Artist's Point of View - T4220

[FlameStream]

I've got my T4220 Tablet PC for about 3 weeks now and I'm loving it. I've never really used one extensively, so it came with a bit of surprises.

For those of you thinking about buying this tablet PC for more than just scribbling notes (using the awesome software that is OneNote), more specifically for digital art like me, here are a few tips you might be interested to know:

SXGA+ vs. XGA & Wide Angles View
I bought the SXGA+ version and compared it to a T4215 XGA & Wide views side by side. As expected, there is indeed a notable difference between them. While I can't provide pictures yet, I can say that you will start losing colour accurancy at around 45 degrees if inclinaison horizontally and 20 degrees vertically in Landscape mode (invert the numbers for portrait mode). Of course, the colour that suffers the most of the negativity effect is white, closely collowed by cyan, and orange. Is it, however, not abysmal. Sketching and painting in portrait mode works pretty well in fact.

The XGA version seemed to preserve them pretty well at over 60 degrees on each axis.

Still, I'm not unhappy about my decision because the big resolution does make quite a difference. Take a look at the screenshots below.

Click on the images for larger view

You'll notice that that you get much less workspace in XGA, Plus, the images aren't as crisp as SXGA+. Of course, you'll only see notice the difference if you make a side-by-side comparison or if you can lower the resolution.

Colour vs. Workspace is a tough decision for many people. I hope this topic helps some in their decision. Coders should definitively opt for high resolution though if you can afford it.

About the WACOM technology
Get this straight, the pen is not comparable to the WACOM tablet pens. I was aware that this tablet offered 256 levels of pressure (versus 1024 is you own an Intuos or I think 512 with Graphire) so I was prepared for it.

However, one thing that came as a surprise; contrarily to the Wacom Tablet pens, you actually need to apply a little bit of pressure before the pen registers the input instead of just touching the screen very lightly. I'm not sure if I overestimated the 256 levels of pressure or if the pen was made to feel like a ballpoint pen. And I wasn't able to configure it to registers like the way WACOM pens feel like.

The eraser suffers from the same problem. But you need to apply even more pressure before it registers. I'm actually quite scared to use it because of that, haha.

About the Tablet Configuration

A rather simple set of config options offered

Speaking of configuration, you also have limited options on Tablet PCs. One feature I like about the art tablet configuration software is the different application profiles you can assign to the pen when you switch focus to different programs. Another missing useful thing is the pressure meter, which would confirm/support the above problem about the pressure level.

Aside from that, it offers comparable pen button options.

Pretty much the same thing for the buttons. That's good!

The buttons are set to activate when you hold it and tap on the screen by default (acting like a modifier key). If you prefer triggering the buttons while hovering, it can be changed in the advanced settings.

Ending Words
I seem to be disappointed by my purchase, but I actually am not. I use it for more than just art after all. Coding isn't a problem with the high resolution and taking notes in class couldn't be better.

As for art, this laptop will act as my sketchbook, replacing my physical sketchbook I used to carry around. It's actually quite nice for that. Artrage and Alias Sketchbook Pro seem to be made specially for Tablet PCs. Lovely~!

No more ink waste or losing your colour pencils~

As for colouring, it is possible to do so too. However, you might have a bit of trouble because of the pen and the screen if it doesn't have wide angle views. However, it doesn't mean you can't do anything decent on it. I'm sure it's possible to achieve amazing results, actually. Just not as easy as with a proper tablet, haha. I recommend starting the picture on it if you have to and finishing it with a tablet plugged in, or on your desktop.

Here's one of my WIP. Not too bad, but not as good as usual
For more comparison, visit my gallery

This ends that I wanted to share. Hoping this will help many!

[MR_fanny]

great write up. ive only had my tablet for 2 weeks and when i start doodling in sketchbook i cant stop. i would get detered doing it old school because of all the effort involved with markers and pencils and stuff. now its just too easy. if only i had the tablet when i was in uni...sigh kids are soo lucky these days..ha cant wait to knock up my first proper render.

[leaftye]

Excellent review IMO. It shows why I'd want SXGA+ and expresses my concerns about the OEM pen. I also have a wacom pen, and have noticed the huge difference between their initial pressures. I usually use my wacom pen for serious sketching. If the wacom pen had two buttons, I'd rarely use the Fujitsu pen.

[pibach]

Thanks for this very informative review. BTW, I have the x61t SXGA+. There, viewing angles are almost 180° without any color shifting.

I also have a wacom pen, and have noticed the huge difference between their initial pressures.

I also have to press a little to get the pen recognized. I find this limiting the tablet benefit a lot. Is this dependent on the pen? Which pen then would be preferable for this respect? Had a brief look at the Wacom pen specs and they seem all to start at 30g pressure.

[leaftye]

It must depend on the pen to some extent because my Wacom Cross pen requires very little pressure, and for some reason, it seems to be more sensitive as well. This is most noticeable if I do brush strokes in an art program that senses pressure. The Fujitsu pen is VERY difficult for me to have a brush stroke taper to a point, but I can do it with the Wacom pen....it's not exactly easy, but it's good enough to produce repeatable results with practice. Sometimes I swear the Fujitsu pen only has a dozen or so levels of sensitivity.

[MR_fanny]

so from what i gather you can use the wacom pens on the 4220? if so which ones are the bee's knee's? i saw this one on the wacom site that has angle sensor so you can use it just like a real marker

[FlameStream]

BTW, I have the x61t SXGA+. There, viewing angles are almost 180° without any color shifting.

You're lucky. I suppose IBM's Levono series offer SXGA+ with wide angle view. Such a shame we can't have the best of both worlds (yet).

Sometimes I swear the Fujitsu pen only has a dozen or so levels of sensitivity.

Haha. Yeah that's what I thought too. A pressure meter would really help confirm that statement though.

so from what i gather you can use the wacom pens on the 4220? if so which ones are the bee's knee's? i saw this one on the wacom site that has angle sensor so you can use it just like a real marker

Unfortunatly not. The WACOM tablet pens do not emit the same signals and can therefore not be used on the T4220. I did try with my pen just to be sure.

I do believe that the ones found over here work though. However, I'm not sure if they feel the same as the one from Fujitsu or not. If they relatively feel like the tablet pen, I'll buy one in a heartbeat.