Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've been using Wacom tablets for years, starting with the Bamboo Fun, then the Intuos Pen & Touch, and now this one, the Intuos Draw. I really loved the Pen & Touch, but the USB cable frayed on it and I couldn't get a replacement, so I finally gave in and ordered this table (Intuos Draw) from Wacom. Unfortunately, I'm not exactly thrilled with it. The pros. Well, it's a pretty aqua/sky-blue color, which is more friendly, less intimidating, but at the same time, less professional-looking. It has a nice, long USB cable, so you can use it with either a laptop or a desktop computer. In general, it does what I need it to do. I use Photoshop Elements 14 for photo editing and digital painting, and I can use this tablet for all of that. However. . . . The cons. The first thing I noticed is the stylus doesn't fit properly in the provided holder. I need to keep my stylus secured with the tablet, otherwise my cat is liable to run off with the stylus! With the old tablet, you could slide the stylus into the provided loop and it would hold it just fine. With this one, the stylus will only fit if you insert it backwards, and even then, it only slides in about an inch. This makes me nervous, because if it falls out, I'll never find it again. Plus, it means the stylus sticks out past the edge of the tablet, so it could potentially get caught on something and be pulled out. Why bother giving us a holder for the stylus if the stylus won't fit in it properly? Another issue is the nibs. I've only been using this tablet for a few weeks, but the nib is already noticeably worn. With my previous tablet, I only needed to replace the nib maybe once a year, so the fact that the new one is already almost at the point where I need to change it is rather alarming! Plus, the nib has worn away at an angle, which means there's a sharp edge that's been scratching up the surface of the tablet. When I hold the table to the light and angle it, the surface is badly marred. (I'm attaching a photo of this damage.) Sometimes the nib squeaks . . . if I catch just the right angle while I'm sketching, it makes this horrible squeaking/rubbing sound and I have to rotate it to find an angle where it's quiet. This is especially bothersome because it tends to make the noise when I have it rotated so I can use the buttons on the stylus. If I turn it so it stops making the noise, I can't use the buttons. This is exceedingly annoying! The tablet has four shortcut buttons near the upper corners that supposedly can be set to whatever you need, like CTRL, SHIFT, CTRL-Z (undo), and even zoom-in and zoom-out. This would be very handy! But when I set my preferences and then returned to Photoshop, the buttons did whatever they wanted---they did NOT respond according to how I'd set them. I went back to the settings menu and it showed my preferences, but the tablet apparently didn't get the memo. This was yet another disappointment. To those who are considering this tablet, be aware that it does NOT have an eraser on the stylus. Nor does it have a touch-surface. This was fine with me, since I never used the eraser on my old stylus, nor did I use the touch-feature on my old tablet. But if you need those features, you'll need to upgrade to the next level tablet, which costs a bit more. I'll give this table two stars, because I can work with it. But it's been a huge disappointment! Honestly, I'm used to better quality from Wacom. There is a warranty for this tablet, but only if you register within 30 days of buying the product. I tried to register when I first got the tablet, but it wouldn't let me, the website kept reloading the same page, stuck in a loop. So I tried contacting Wacom about the problems. The contact form said it would take a day or two for them to reply, but that was last week and I still haven't heard back. I'm extremely disappointed with Wacom now! Update: I finally heard back from Wacom. Their position is that the nibs wear out and need to be replaced often. Incredulous, I asked if I was supposed to replace them every week? The customer service representative replied that it depends on how much use the tablet is getting. Seriously, I only used it for a couple hours a day, over a period of a week, before the nib was worn to a sharp point. This level of wear is unacceptable! I shouldn't have to buy new packets of replacement nibs every month! I sent them a photo of the damage caused by the sharp nib and they said, sorry, but it's not covered by their warranty. I've been a loyal customer of Wacom for years, but if this is what their quality has become, I'm looking elsewhere for my next tablet.