Deviation Actions
Competitors are: Wacom Cintiq, Microsoft Surface Pro 2 and up, Lenovo Thinkpad, iPad
I find it interesting that there are now portable tablets in the market for artists. What’s great is that they can also be used for Youtube and watching shows/movies, browsing the web and studying (Word documents, spreadsheets and such), not just for drawing.
Here’s a list of artist apps.
Samsung Galaxy NotePro 12.2 (or NotePro 10.1 2014 edition) for £324 at PC World
This tablet is aimed at producers rather than consumers. It is designed for work rather than entertainment. In terms of artists, I think this is great and cheaper than alternative graphics tablets with screens. It includes an S-pen and uses Wacom technology. It is responsive and you can get a good amount of drawing done with the battery life.
Pros:
-Good screen, front and back cameras and battery life
-Micro SD slot
-USB 3.0 for faster charging and transfers
-Wacom technology and 1024 pressure sensitivity
-Wireless S-pen that doesn’t need batteries and has a dedicated silo in the tablet and replaceable nibs (£3 from eBay for nibs, £14 S-pen sold by Amazon)
-Portability, does not need to connect to a computer
Cons:
-Large and heavy if you’re using it out and about on trains and such, I recommend using it on a table
-It can get warm and oily and that can affect the stylus (it begins to feel like it drags), I recommend using a glove with the index and middle fingers cut off and also a screen protector
-Android system instead of Windows 8, meaning no photoshop
-S-pen is small, thin and fragile, there is no eraser at the top
Recommended Additions
-Drawing apps: Clover Paint, Infinite Painter, Artflow, Autodesk Sketchbook
-Other apps: Google Docs, Google Drive, Dropbox
-360 Rotating Case, under £10, you can use it at different angles and rotate it to portrait or landscape
-Case with keyboard built in
-Adjustable stand, £15
-S-pen holder or larger S-pen
-There’s also the app Remote PC which lets you wireless link/control your PC with your tablet, I will say that it lagged when I tried and Photoshop and SAI didn’t work, it didn’t let me draw strokes
-Screen protector
-SmudgeGuard glove or typical glove with fingers cut off
Notes
The packaging for the Galaxy NotePro is a bit cheap and flimsy. The tablet is on the top and the screen is only protected by one layer of thin paper and a screen protector. I just feel like the tablet could be damaged in transit.
I also feel like Samsung should have added an S-pen holder, just a typical cheap plastic holder for those that want the pen to be bigger, artists in particular but also anyone that will use the pen to write notes such as students and businessmen. The S-pen should have an eraser at the top.
Personally, I get motion sickness using graphics tablets like the Wacom Intuos and such so this is great for me.
**The prices I’ve put on here are approximates
**Please tell me if there is anything wrong or more info can be added