New Cintiq “Sketchbook”
Wacom just announced the release of a new version of it’s Cintiq line of pressure sensitive tablets/LCD monitors… the 12WX. Unlike the heavy and bulky 21UX and it’s predecessors, this one designed to be far more portable and lightweight… more like a sketchbook for “on the go”…. sorry, I just drooled a little bit.
The Cintiq’s are a combination of a pressure sentive tablet and an LCD monitor, enabling the user to draw right on the screen using all the benefits and features of a wacom tablet. I use the Cintiq 21UX in the studio, and love it.
The new Cintiq 12WX is much smaller and lighter, weighing in at 4.4 pounds as opposed to the monster 22.4 pound weight of the 21UX. The screen is also smaller of course at 12.1 inches diagonal, but for portability it should be ideal. It has a simplified, built in stand that folds flat so it’s completely self contained. With a crisp 1280 x 800 resolution it should also be sharp enough for very detailed work. Best of all, it boasts the same 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity, tilt and rotation sensitivity, express keys and touch strip… all the toys it’s big brother has. Ooops…. drooling again. Check out this video of it in action:
This has been a long time coming and is definitely on my Christmas list. It will be ideal to do color work when on the road. Right now I can only do via a regular Wacom tablet and my MacBook Pro’s LCD screen, which is hard when you are used to a Cintiq. Unfortunately as of right now it looks like it’s only available in Europe, but I am sure that’s going to change soon. The bad news? if it’s similarly priced in the US it will be over $1,700.00!
Thanks to DRAWN! for the heads up!
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Yes it is available in Europe along with the 21UX that has a 21.3 inch screen! I have been looking at these for the past month but this week decided to move to the MAC first and then sometime in the next year or two, upgrade my current intous3 A4 tablet to the new cintiq. I feel the MAC move is important first and I shall be making my purchase of a 24inch iMac 2.8ghz with 4gig of RAM very soon, it’s actually going to happen! Today I am going to book myself a personnal shopping 1 to 1 at my local Apple store so they can run me through the computer and new OS as well as answer a few questions I have. After using windows pc’s for the last 20 years, I need my brain to be cleaned of microsoft waffle! Viva la Mac!
Wow, that looks terrific. It is certainly appears to be something to lust after.
I also use an Intuous 3 and a MBP when traveling and it takes some adjustment from the desktop set-up in the studio. $1700 does seem a bit steep for such a small unit…but then again, it’s sure to sell — and it has no competitors in the market.
(Congrats on the switch to Mac, Steve. I switched a few years ago and I feel cleansed, reborn and happy to work every day. You will, too.)
Hey Tom — according some of the comments on Drawn! it looks like Wacom may try to price it rather aggressively in North America at around $1000.
I know this thread is kind of old, but I figured I’d contribute anyway.
Got the 12″ Cintiq, and yesterday got called to work onsite to draw storyboards on site at a local NYC ad house (as happens from time to time). My first chance to test the actual portability of the new machine!
Worked great, my only gripe is this: calling it ‘portable’ is a tad misleading. I practically had to pack a separate bag for the cords, cables and miscellaneous ‘stuff’ this thing requires to work. It actually has 4 big heavy cables, plus some sort of transformer box; the same working setup the big brother Cintiq has. Between these and the usual laptop cables, setting up took a bit longer than I had anticipated.
In the end though, having this machine definitely makes the work go quicker.