4 Hits the Floor for Wacom - Intuos4 Global Release
Announcement posted by Wacom Australia 26 Mar 2009
Three years in the making and anchored by a quantum leap of engineering
in its new pen, the compelling updates to the Intuos4 were inspired by members
of Wacom’s professional community. All the Wacom hallmark aesthetics, elegance,
ergonomics and high gloss finishes feature in the new model and are underpinned
by new productivity, throughput and control developments.
The Intuos4 Grip Pen is engineered with new proprietary Tip Sensor
technology, offering users near-zero (three grams) starting pressure. The advanced engineering of the pen means it
captures the slightest nuance of pen pressure against the
tablet surface. By offering 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity, Wacom has doubled the resolution of
the pen’s pressure curve to further enhance feedback and expand the creative
effects within software applications that support pressure sensitivity. The lightest touch will activate the pen, emulating the same feel,
response and results derived from working with traditional art tools and offering users the most natural
feeling experience of any digital pen to date.
The tablet itself features a new reversible (ambidextrous) design that
ensures “shortcut” ExpressKeys™ are always in the ideal position for
both right-handed and left-handed users. ExpressKeys are now conveniently located on one side
of the tablet, making them easily
accessible for the users’ non-dominant hand. To move from right-hand
to left-hand operation, users simply rotate the tablet 180 degrees and change the orientation
of the illuminated icons within the Wacom Tablet Properties software.
Specific workflow and productivity tools in the Intuos4 include shortcut
and modifier keys with
multiple customisable and application-specific profiles as well as OLED (organic light emitting
diode) displays. They are located beside the keys for quick reference and to
remind of the current function of each ExpressKey. With
past Intuos versions, users had to rely on their own memories for their specific key function settings. Settings can now be made specific to different applications, meaning the displays will update immediately as the user changes
between applications.
Also new to the Intuos4 is the user-defined Touch Ring. A button located in
the centre of the ring “toggles” the ring between functions such as zoom,
scroll, brush size adjustment, canvas rotation, and layer selection. The Touch
Ring is anticipated to be a particularly popular update for videographers when
rendering. Capable of controlling up to
four different functions in any application, the Touch Ring features an LED
located along the perimeter to indicate the current function.
The release of the Intuos4 is anticipated to spark a flurry of
additional developments amongst software providers who will want to leverage
the new capacity of pressure sensitive technologies.
“We anticipate range of
developments from our software partners to further expand on pen-related
features and functionality,” said Mr. David Spencer, Managing Director of Wacom
The Intuos4 will launch across
-ends-
About Wacom
Wacom Company Ltd., (Tokyo Stock
Exchange 6727), is a global company based in Japan with subsidiaries in the
United States (Wacom Technology Corporation), Germany (Wacom Europe GmbH),
China (Wacom China Corporation), Korea (Wacom Korea Co., Ltd.), Australia (Wacom Australia Pty, Ltd), Singapore (Wacom Singapore Pte. Ltd.), and