13.3" and 15" Envy X2 with... (drumroll) Synaptics!

Please don't let Shogmaster hear that. We have rules in the forum....

Swiped from my Galaxy Note 8 using Tapatalk

 

So true Stoneseeker's. Politics simply defined as who gets what! And greed is deeply ingrained and thus not likely to be overcome with an easy button.

 

This has been claimed by jnroach and others in one of the N-Trig threads, but I'd like to point out that in an Engadget interview, Wacom's own CEO lists MS as one of their main component buyers (0:52). He even goes on to specifically mention the Surface Pro (1:23) as an example device with Wacom hardware!

Yamada does not seem at all shy to highlight Wacom's role as a digitizer supplier, even for the Surface Pro. Therefore, I call into question this speculation on Wacom's policy against MS.

 

I also addressed this point in the afore mentioned thread (we really need to consolidate these Wacom debate threads).

In short, Wacom has the capability to manufacture thin EMR boards as shown by the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 (295.6 x 204 x 7.95 mm) whose footprint is very similar to the SP3 (292 x 201 x 9 mm). With the introduction of the Core M 5Y70 SoC with 4.5W TDP, new tablets with this chipset should be even better able match form factors of Android tablets.

Therefore "thinner and lighter" should not be an issue for new tablet designs with the EMR boards from the Galaxy Note line.

There is a theory that Samsung has exclusivity of these boards from Wacom, but again, I would consider this again dubious speculation until some actual evidence is found to support that claim.

 

Well there always has been a dearth of Wacom penabled Tablet PCs imo...but in reality, even now, the selection Wacom slates isn't that bad...

There are at least 3 manufacturers using Wacom in newly announced slates: Lenovo in the Helix 2, Fujitsu in the Arrows Tab QH55/S, and NEC in the Tab U and Tab W. There are also recently-released slates that few people know about, like the Toshiba dynabook Kira L93, and the updated Panasonic FZ-G1 (although latter is for rugged use).

So really it's not so much that there's a 'mysterious disappearance of Wacom digitizers', but more that there's a mysterious disappearance in North America. In Japan, ODM's seem to favor Wacom (aside from Sony which is a real shame). Wheras in NA, HP/Dell/MS all seem to to be moving to other digitizer brands. I believe the HP Pro x2 612 G1, was the last Wacom, Core-processor slate to launch in NA, and it looks like we only have Helix 2 to look forward to in the near future...

If I had to guess at the reasons for this, it would be the same reason it's always been: Cost. Wacom digitizers are priced higher (which incidentally, Yamada even admitted to in the interview). In Japan, PCs are a higher margin market, whereas cost competition in the West is forcing compromises in the BoM.

(Note: this site gives a pretty good overview of the current slates with Wacom.)

 

I recall it being nigh impossible to work out who was supplying the digitizer tech in the original Surface Pro. We spent weeks speculating. So *somebody* was angling to keep Wacom's involvement a secret. If MS says it was Wacom, then either they're lying, or it's true, or it's misreported.

 

Sounds like far too coherent a thought for me to have had.

 

Shoot. Do you mean I'm thinking of something somebody else said, or am I just inserting too much of my own interpretation?

Gotta find that thread...