Tablets for handwriting (not art)

June 19, 2007 6:27 AM

Thinking of getting a graphics tablet to replace my keyboard as much as possible. Do I need to spring for something high-end, or are the cheaper / smaller tablets good enough to write with?

I need to find ways to type less, hence the tablet idea. I won't need it for drawing, which is what most reviews I've found focus on. I just need the cheapest tablet that can give a decently comfortable writing experience for a fairly heavy workload.

Do I need anything larger than this for example? Is there any reason to go for a more expensive model like the Intuos?

Bonus points for any personal experience with handwriting recognition on unix.

posted by lullabyofbirdland to computers & internet (7 comments total)

I use graphic tablets all the time... it has been more than a decade since i use them...
Wacom is the best.. anything else is just a bad investment even for just writing. (this is why most Tablet PCs use WACOM under their LCDs)

I must say.. anything less than 8 1/2 x 11 letter size tablet will be difficult to use... I use 9 x 12 personally.. and found it to be the perfect size... You really don't need the latest models from wacom.. You should be o.k. with older models... even if it is 10 years old... the only real difference is the sensitivity level.... Most writings don't need whole lot sensitivity than what WACOM had in the beginning.

Check Ebay for any used WACOM in that size since any newer ones in that size will be very expensive... (make sure the tablet works with Windows XP or better... some very older ones may not work with your newer system)

My personal experience tells me it will be hard to replace actual keyboard for writing.... Windows Tablet edition helps a bit... but i don't think the technology is there yet.

Of course if you can get TABLET PC... it becomes more worthwhile.... if you are into writing alot.. i would say skip the tablet and get Tablet PC ... (used ones are fine for any writing tasks.. i think they run 700 or less on ebay)

trying to write with separate Tablet on PC is extreamly hard... Even now... I can barely do it for anything longer than one sentence writing.

** AGAIN.. my past experiences with any other brands other than WACOM even for just writing has been extreamly bad... they either break down very quickly or the pens are just horribly calibrated.

For writing check out USED first gen tablet pc.. prefably 14incher ones like acer or something.. don't need fast or latest.. as long as it has TABLET PC edition Windows XP..
posted by curiousleo at 6:43 AM on June 19, 2007

Thanks curiousleo. Why do you say writing on a separate tablet is hard?
posted by lullabyofbirdland at 6:53 AM on June 19, 2007

The intuos line has some nice extra buttons on the face of the tablet that can be programmed to replace commonly used keystrokes. There aren't really enough, but this can be sufficient to keep you from going back to the keyboard if there are only a few keys you need frequently. They're individually programmable for each application.
posted by Caviar at 8:39 AM on June 19, 2007

Thanks curiousleo. Why do you say writing on a separate tablet is hard?

...because you're not looking where you're writing, and you can't directly see the output of your "pen".

Try closing your eyes and writing something on a piece of paper, but omit one word. Then, eyes still shut, try and insert that word in the right place on your paper... this is what writing using a separate tablet is like all the time, and it can quickly get frustrating.

Tablet PCs solve this, obviously, as you're looking at the screen that you're writing on. You can buy tablets (not PCs) with LCD screens built in, but I believe these run to $4000 or so... unfortunately.
posted by jon4009 at 8:41 AM on June 19, 2007

If you feel like geeking out and hacking something together, usb-adaptable touch-sheets are available to purchase online. You could get a 19-inch widescreen monitor and a touch-sheet and place the sheet under the bezel of the monitor. Then just find a way to lay the monitor down on the table and have the wires go to the computer and you have, in effect, a tablet input device.
posted by ijoyner at 8:57 AM on June 19, 2007

>Try closing your eyes and writing something on a piece of paper, but omit one word. Then, eyes still shut, try and insert that word in the right place on your paper... this is what writing using a separate tablet is like all the time, and it can quickly get frustrating.

Hmm, interesting. I thought it would be like using a mouse in that you still get a cursor on the screen indicating where the pen is, so that you can you can figure out where to write using that feedback. Is that wrong? It seems as though drawing would be even harder than writing if that's not the case.
posted by lullabyofbirdland at 11:19 AM on June 19, 2007

2nding the Wacom recommendation, I got my first one in 1994 and it saved me from a really bad case of RSI. I'm currently on my second tablet, an Intuos; the first one still works but my current computer doesn't supports ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) input so I had to buy a USB model. They really do hold up to a lot of use. I use mine as a mouse replacement, to the point where my mouse is lost in a drawer somewhere.

I've used it somewhat for writing longhand/character recognition. Writing+char rec is not as fast as typing, which can be frustrating. On the plus side, my RSI healed after I got rid of the mouse, which allowed my eventual return to keyboarding, perhaps the same will happen to you. For writing, I find it helpful to tape a few sheets of paper over the tablet's surface to give it a tooth and tip drag that makes moving your pen over it feel more natural and less like signing for a charge at a retail store on one of those crappy little card readers where your handwriting skitters all over the surface.

I prefer smaller tablets. I tested out some larger tablets and didn't like how much arm movement they required to move my cursor across the screen when the tablet was mapped to full screen. I'm a small person though, with short little arms; at work, I noticed bigger people preferred larger tablets. Both of mine are 6" x 8", which for me is the perfect balance of enough tablet surface area without losing massive amounts of desk space. You'll still have to have a keyboard somewhere reachable on your desk for modifier keys: while most Wacom pens have mappable buttons for mod keys, it's a PITA to use them for more complex combinations (CNTL ALT DEL, for example).

Adjustable settings: pressure sensitivity is a good feature to have, not that you care if you produce thick/thin lines for char rec, but because you can adjust the tablet to register very light touches to its surface, allowing you to not have to bear down hard while writing. Same goes for adjustable tilt sensitivity and click threshold, if you can fiddle with the settings you can make the Wacom pen into your perfect writing instrument.

I haven't had issues with not looking where I'm writing/drawing. I think I might have, initially (it's been a while, I've forgotten) but it's much like touch typing; with practice your fingertips learn the boundaries of your tablet's surface and exactly where that maps to your monitor, I can draw a line on the screen exactly where I want it w/o looking at tablet or monitor.
posted by jamaro at 11:33 AM on June 19, 2007