XPPen Deco Pro MW Bluetooth Drawing Tablets 11 Inches Wireless Drawing Tablets 8 Customizable ExpressKeys Art Tablet with 2 Dial Wheels Pen Tablet for Drawing, Painting and Remote Learning

I recently had developed some intense wrist pain from using a mouse all day for my job. This is a great substitution for daily mouse use with my PC. For reference I am an architect and do not recall having seen any reviews form a similar profession (i.e. not strictly reviewed geared for more artist use). It did take a little to get used to the hover with the pen (when you make contact it “clicks” or draws depending on mode). My transition to using no traditional mouse at all took about a month and I don’t miss it.I frequently need to do drawing markups and it is much easier to do with a writing feature like this in Bluebeam - Especially if I have to sketch a building detail or something. In the past I’d have to either do this with program tools, or hand draw/scan/clean up scan, and then attach/insert it into the markup drawing pdf. God forbid I wanted it to a scale… With working remote due to covid it became less feasible to do my redline markups by hand on print copies due to not having a large format scanner at home and this is a nice compromise. It’s also nice to get that hand drawn quality for schematic drawings by using photoshop (or whatever other program combination), without having to scan and photoshop it clean before continuing or having to use a hard-line drafting program - which has a totally different feel to a client at that stage.I also like that the scroll wheel center (black circle) is a touch pad of sorts when in that mode. It is not terribly accurate, but it’s good enough that when I am working on paper copies but need to move the mouse to select something I can keep writing with my left hand and use my right hand to mouse over with this touch function without picking up the stylus pen. (Being ambidextrous is the best by the way, if you can train yourself to write with your dominant hand and use the stylus with either hand as needed to multi task work as needed.)Additionally, as an architect I have to draft in AutoCAD and Revit and this seems to do a good job as a mouse replacement for that. Slightly jumpier than a traditional mouse, but there are easy shortcut workarounds. It is imperative to have the scroll/zoom function for all these programs (as I found out the hard way with a starter tablet that did not have it) and this tablet delivers. I combine that scroll/zoom wheel with my main pen button set to middle click for a ‘pan’ function in many programs. It’s easy to use the pen with my dominant hand and scroll/zoom/shortcut key with my non dominant hand once I got the hang of it.The shortcut keys are easy to program and the interface program is easy to understand. I like that you can program different shortcuts for different programs. You can also switch between ink and mouse modes. Mouse mode works - you guessed it - like a mouse. Where you can move at variable speed across the screen and pick up the pen and move it but it doesn’t relocate on the screen like in ink mode. Ink is more of a screen to screen exact location. In ink mode you can hand-write in all kinds of different programs. Like draw in word documents, or written notes to text in outlook emails (if your writing is legible.. mine is not great).Additionally, I typically use three screens - a laptop and two externals for my line of work. In mouse mode you can set the full 3 screens to one mouse control area and the ‘mouse’ can traverse the whole area continuously. I also have a shortcut key set to switch monitor so when in ink mode I can click through and have it draw on one screen at a time (you can set it across all - but it becomes quite distorted since the ratios are skewed from tablet to 3screen stretch).As for the unit itself, it feels well made. Heavy enough to feel substantial but not enough to be obnoxious. It was relatively intuitive to download drivers and set up. The pen stylus has two buttons, a nice weight, and comes with several replacement nibs. The travel pen container is nice as well and the cap acts as a pen stand when not using the stylus. I like the option to be plugged in, work wirelessly via usb dongle, or connect wirelessly via Bluetooth. Battery life seems good (unit is not old so I will have to wait and see). For taking between home and office I was able to get a standard padded laptop protector sleeve that fit this nicely with a pocket for all the accessories (cord, pen case, manual, etc) and fits in my laptop bag with my computer.Overall pretty impressed with this for what I needed it for.

I really enjoy this tablet, I have many hours on it already. The build quality is very nice, the buttons feel good and so does the wheel and touch area. The drawing surface has nice friction, in fact initially I thought it might be too much. The pen is very comfortable to hold, very light, and the buttons are well positioned. I only have a couple real complaints, the wheel is a little too easy to move, sometimes I move it without even realizing. Also, the touch area only works as a digital wheel OR a mouse (think laptop touchpad). Regarding the touchpad, I would like to see a little more flexibility, being able to use all gestures together as well as resign shortcuts for things like swiping up would be nice. Anyway, even though I saw that as a major drawback initially I still find the tablet to be incredibly convenient, having a scroll wheel attached is a huge time saver.Edit: I forgot to mention the case that comes with the pen is quite sturdy and nice. It holds the pen very firmly, so firmly you could use it to make the pen easier to hold if you have troubles holding small items. And you might just have to use it in that case, because there is no good place to grip the pen to remove it. You have to grip it from the tapered tip and wiggle it around until it finally pops out. If I sound bitter, it's because I am. Anyway, not a dealbreaker by any stretch, but it is a painfully poorly thought out design. Actually, as I'm writing this and examining the case to be sure I didn't miss something, I'm starting to wonder if maybe there is supposed to be a spring at the bottom of the tube wasn't installed?

XP-Pen's Deco Pro is a step up for this long time Wacom Bamboo user. I bought this after having used my bamboo tablet for almost a decade now and I decided it was time for an upgrade. After seeing some artists I follow talk about XP-Pen, I looked them up and found the Deco Pro was going to be released soon and that pre-orders get a good discount, so I jumped on the chance and ordered it. I do not regret that decision.My package came with all the items described in the store listing. Pen, pen case and holder, nibs, adapters, cable, drawing glove, and, of course, the tablet itself.The tablet is pretty weighty, a nice kind of weight that can be attributed to the casing. The size of the tablet itself is big despite me getting the smaller version, which those with portability or desk space in mind may scrutinize. However, I think this can be offset by the very slim form the tablet takes. I definitely don't mind that the tablet is big, my bamboo was smaller which meant a smaller work area. The tablet has programmable buttons, which really should be standard for any drawing tablet. What is new and interesting to me, however, is the dial which can also be programmed to fit your dialable needs. Need to resize your brush? The dial is there for you. Need to zoom in and out? The dial can do that for you. Rotation? The dial has you covered. In addition, the top of the dial acts as a touchpad, like the ones you find on a laptop, so if you need to quickly switch to a mouse because the pen is too awkward for the task being performed, you have a touchpad for that.The pen has a brush handle shape to it, which artists will appreciate. It is battery-less, which I certainly appreciate, and comes with two buttons as stated in the store description; one button is for right-clicking (or whatever else you need it to be) and one button is for switching between pen and eraser, something that should work with any drawing program. The tilting function is something I had never experienced before this and I am still in the process of figuring out how I can use it so I will update this review as soon as I have a clearer grasp on tilt.Installation is easy as plugging it in and getting the right drivers for your computer. The package comes with instructions on how to find the drivers, including a scannable QR code for those that have a scanning app on their phone.And for those that are wondering, yes this tablet works on Android devices. One of the first things I did was to test this tablet on my phone for compatibility and I found that it worked! While I don't see myself doing too many projects on my phone, it is definitely a pro to be able to do doodles on a portable device like my phone.The only nitpick I have for the tablet can be attributed to having a new tablet or changing from Wacom to a competitor. The feeling of using the Deco Pro as opposed to my Bamboo was very notable and some users may feel growing pains from switching brands. However, the feeling is only apparent for the first day. After that, if you're still using it, chances are you don't notice a thing. I certainly didn't when I was working on my projects.All in all, I very much like this tablet and recommend it for both new and seasoned digital artists.