Others say...

"Worth it!"
After watching every Cintiq 12wx video on youtube and other video sites I randomly found online and reading forums and random blog posts on it. I've been waiting for my cintiq for over a week now and it finally came today and I love it! Some reviews scared me by people saying it's shakey or they got a screen with a dead pixel, etc.
But I'm loving this one :) The only problems so far are not it's fault probably but a couple of programs are glitchy with it for me in Vista 64bit, namely ToonBoom and SketchBook Pro. But SketchBook might just be because of my weak graphics card and it runs pretty good with all the other programs I've tested it with on Vista so far, namely, photoshop, flash, painterX, artrage and sketchbook's glitch isnt that bad but when you select a radial tool it looks weird for a second until I click it again..not really a problem though just looks bad. But toonboom it's unusable...for some reason its not refreshing the screen.

But these are probably not the cintiqs' fault it might be I need a better graphics card. I may buy a mini-dvi converter for my macbook but I haven't tested it via vga on either mac or vista but it is great via DVI in vista64 so far so I like it.

The screen is not much smaller than my macbook 13" and it appears bright and I havent done any color correction or anything to it yet. I really love the customizable radial popup thing that my Intuos3 6x8 didn't come with. Also, it's great that my intuos3 pen works with the cintiq so now I have 2 :) (one i put the felt tip in and other the spring loaded tip) I did also buy a 'classic' pen but that isn't here yet. The cintiq came with the same fat pen like my intuos3 (I knew that that's why I bought the classic pen that will come tomorrow, i miss my intuos 1 slim pen) but it's darker.

I've calibrated both pens a bunch of times and it isn't perfect...but I didn't expect it to be exactly like pencil and paper ;-) But pretty close and very fun.

This was worth waiting for and although I wish it wasn't so much money I'm glad I opted for quality over getting a tablet pc (quantity) like my bf said...I'm very impatient and was close to just going to a retail store and getting a tablet pc ;)

ps. in Flash CS3: I LOVE that I can put all the main windows in my other screen and just put the 'canvas' on the Cintiq part with the drawing tools and gives me more room :)

"For those of you who have doubts."
Let me start by saying that i'm not surprised by the some of the negative reviews this tablet has received. I am very well aware that this tablet is not perfect. I went in knowing that but decided to take the plunge anyway. Do I regret it? Not a single bit.

A tale of an artist's sorrow.

As an artist I have struggled for the past 6 or so years trying to find a balance between traditional and digital artwork. During college I had a chance to work in both mediums, and when I started making money I decided to take it another level buy hardware and software to meet my needs. It wasn't a tough decision. It was either that or a $1000 set of copic markers. So Two and a half years ago I bought an Imac and a Wacom 6x8 bluetooth tablet shortly thereafter. I was happy with my Mac(and still am) but hardly ever used the tablet. I just couldn't get used to it. I knew the size was small but I couldn't afford anything better. So the tablet just sat there only to be used every couple of months. A couple months ago when I decided to tough it out and struggle with the tablet....until I tried to turn it and couldn't. I had to cancel a project I was working on because of this. What was the point of doing art if you can't keep up with the digital era or can't afford an abundant amount of cumbersome art supplies.

Then came the cintiq and I thought to myself, this is great! This could be the end of my struggle. But wait. 1000 dollars?! I may as well wait for the macbook touch thats been rumored for the past few years. However, time will not stand still for me. I mean, it's a thousand bucks but hey, you have to invest in bettering yourself sometimes. So I did the research , checked various prices and finally decided it was time to get one. And with that being said, my 6 year drout has officially ended.

I have a large drawing table and an 11x17 scanner which I might never have to use again. The Wacom Cintiq is my canvas. You can listen to the reviewers here talk about all the minor technical issues, hotspots and preference in digital pens. As an artist and not a computer nerd, I can tell you that the cintiq is worth the money if you keep in mind that that it's not perfect just like any computer or device. And thats the reason i'm giving it 4 starts instead of 5.

And for those thinking of getting a tablet PC, make sure that it is what you truly want. If you travel a lot I would recommend one because the cintiq is not as portable as one might think. But keep in mind that your making an investment in you as an artist and not on a computer. Most tablet PCs are known to have lag and generally aren't built specifically for digital art. Also, keep in mind the advancements in hardware. You can take the cintiq and connect it to any PC or Mac. You can't yank the screen out of your tablet PC and attach it elsewhere once the hardware becomes obsolete. At least not without the expertise.

