When it comes to graphics tablets there seems to be only one name that rises to the top: WACOM. Although their products are top notch, you pay dearly for the best. So the question is, are there any products out there for those of us that aren’t great at Photoshop but may want to use some of the tools the pros use without having to pay the price? Well, Genius seems to think they’ve got a solution.

The Genius PenSketch 9×12 Graphics Tablet is a big tablet without a big price. But does it still perform? Let’s find out!

What’s In The Box?

The Genius PenSketch 9×12 comes with manuals of course, in a number of languages. This gives it the illusion of being full of information, but it’s fairly thin in that respect. You’ll find two software CD’s with drivers and some graphics programs from COREL, albeit rather old ones.

Also included is a three button mouse and a two button stylus. The mouse is battery free, while the stylus requires one single AAA battery to power it. There is a holder for the stylus and two extra nibs that are replaceable in case the original one gets worn out.

Features and Specifications

As denoted by its namesake, the Genius PenSketch 9×12 measures 9″ x 12″ and provides a whole ton of space for you to stretch your creative muscles. The tablet offers up 2000 lpi of resolution and 1024 pressure points. Initial impressions of the tablet appear to be good as the unit is both well weight to prevent it sliding all over your work area and is quite sturdy. You’ll notice a row of programmable “hot cells” in the top area of the tablet that are customizable to your needs. Unlike their WACOM counterparts, there are no buttons on the tablet.

The PenSketch 9×12 also comes with a two button wireless stylus and a three button mouse with a scroll wheel. If you quickly compare these two pieces to WACOM equivalents, you are missing the “Eraser” on the end of the the pen and you lack the extra buttons on the side of the thumb. These aren’t really make or break items, but those are the first things that kind of popped to mind as I’m somewhat familiar with WACOM’s INTUOS products.

The PenSketch 9×12 supports both Mac OSX and most flavours of Windows out of the box, but based on the age of the included software, you should definitely download new ones from their website before getting started. The tablet will require one USB port on both platforms.