Pen display tablet thingies

[fd3]

Something like the Wacom
https://estore.wacom.com/en-GB/wacom-one-dtc133w0b.html

What I want is a touchscreen control for my laptop, so that I can write for teaching purposes, predominantly on SMART board software but lso for using "Draw" in word to annotate work.

Has anyone got any experience of using something along those lines?

[Kim]

I've played with an artist friend's Cintiqs, and this sort of device is about as close to pen and paper you're likely to get without compromising the versatility of a digital tool.  (The Apple Pencil deserves honourable mention, as they built this graphics tablet functionality into the high-end iPads, but then you're limited to IOS apps.)

This looks like a cheaper, mass-market version.  Presumably they've compromised on the colour accuracy of the display and tilt-sensitivity of the pen (it does appear to be pressure-sensitive, which is more important).  Should be more than sufficient for writing and annotation.

Note that you probably don't want touchscreen control - half the point in these devices is that they respond to the presence of the pen or puck, *not* random pressure/capacitance from your hand or something that you've laid on it to trace.

As with all input devices, 5 minutes of playing with one in the flesh tells you far more than any spec sheet.

(FWIW, we have an old A4 Intuos tablet (input only, no display) which I occasionally dig out for fiddly graphics work because it's so much more precise than a mouse.  I'm no artist, and my handwriting is a write-only storage medium.)

[grams]

The Apple Pencil deserves honourable mention, as they built this graphics tablet functionality into the high-end iPads, but then you're limited to IOS apps

All current models of the iPad support the Pencil now, and there's also a cheaper compatible pencil called the Logitech Crayon. You can buy both for not much more than the Wacom...

And if the laptop is a Mac you can use the iPad as a second display - but I"m not sure how the Pencil fits into that.

I'm sure similar things are possible on other ecosystems.

[fd3]

Yeah, pen vs touchscreen is fine.  I know they also do "tablets" with no screen but I would find that hard to draw with. 
Considering XP Pen or Wacom; Wacom is twice the price (ish) but I would rather buy something that lasts if I have to learn to use it. 
iOS not an option as they don't have a SMART writing app (just the reader).

Probably will need to buy and consider returning within 30 days, as I'm not sure a shop (e.g. Currys) will allow me to bring in my laptop to try it out in store

[ian]

I have a rarely used Wacom tablet, it does what it says when it comes to drawing and sketching (it fails to improve my limited artistic abilities though). Pens and touchscreen aren't the same thing. Daubing away with a finger is different, pens offer precision abilities.

Like with most human interface devices, you get what you pay for, cheap is cheap, you might get away with basic annotation on a cheap device, but once you want to sketch something, nah, stuff like pressure and tilt sensitivity are necessary. The iPad pencil approach is very good, but then, not cheap either.

As said, like with any human interface device, you need to try them and find something you're comfortable with. But good solutions come at a cost.

[pcolbeck]

iOS not an option as they don't have a SMART writing app (just the reader).

Scribble is coming with iOS14. Let Jenny Chen show you, here.

Scribble isn't SMART compatible though. SMART in this case is a type of real physical whiteboard that lets you write on it with special pens and it can then save to a computer or you can upload from a computer. Lots of schools have them now and also IT departments for drawing diagrams on.

Its a specific physical product not a description of how a drawing app works.

[pcolbeck]

Thank you, pcolbeck, I have just learned something.

SMART boards are brilliant. I want one for my home office. Just have to persuade the mother ship to shell out for one ...