Wacom Volito

Pen-based computing is on the increase thanks to the popularity of palmtop devices and Microsoft's screen-Tablet platform. So Wacom has chosen the moment well to come up with an almost unfeasibly cheap graphics tablet for general office and home use.

The Volito looks almost exactly like the A6 model from Wacom's professional-class Intuos2 tablet series, but in stylish black rather than corporate blue.

The tablet connects to a USB port on your PC, through which it sources all its power: no mains cable is necessary. The cordless pen-like stylus features a programmable button, set to reproduce a right-click by default.

Also included is a cordless, ball-free (yet non-optical) two-button mouse which works exactly like a normal mouse, using the tablet as a kind of mat. This means you can swap between stylus and mouse instantly, so buying the Volito doesn't condemn you exclusively to pen input only.

Once you've experienced the Volito, you won't want to go back. Working with a pen is more accurate and more versatile than using a mouse, and doesn't threaten repetitive strain injury (RSI).

Working with graphics, of course, is a dream. Our only problem appeared to be related to the Volito driver or possibly our video card, since we couldn't convince any paint program to recognise the stylus' pressure sensitivity, and Justwrite Office simply failed to show our pen strokes on screen at all.

But the Volito is still a great product. If you want a two-button stylus and a cordless mouse, you'd be better off with Wacom's Graphire2 model, but the Volito is almost as good at just half the price.

SPECS

• Active tablet area: 127 x 92.8mm (A6)
• One-button stylus, two-button mouse
• Pressure levels: 512
• USB
• Arcsoft Photoimpression, Arcsoft Funhouse, Painter Classic, Justwrite Office 3.1i, Whiplash, Penrlow demo
• 224.1 x 221 x 22.3mm (w x d x h)

DETAILS

Price: £39.95 (£34 ex VAT)

Contact: Computers Unlimited 020 8358 9548
www.my-volito.com