The Addesso Z12 to try out is a nice looking tablet that seems very sturdy and well made. At an MSRP of $149, the Z12 is $50 less expensive than Wacom’s comparable large Bamboo Fun tablet, so it invites a little side-by-side comparison of the two.

The Z12 is larger than the Bamboo Fun, with a 6x10 inch active surface, compared to the Bamboo Fun’s 8.5x8.3. The Z12 also sports 1024 levels of pressure for inking, twice that of the Bamboo Fun, however, the Bamboo Fun has higher resolution, with 2,540 lines of resolution compared to the Z12’s 2000.  The result is that the Z12 gives very good performance and the bigger active area makes it a bit easier to use, especially if you have a widescreen monitor.  I actually liked the Z12 better for handwriting and found it was easier to get good handwriting recognition in Windows Vista.

The Z12 comes with a small assortment of software including software to allow 28 touch-sensitive “keys” that to be programmable as macro keys. This is a very nice touch that’s usually only found on higher-priced tablets.  The macro keys combined with the larger size makes the Z12 look and feel like a more expensive tablet, and though the smaller Bamboo Fun is a little more comfortable to hold, the thinner Z12 was more convenient when used sitting on the desk top. 

The one place where the Z12 clearly lost out to the Bamboo Fun was the pen.  The Z12 uses a battery-powered pen with the battery housed at the top of the pen, which makes the weight and balance less comfortable than the Wacom pen.  A plastic-on-plastic screw top that secures the battery compartment seems to invite damage from cross-threading or normal wear. The Z12 pen also lacks a pen-top eraser button and generally feels poorly made compared to the Wacom pen or to Z12 tablet itself. 

All in all, the Z12 is a solid tablet that performs well, and its lower price may make it a good choice as a first tablet.  The tablet’s disappointing pen keeps it from earning best marks, but it’s still worth checking out if you’re on a budget.

-- Tucker Hatfield

Adesso Cyber Tablet Z12
http://www.adesso.com/products_detail.asp?productid=347