Wacom Announces Bamboo Pad: Touchpad and Graphics Tablet in One

Artists and designers, plus anyone averse to using a mouse, will be pleased to learn that Wacom has updated its Bamboo touchpad. Wacom took the wraps off the Bamboo Pad, a new two-in-one touchpad that adds multi-touch gestures to your PC or Mac. Bamboo Pad also comes with an onboard stylus so you can use it as a sketch pad. Available starting September on Wacom's eStore, Bamboo Pad will come in wired ($49) and wireless ($79) models.

The pad will distinguish between hand and pen input by sensing the pressure applied to interpret hand gestures and handwriting separately. As with previous models of Wacom's pen and touch touchpads, users can easily scribble notes and sign edocuments on a familiar medium. A new Bamboo Page app for Windows 8 will help users take notes and sketch on the go. 

Bamboo Pad will come in grey, blue, light green or purple (wireless model only). Users who already have a Feel-enabled stylus from older Wacom devices will be able to use it on the new Bamboo Pad. The touchpad will plug and play with Windows machines, while Mac (OS 10.7 or later) users will have to download drivers from Wacom's support site to use the pad.

Cherlynn Low
Staff Writer
Cherlynn joined the Laptopmag team in June 2013 and has since been writing about all things tech and digital with a focus on mobile and Internet software development. She also edits and reports occasionally on video. She graduated with a M.S. in Journalism (Broadcast) from Columbia University in May 2013 and has been designing personal websites since 2001.