For all of you who use a tablet pc, this product is something youÂ’ve probably looked at online. Mainly because it is the only 3rd party, non stock pen for penabled Wacom based tablet PCs. IÂ’ve been meaning to get one, but kept putting it off, until now. I needed to order felt nib refills from Wacom and since they charge you $10 for "handling" I might as well have picked up this thing too. I was surprised that it came in only two days since they have an outpost in Vancouver. The pen is $49 from Wacom, $38 at Newegg

The pen and stock pen





Anyways, I chose the cap less version since caps are useless and get lost. The body is aluminum and plastic vs. the stock all plastic deals. It has a pleasant feel although the tip seems kind of light. The side button, which I never use, is recessed which is nice since itÂ’s less likely you'll accidentally press it.

Redundant picture





They have their own nib, which seems like it is just for aesthetics with the cone tip. Since I prefer the felt tips I was pleased to find that they work in the Cross pen. Although it doesnÂ’t work the other way around, the cone prevents then tip from working in your stock pen.

Nibs comparison



Using it is a joy since itÂ’s more comfortable. I wouldnÂ’t say it performs any better than the stock Toshiba pen since the electronics are pretty much the same with all the tablet pens.

Drawing with Alias Sketchbook Pro 2. This is pretty much the only reason I wanted a tablet PC. To draw my stupid cartoon characters. Using the fatter Cross pen fatigues my hand less while “working.”





Alias Sketchbook is special in the way they designed it for tablet PCs. The controls are gesture based and itÂ’s extraordinarily responsive to the digitizer inputs.






Inking a drawing in Photoshop. Typically, I make a sketch in Sketchbook then ink and color in Photoshop. ItÂ’s pretty obvious that a fancy pen and computer doesnÂ’t make me an artist.
fyi, the blue is the sketch (used linear dodge to make the black line art blue) and i am inking over it on another layer. sometimes the teflon tips are better for inking.




If you use your tablet PC a lot, this is a pretty worthwhile investment. Plus you make your stock pen a spare. I shouldÂ’ve gotten one sooner. ItÂ’s not bad at $40, for less than the cost of a new game you can get some work done. Or play Inkball more.

Btw, tablets pwn all other portable computing

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