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It's a pity that the Xencelabs pen tablet doesn't use Bluetooth or double as a touchpad like its rival, the Wacom Intuos Pro S. Hence, there's no way to connect the device without using one of the USB ports on your computer, whether it's used for the USB cable or proprietary dongle. It's also a shame that while it uses the same radio frequency range as for standard Bluetooth devices, the underlying protocol isn't actually Bluetooth, unlike Wacom's tablets. It's a pity that the Xencelabs pen tablet doesn't use Bluetooth or double as a touchpad like its rival, the Wacom Intuos Pro S Having touchpad support would resolve the issue of where to put a mouse if using one alongside the tablet, since if you're not ambidextrous, you're going to want both on the same side of your screen or keyboard. In contrast, the Wacom is not just touch-sensitive but multi-touch capable. The most significant annoyance I found–which is a definite drawback compared to the Wacom Intuos Pro S–is that the Xencelabs pen tablet can't double as a touchpad. Doing so interferes with the mouse pointer when subsequently using the touchpad or mouse. It did take me a little while to break the habit of setting the pen down on the tablet when I was done with it, though. That saves you from replacing them at regular intervals and makes the pens lighter and less tiring to use. Since the pens draw their power from an electromagnetic field created by the tablet itself, there's also no need for batteries in each pen. Xencelabs's configuration app is shown on-screen. The Xencelabs Pen Tablet Small and its included pen/nib case, shown alongside my 15-inch Dell laptop for size comparison. It also saves you turning your screen into a smudge fest, and I now prefer it to drawing directly on my screen. For example, it's much easier to see what you're doing when your own hand isn't obscuring what you're working on. Initially, I found it trickier to use than my active pen and struggled to draw as accurately as I did when I could see my subject directly beneath the tip of the pen.īut I found myself surprised by just how quickly I got used to the standalone pen tablet, and having used one, I also discovered that they have their own advantages over drawing directly on your screen. I reasoned that I'd find it much easier than dealing with looking in one place while drawing somewhere entirely different.Īnd for the first few hours I spent with the Xencelabs device, which was my first extended experience with a pen tablet, that was absolutely true. When I first opted for an active pen a few years ago, I went out of my way to choose one which would allow me to draw directly on my computer's display.
Pen tablets are easier to use than I'd thought, and have their advantages
Fewer controls on the tablet than on Wacom rivals.Lacks Intuos Pro's ability to double as a huge multi-touch capable touchpad.Battery-free pens that match the Intuos Pro's resolution, pressure sensitivity and tilt detection.
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Works tethered or wirelessly with a wide range of Windows, MacOS, Linux and Android apps from a built-in battery.Slightly smaller, lighter and more affordable than the Wacom Intuos Pro S.Tablet overview| How it compares| Pens | Software | Battery | Compatibility | Odds and ends | Conclusion In this review, we'll be taking a look at Xencelabs' latest offering, the Pen Tablet Small, which is, as its name might suggest, a smaller and more affordable variant of the product with which it made its debut last year. But nowadays, it has quite a few rivals worthy of a closer look, and in early 2021 it gained another with the arrival on the scene of Xencelabs (rhymes with 'senselabs' if you're wondering). When you think of pen tablets, you probably think of Wacom since the company has long been the best-known brand in its field. That's where standalone pen tablets come in, letting you get the benefits of a digital pen at relatively little cost and without replacing your current hardware if it lacks built-in support.
I first picked up an active-style pen a few years ago as an optional extra for my new laptop, and while I'm no sketch artist, I quickly realized that it was much better than a mouse or touchpad for those fiddly tasks like making complex masks or cloning specks of dust out of product photos.īut active pens are really only an option for laptops, tablets or machines equipped with pricey pen-capable standalone displays like Wacom's Cintiq series. If you're looking to speed up your editing workflow, there are few pieces of hardware that can make complex masking, brushing and cloning jobs easier and more intuitive than a digital pen.