lack the resolution and precision for serious photo editing.
Fortunately there is now a viable alternative in the slim and stylish shape of this Genius G-Pen M712 tablet. It offers a big 12-inch by 7.25-inch (30.5 x 18.4cm) widescreen drawing area, a two-button pen, dual scroll wheels and 34 user-programmable buttons, all for the bargain price of under £90. It's even compatible with both Windows and Macintosh computers. So what's the catch?
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Will Robinson said on 22nd January 2009
Cliff Smith said on 23rd January 2009
The M712 is a certified Vista compatible plug'n'play device, but I'm afraid I wasn't able to test it on Vista 64. I can't think of any reason why it should... more
frenchie299 said on 27th January 2009
What's the catch ?
- as you said : the pen uses a battery. Wacom : no battery !
- the tablet supports only a pen, not a mouse. Wacom tablets support also a batte... more
Skerplee said on 9th May 2009
Well I don't know who came up first with this concept between
http://www.waltop.com.tw/productDetail.asp?id=23 and Genius but I might agree that having this is still wa... more
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Does it work with Vista 64? Can't find anything on the manufacturer's website to clarify this.