After the replacement pen on my Wacom tablet broke I had gone back to using a mouse, although I was eyeballing graphics tablets every time I went to the store. But then my husband came home one day with a pair of tablets he'd picked up at a local discount store. Turns out that what I thought was at first some cheap off-brand is actually better known than I knew.
I mentioned my tablet to Sue, our About.com Graphics Software Guide and she was quite familiar with the brand -- but didn't know they made graphics tablets. See her write up on Inexpensive Graphics Tablets from Monoprice. I added a comment on her blog with more details of my early impressions of this inexpensive but so far quite impressive tablet.
Sue has added the Monoprice tablets to her list of top pressure-sensitive graphics tablets which is still dominated by the popular Wacom tablets but there are a few other choices.
Have you ever used or are you currently using an inexpensive or off-brand graphics tablet? How's it working for you?
Yes, I use the inexpensive USB drawing tablet, cordless Pen. $52. I bought it on Ebay (New) (wouldn’t you know). I have several drawing programs, including the hard to use ‘Serif’, and it doesn’t even come close to MS Publisher.
I use the tablet for better control, to draw Cartoons for my Community Newsletter, works fine, for me.
What discount store did your husband find them in?
@Eric: A place in Austin called “Discount Electronics.” Local spot that carries a lot of Dell laptops and an assortment of oddball computer accessories. Changes often. http://www.discountelectronics.com/
Yes, I just got a graphic tablet from a company called Telbak technology http://www.telbak.com. The tablet is the same technology as any Wacom, without battery to change, and I was impressed with the result for just $69. I love the software that comes with it. I can handwrite anywhere in the screen or in any Microsoft Office document.
Wacom tablet are so expensive. Good that they are not the only one with battery-less technology now.
Thank you for the reply. I bought one direct and just finished installing. I did download wacom drivers first then the one that came with it just to be safe after reading previous posts. pen pressure works fine but have not tried brushes or angles yet. overall I am impressed with the look and feel of it. Thanks to all who posted, it sounds to good to be true for $39 but it’s not!