How can a fancy tablet+screen cost > tablet computer?

[Avan]

Those super-fancy tablets must have some real superb sensitivity ... :/

Why can't they have some mid-range ones? (better quality the computer, not as fancy as the fancy tablets, and thus less cost)

[Alsek]

They do.   They get expensive because they're capable of monitoring things like when you roll the stylus in your hand.  Tablet PCs don't tend to do stuff like that.  ^.^

But if you don't /want/ to pay for stuff like that,  there are some decently  cheap tablets around that have pressure sensitivity and are rather accurate.   The Wacom bamboo is getting to be notorious.

[Avan]

Hmmmm... sounds interesting. Does it have a screen? (I like being able to see what I'm drawing where I'm drawing it...  )

And I was hoping to have some money to spare for a new computer too, and not blowing my budget on a super-fancy tablet. 

[Alsek]

No,  no.  Wacom bamboo is just the drawing tablet.

I actually prefer it to drawing on a screen because you don't have to deal with calibration,  and you can see what you're drawing,  the stylus doesn't get in the way.

Anything with a screen and pressure sensitivity both is going to be a lot more expensive.

[Avan]

yeah, :/
I suppose I'll go for the high sensitivity. Probably won't be making any purchases for a while though

[Weisseman]

It's because they can really. There isn't another product like it that I've found. I suspect the technology behind them costs a fair amount to manufacture but there's bound to be a huge mark up because it's unique (and they probably don't sell many so they're profiting as much as they can from the ones they do sell).

[furtopia02]

Give a Wacom Bamboo a try. I just recently replaced my Trust tablet with a Bamboo and its wonderful. I love the feel of it and the pressure sensitivity. I'd take a tablet and pen over an actual tablet pc for drawing any day (I've tried the other too). I'd rather put my wear and tear on an $80 piece of hardware than my actual screen, hehe. You can draw just as well with one of these as you would using a tablet pc once you adjust it how you like it best. Once you are coordinated to it (which doesn't take long) its very natural feeling and you don't think about it much other than about what you are actually drawing. It all comes down to your actual abilities in the end.

[Yip]

Another benefit of having the tablet not build into the screen is that you can easily use the tablet on a different computer. I've bought a 8x6 Wacom Intuos 3 a few years ago, and I expect it to be a purchase that'll last through multiple computers. (in fact it already has).