After installing the driver starts the same a tutorial that introduces the use of a graphics tablet. Power gets the graphics tablet with the USB cable. The pen does not require batteries.
The four illuminated buttons can be customized via the installed software with the drivers. Apart from already prefabricated commands allow such. As the Show Desktop, or open a particular program, and any key combination (for example StrgZ and StrgY z.) Can be entered
The functions of the pen can be set here.
After the PC start, it takes a while until the tablet indicates the position of the pen correctly. If this short, but annoying phase is over, where you can not even select all areas of the screen with the stylus, everything works fine. The pen works very precisely, even though the work is getting used to if you have used for many years only a mouse.
The pen works very well with Gimp 2.4 and Photoshop Elements 6 can be adjusted, on which the pressure of Siftes should affect the tablet (opacity, size ...). Also selections with the Lasso tool can be easier than using a mouse to create. Functions such as contrast / brightness can be adjusted very well with the pen as well. If you turn the pen, it automatically works as an eraser.
The round area at the top among the four buttons can be used for scrolling and zooming. That would be in EBV programs occasionally useful, but just zooming does not work in Gimp and PSE, but the FastStone Image Viewer and in OpenOffice. It's generally annoying that some functions are not capabilities are in all programs. Pressing and holding the front button of the pen, you can scroll with the pen. This works for. Example, when Windows Explorer and Acrobat Reader, but why not in OpenOffice?
As a nice gimmick I look at the writing pad. Incidentally, I have written thus, in cursive, which is, strangely enough, recognized better than block letters the last sentence. We write with the pen in a specified range, the program automatically recognizes the text, the z. B. can then be pasted into a word processing program. The detection rate is incredibly high, I would have never thought possible. However, I can machine-writing, so that's a lot slower for me. However, anyone who has his trouble with the keyboard, here gets an interesting alternative.
I have the tablet also briefly tried with WinXP:
After installing the driver the tablet also works with XP. Here you can also install the attached Just Write, which is apparently not necessary for Vista, but the program seems to work only with the Office programs from Microsoft. In OpenOffice, I did not notice any changes. I have not found in XP Complete pad function. Photoshop Elements also makes a few problems, though you can disable the pen settings such as opacity and size, but it has no effect. The amount of pressure affects continue. In Gimp this is working properly, but it remains Gimp hang with me, if you come to one of the program window with the stylus. Until an image is opened, then Gimp works strangely again, even if the image window is closed again. But I have observed even under Vista, but not as often as in XP.
In general it seems to me the precision under Vista to be a bit bigger.
Conclusion: In Vista, I can recommend the graphics tablet, it's great fun to work with. But only if one uses the in EBV programs often. Otherwise, I would prefer a good mouse.