So before you think of the money you spend, the things that it can do in comparison to a tablet PC, or very minor technical issues, think of yourself as an artist. And if your one of those like me who had no canvas, rest assured that there is one waiting for you.

"Awesome!"
This is one of the coolest things I've ever bought but if your not an artist of some kind don't bother because the price will put you off for casual use. Having said that, it has paid for itself already by making my work go quicker. I don't need my light table, drawing table, or scanner anymore. Not to mention the money you save on traditional media. It's also nive to have a second monitor for extra work space. My only gripe is the price is a bit to high and it gets a little shakey when drawing in the corners. I'd give it a 4.5 if I could. But otherwise its AWESOME and worth it if you can afford it and will use it everyday.

"Hopefully 2nd generation will improve a lot"
At first glance, it's an amazing product. It's a great size, it's thin, bright, with nice buttons and a nice pen.
I just got mine and am using it to work with as a normal tablet (to control the cursor on my main screen), and also to work directly on and draw/paint.
I use a 21" Cintiq at work and also have a 6x8 Intuos 3 tablet that I used before getting this new 12" Cintiq.

The 12" Cintiq has a lot of flaws - so much so that I think I may have to return it, which is really disappointing.
First. Though it's a "12-inch" screen, I'd say it's more like a 10". Why? Because when you move the cursor to the edges of the screen - a little over an inch away from each border, the cursor starts to shake tremendously. This simply doesn't fly when you're trying to keep a steady hand and get a good line while drawing or painting. It's also very annoying when you're just trying to click on something in the menu bar at the top of the screen. The cursor looks like it's spazzing out and it's really hard to live with.
I think part of the reason for this may be because of the limited 2-point calibration, as someone else who reviewed on here talked about. The calibration is just nowhere near refined enough.
Like I said, I also have a 21" Cintiq and I don't have this problem with that. They just didn't do a good job with the 12".

Second. The excessive cables. They really need to figure out how to slim this down and simply it - and I think they could. Before you buy look at the manual online and see all that you have to do to get this thing working. If you're thinking about taking it with you on the go with your laptop, forget it. There's so much to have to deal with. I don't see why they can't just make a simple cable like Apple's Cinema displays - it plugs into the DVI port, a usb port for the pen to work, and then a power brick, which then plugs into the wall. That'd be so much simpler. The cintiq itself is very thin - so it lends itself to portability, but when you have to consider all the extra cables and connections you have to make, it doesn't work out so well.

Third. The quality of the screen. It is cheap. When I first plugged it in I wasn't disappointed - I saw my desktop background on this small 12" screen and it looked nice and bright. But then I started working with it. When you're actually drawing in Photoshop the line doesn't look nearly as crisp as on my Apple Cinema display. Text also suffers. Just reading through web pages it's quite noticeable. I think another review said that they just used a cheap laptop screen, and after working with it for a couple days, I think that person was right.

There are nice things about it. The design is nice and like I said before, it's nice and thin so it sits nicely on my desk (a problem I have with the bigger ones is that they are SO bulky).
It's easy to pick up and put in your lap. And the stand is nice too.
I really wish that it didn't have the problems that it does because I'd love it to work well.
My main problem has to be the cursor jumping around and shaking - it's really awful and I don't think I can stand it. It's worst at the edges of the screen, but you can't even click and drag to scroll down a web page without the cursor shaking. It's not only annoying, it's almost unusable. I'm used to using my Intous 3 and my goodness - what a difference. That one is SO much better at tracking your pin movement.

Worth $1000? Not at all. Hopefully they'll come out with a better updated one sometime soon - then it may be worth the price.

"A thing of beauty!"
I have been using Wacom tablets for years now and have always loved them. I found them easy to use from the start, perhaps thanks to all the "blind" drawings I had to do in art school. There was always something missing, though, and I never had the finesse with a stylus that I have with pen and ink etc. This new tablet fills that gap quite nicely, and, although it is rather pricey, it is no more than I am willing to pay for great results. The wires seem to be a sticking point for some, but once set up they are not so bad. It is a monitor, after all! Even though I may lust after the larger version, it is probably a little much for my needs. What can I say?.. I love the new tablet!