Wacom announced on Wednesday its latest pen tablet, the Intuos3, which features finger-sensitive touch strips that allow you to zoom in or scroll with your non-drawing hand and ExpressKeys that can be programmed for shortcuts, modifiers and other oft-used operations. In addition, the Intuos3 offers 5080 lines of resolution per inch (double that of the Intuos2), a new industrial design, an improved Grip Pen with a larger rubber barrel, a battery-free mouse with five programmable buttons and a scroll wheel and a new software bundle that includes Adobe Photoshop Elements 2, Corel Painter Essentials 2 and nik Color Efex Pro 2 IE, a Photoshop plug-in with eight photo filters. All three applications take advantage of the Intuos3’s pressure-sensitive capability.
Wacom will ship the Intuos3, which only has USB connectivity, by mid-September in three sizes with active areas of 4×5 (US$199.99), 6×8 ($329.99) and 9×12 ($449.99). The company noted that the Intuos2 will continue to be available for users who need serial connectivity or 12×12 or 12×18 sizes. Optional accessories that will be available for the Intuos3 include an airbrush, an inking pen and new items for customizing the tablet’s Grip Pen.