The Xencelabs Pen Pill does what 9's graphic artists want and dials up the flexibility.
We attached the $549 bundle (on Kogan.com) in our Melbourne newsroom this week, placing it head-to-head with the Wacom Intuos Professional our artists use each day.
Creatively, each are comfy to make use of all day and performance as you'd count on from knowledgeable grade pill.
You do get an extra "skinny" pen included with the Xencelabs bundle if that is what you are searching for.
It has two buttons like all Wacom pens, however anybody hoping for extra might be joyful to know Xencelabs has added a 3rd to its thicker possibility.
The stress sensitivity, accuracy and reliability of the pens was comparable between the 2 fashions; the truth is, the pens work simply nice on the other tablets. What surrounds their respective drawing areas is the place the best variations lie.
The largest change is the separation of the pill's drawing house and its programmable buttons.
Two gadgets means two cords for charging which may be inconvenient and messy however the flexibility it presents in a scorching desk setting can't be understated.
Each left-hander is aware of the ache of getting to work on a setup designed for right-handed folks. Wacom permits lefties to flip the pill solely however it's an issue Xencelab's design sidesteps solely with the addition of a separate fast keys console.
Programmable buttons are nothing new however the comfort of small OLED labels that change with the button's performance may be very welcome — significantly when you'll be able to program as many as 5 customized units that higher go well with sure applications.
All of that's powered by a modern software program suite that's simple to navigate and contains the power to vary the color of the 4 small element lights on the pad for these devoted to matching a colored setup at dwelling or work.
Like with any new piece of tech, the transition takes some getting used to however it's removed from an issue.
Your pc will must be rebooted after putting in the drivers. We tried pushing on with out one and had the cursor glitching throughout three separate screens, which a reset shortly fastened.
Xencelabs says the battery on its pill will final 16 hours on a full cost and 30 hours on its fast keys unit.
Brad — certainly one of 9's very gifted — seen the battery depleting quicker than he anticipated and for the work they do. The truth is it is simpler to maintain each plugged into energy always.
If this was the pill and pen Brad had to make use of every single day, he'd be proud of it and I may see the gamer in him getting excited at the potential of reprogramming the short keys for streaming.
In the end, when costs are so related, the selection comes all the way down to consumer desire however there is not any denying the flexibility on provide with the Xencelabs bundle.