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Let’s face it, most people can’t justify dropping 3,000 dollars on a high end tablet. Unless you’ve made the big time or work for a big corporation, having a CINTIQ made by WACOM is more of a pipe-dream than reality. Over the last few months, there have been a bunch of reviews of hardware alternatives to WACOM’s products. By no means do they have the monopoly on the market anymore – so the Webcomic Alliance has decided to put up this article about these up-and-coming manufacturers and their drawing tablet options.
These are not in-depth reviews of the products, but merely listings of what is available, with some additional links to some reviews for reference. It’s up to you to decide which product (if any) suits your needs and price point. The products listed here are comparable to the larger screen/tablet CINTIQ. I will do a followup on the desktop tablets at a later date.
Option 1: BOSTO Kingtee 22HD or 19MB
Chinese manufacturer BOSTO INTERNATIONAL has produced their Kingtee graphic tablet for the last few years, and have improved upon their offering by putting out a high resolution 22-inch HD tablet in addition to their updated 19-inch model, the MB.
Here’s the specs:
Kingtee 22HD
LED Backlit
1920×1080
HDMI/VGA/DVI
2048 levels of pressure
Cordless/Battery-less Stylus
Price: $799
Kingtee 19MB
LED Backlit
1440×900
HDMI/VGA/DVI
2048 levels of pressure
Rechargeable Stylus
Price: $649
Option 2. Yiynova MSP-19U
The Yiynova MSP has been receiving some serious attention after some positive reviews from the likes of professional illustrators such as Ray Frenden. Billed as the leader in WACOM alternatives (for tablet/monitor) the MSP-19U makes up for its bulkiness and clunkiness with some slick responsiveness. It may not be the prettiest, but it does the job -
and quite well.
Here’s the specs:
MSP-19U
LED Backlit
1440×900
VGA Output
2048 levels of pressure
Battery Powered Stylus
Price: $599
Apparently the cost has gone up a bit due to its popular demand. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an upgrade to this model that hovers around the 800 dollar mark in the near future, now that they’ve got the jump on the other competing brands in terms of popularity and figuring out a successful recreation of the technology from WACOM‘s expired patents. Another knock on the Yiynova is its lack of output support (VGA Only).
Option 3: Monoprice Interactive Pen Display
It’s not the most creative name, but that’s how MONOPRICE rolls. No baloney, no frills – Monoprice is all about good quality hardware at a fraction of a price. Known for its discount cables and computer periphery, they’ve really stepped up their game by getting into the manufacturing of affordable tech in niche markets. This new tablet is no exception. Very little is known about it, and very few people have test driven it, so it remains to be seen how well it stacks up against the WACOM CINTIQ and the YIYNOVA MSP-19U. If you can afford to be an early adopter and give it a go, it will only set you back about $390.00.
Here’s the specs.
Monoprice ISP
LED Backlit
1440×900
HDMI/VGA/DVI
2048 levels of pressure
Rechargeable Stylus
Price: $399
Option 4: P-Active / XP-Pen MJP19 LCD Graphic Tablet
P-Active has put out a few tablets, and has primarily had decent success with the lower-end desktop tablets to compete with WACOM’s Bamboo line. Recently, P-Active has increased production on a larger model to compete with WACOM and their CINTIQs. Little is known about the MJP19 or if it is just a repackaged version of the Yiynova version – they will be available soon.
Here’s the specs:
MJP19
LED Backlit
1440×900
HDMI/VGA/DVI
2048 levels of pressure
Battery Powered Stylus
Price: ???
Option 5: The Designerpad O
Abibo Limited appears to be going beyond the typical Chinese manufacturer presence to establish themselves as a legitimate source for professional drawing tablets for artists and creative folks. The Designerpad O has its own dedicated website, chock full of info and the usual technical jargon you’d expect from a hardware supplier trying to make their product look sexier than what it is. You can tell by the increase in price – perhaps you’re paying for the name brand/marketing.
Here’s the specs:
Designerpad O
LED Backlit
1440×900
HDMI/VGA
2048 levels of pressure
Battery Powered Stylus
Price: $1,280
As these cheaper alternatives start to make their way into the market and artists and creative professionals begin talking about them, we’ll start to see some interesting competition. With all alternatives to name-brand hardware, there is going to be hiccups and odd quirks – but if it will help you save 1,000s of dollars to achieve the more or less the same effect as a WACOM CINTIQ, and it fits all of your needs – give one of these a try.
Andrés ‘ Drezz ‘ Rodriguez is the author of the neo-noir Online Graphic Novel El Cuervo. He provides WA readers with periodic articles (like this one) to help improve their comic skillz so they can pay their bills. Feel free to follow him on Twitter at @DrezzRodriguez