Wacom’s latest flagship model features a full glass surface, with shortcut controls included in the new handheld ExpressKey Remote
Wacom’s professional design hardware continues to cement itself into the ‘designers wishlist’ with its latest product launches from CES.
The new flagship Cintiq 27QHD is 27 inches of edge-to-edge glass working surface, spectacular colour and ergonomic considerations, available in either standard pen control or with multi-touch gesture control (the 27QHD Touch).
Similarly well designed, the Cintiq Companion 2 is a tablet for creative professionals wanting the freedom to create anywhere – a full Windows 8 tablet on the move, and connecting to Mac or PC while at home or at work for flexibility.
Colour critical workflows will benefit from the Cintiq 27QHD’s 1.07 billion colours, with 97 per cent of Adobe’s colour gamut, working with the Wacom Colour Manager, powered by X-Rite and purchased as an accessory at the Wacom eStore, that sets the colour and allows for fine tuning them for a near exact match.
The screen is 27” of 2,560 x 1,440 pixel seamless, edge-to-edge glass, with an extra wide viewing angle. Users can incorporate different pen nibs to increase the natural feel, including the felt nibs, which provide a realistic pen on paper feel.
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Wacom’s flagship model has a number of features that look to optimise user workflows built in, including the new ExpressKey Remote.
A handheld remote control acts as a set of shortcut keys and the now standard Touch Ring – letting it be placed wherever is most convenient while drawing – either on screen, in the hand or beside the keyboard on the desk.
Despite the possibilities of this key tool going walk about on your desk space, or even swimming in your coffee after a frantic swipe of the hand, up to five ExpressKey Remotes can be attached at one time, adding the possibility of dozens of shortcut keys, placed to the user’s personal liking.
Designers will be pleased to hear that there’s a choice of stands available (the biggest grumble of Cintiq users by far).
The integrated stand means the Cintiq can be either laid flat (five degrees to be exact) similar to a canvas or positioned at a 20-degree angle by extending the legs.
An optional Cintiq Ergo stand or 3rd-party VESA arm give users the option to adjust the position even further to whatever angle works best forthem, whether sitting or standing.
Both the Cintiq 27QHD (£1799.99 GBP) and Cintiq 27QHD touch (£2099.99 GBP) will be available from mid-January, and will replace the Cintiq 24HD models.
Wacom’s new mobile solution, the CintiqCompanion 2, comes equally well spec’d, with 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt recognition, the Companion 2’s Pro Pen performs like a traditional brush, pen or marker when used in combination with creative software applications from such companies as Adobe, Autodesk and Pixologic.
A high-resolution 2560 x 1440 screen provides a realistic pen-on-paper feel with limited glare and is specifically designed to let users work faster and in a more relaxed and natural manner.
By incorporating the Pro Pen, multi-touch, 6 ExpressKeys, Rocker Ring, Radial Menu and Cloud Services all onto the Companion 2, the set up looks a little cramped for fat fingers, but it does mean there’s no shortage of shortcut keys or options.
The portable unit will be available in five main spec options from the Wacom eStore this February – Value (64GB SSD, £1199.99 GBP), Standard (128GB SSD, £1299.99 GBP) and Premium (256GB SSD, £1599.99 GBP). The Enhanced (512GB SSD, £1999.99 GBP) and Enterprise (customisable, prices TBC) versions are expected to begin shipping this coming spring. All prices are including VAT.
For other new display news, check out the new Dell 34″ curved UHD display for CAD – read about it here.
