If you’re a budding computer graphics artist, you need a pen tablet for drawing and painting onscreen, but these devices can be pricey. Adesso offers a large array of tablets at prices considerably less than what a manufacturer like Wacom, which has a well-deserved reputation for excellence, would charge. I tried the Adesso CyberTablet M14; it’s near the top of the company’s line and tailored to graphics professionals. I put the tablet through its paces in both Windows Vista and Mac OS X 10.5.

The 16.5-by-11.8-inch USB tablet dedicates a nice large area (12 by 7.3 inches) for drawing and writing. The shiny silver finish gives it a look best described as industrial. Each upper corner of the pad has a mechanical spinning knob, making the device look a little bit like an upside-down Etch A Sketch. Five buttons lie between the two knobs: The first three determine whether twirling either knob (both of which perform the same functions) lets you scroll an open document, zoom in on it, or adjust your computer’s audio volume. The other two buttons switch the active drawing area between the full widescreen and limited standard aspect ratios.

More info at pcmag.com

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