Review: Bamboo Spark smart notebook

spark-gadget-pocketThere is a big disconnect between the very modern digital world we live in and our kids are growing up in and something as simple as drawing and for me that is the bridge that the Wacom Bamboo Spark builds so well. Although ostensibly marketed as a smart note book, and the handwriting recognition is pretty good (at least on par with Android’s built in handwriting recognition), for me the review unit that Wacom kindly provided was a chance to check out how easy it is to digitise the kids drawings.

My kids are at home on tablets and touchscreen computers, as well as being fairly keyboard and mouse proficient but when it comes to drawing, they still dig out their felt tipped pens and pencils. Ironically I have plenty of devices with a stylus- my Surface 3 I’m writing this on has a snazzy one, my Nvidia Shield tablet has one too and we tried (cheaper) capacitive styli. They all work to varying degrees but none of them are the same as writing on paper with a pen and that’s where the problem comes for kids.

I was recently at an evening with Dave Gibbons, the rather famous British comic illustrator who has drawn, amongst other things, Dan Dare, Harlem Heroes, Ro-Busters and Rogue Trooper, Green Lantern, and the legendary Watchmen. He said that he now draws entirely digitally but it took a lot of time and effort to translate his style on to a graphics tablet, something I’m fairly sure our 7 and 9 year olds wouldn’t be able to stomach.

Before you ask, yes it is possible to scan drawings using a multi function printer or a dedicated scanner but to be completely honest, I’ve never found the results brilliant and pretty much everything has been pixelated. The benefit of a system like this is that it’s designed for exactly what you want to use it for.

The Bamboo Spark comprises a folio cover and a smart pen. Although it comes with a pad of paper, you can put your own in as the clever tech is nothing to do with the paper, it’s to do with the electromagnetic resonance technology in the back cover that interacts with the pen. Turning the folio on is easy, there is a slider at the bottom, and telling it that you’re about to start drawing is simply a case of pushing the big friendly circular button, it’ll flash and show you it’s okay to write.

The results are pretty cool:

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Because you’re drawing normally with the Bamboo Spark, the digital image you end up with is exactly the same as the one on the page, there is no dithering, odd sizing or anything. It’s so simple, even a child can use it.

The Bamboo Spark retails for £120 but you can pick it up for £80 (from Amazon). When you finish the pad of paper, it’s simply a case of replacing it with one of your own. Ink refills are inexpensive, so there is no real additional cost after purchase but a device that will serve you well for quite some considerable time.

 

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