Drawing Tablet

The Microsoft Surface Pro introduced me to pen computing. I loved it so much, that i bought a drawing tablet for my Mac too.

for under $100, apparently, wacom is still the best, according to 1 review site. Wacom Intuos Drawing Tablet 7.9x6.3 inch active area.

one common complaint about Wacom is that the pen tip (aka nib) wears out fast.

i don't trust wacom. Like many successful name brands, when big, they tend to be bloated. There seems to be a lot negative reviews too.

here's a better pen tablet, after some research, i got this one.

6.3×3.9 inch active area.

Highest rating on amazon and least 1★ reviews.

It works great.

Mac is Not Integrated with Pen/Note Taking

while enamoured with Surface Pro with its pen, i bought a drawing tablet for my Mac, thinking i'll be taking notes with pen on Mac too.

was very disappointed that Mac does not support pen computing like Microsoft Windows does.

The pen tablet works great, but am very disappointed with Mac + pen.

Mac does not support touch screen, so it's not designed with using a digital pen. The pen just do drag and click, and there's no note taking apps builtin. (there's one called Notes, i tried but doesn't work.)

The drawing tablet on the mac is just useful when you want to draw, or write in a drawing app, such as photoshop or gimp.

But on Microsoft Windows, you can use the pen to browse web, scroll, or write notes, or write on screenshots, with several builtin apps.

Why doesn't Apple's Mac support drawing tablet like Microsoft Windows?

A little web search shows that, Apple doesn't want to merge iOS and Mac. So if you really want note taking, you have to buy Apple's tablet the iPad, with Apple's “pencil”. And besides, Apple's main mouse is the Apple “magic trackpad”. Apple wants you to buy that instead. Apple Trackpad

Video Review of Huion H640P

Huion Inspiroy H950P Drawing Tablet

For larger size, get the Huion Inspiroy H950P.

it came out in May 2018.

Huion Inspiroy H950P Graphics Drawing Tablet

Tilt Sensitivity Not Important

In drawing tablet, there is a feature of tilt sensitivity. e.g. You can have thicker line when your pen is tilted more. But, according to pro artists, nobody uses that feature. However, pressure sensitivity is important.

Battery vs Batteryless Pen?

Also, there is battery vs batteryless pen. From one review, it says those with battery are just older tech. But from another article, it says battery is necessary for more advanced features. Note that Surface Pro pen requires battery.

Linguistics: Digital Pen? Pen Tablet? Pen Pad?

Note, the correct terminology of this device is Drawing Tablet. (not, for example, digital pen, pen tablet, pen pad, drawing pad, touchpad. Though, some do function as touchpad too.)

This is of linguistics interest. There are many forces at play: logical, marketing, history, convenience. “digital pen” is most logical. But that missed the pad part. “Tablet” or “pen tablet” won't work as its already taken. “Pen Display” is with a display.

Pen Display vs Drawing Tablet

Also of interest: apparently many pro artists prefer drawing tablet over pen display. It seems because : ① pen display impose posture as display is usually heavy n expensive. ② it has tech glitch. e.g. Palm touching screen screw precision. ③ drawing tablet has physical shortcut buttons.

[see Pen Display]

Free Drawing Software

if you want free drawing software or image editing software, there are:

• Gimp → image editing
• Krita → paint
• Inkscape → vector drawing
• MediBang Paint

they are available for Mac, Windows, linux.

MediBang Paint