Review on New Model Wacom PTH660 Medium Intuos Pro Drawing Tablet for Mac or PC - Black by Jamie Kamoso

I bought this product because my Intuos 5 was starting to fall apart and I suspected the stylus was failing. I didn't really like some features of the Intuos 5 (the membrane covering the keys was peeling off and couldn't be reattached, and the surface coating couldn't be replaced), so I just went ahead and upgraded to that. I wish my Intuos 5 could have lasted a little longer. Pros: - This thing is durable. The whole device looks nice and well built. possibly one of the best tablets I've ever owned. Works very well.* The driver installation went smoothly. works great with all my art programs. ** - The ability to change the finish is a HUGE plus and a big reason I took a chance with this model. I used to have both Intuos 2 and 3 and both have had their skins replaced. five could not and suffered as a result. I had a slick finish from use and accidental damage from dropping and breaking the item caused scratches that were hard to ignore. - As with all Wacom products, the settings are easy to adjust. Cons: - * ** There are LOTS of weird bugs and behaviors with the driver that I can't get hold of. One of the most annoying is this tendency to "jiggle" periodically when you start with a brushstroke in a clip's studio. another time it suddenly and accidentally didn't want to recognize the pen and I had to restart the driver. sometimes flickering pressure sensitivity in photoshop. Sometimes the pen stops working. These problems are quite random and sporadic (they happen sometimes, but the next time I download the program they don't happen), which makes them even more annoying. In the short time I've owned this device, I've had to stop work and restart programs/drivers/computer more times than I'd like to. I really hope I can find some fixes for them because they seriously affect performance. - The stylus is fairly light (not a minus, but I'm used to a heavier Pro Pen 1) and the bottom button on the stylus feels a bit like it's hooked/sticky when pressed. - The surface of the tooth is good but VERY rough. I wore a pen the first day I had it. I've attached a picture of a new pen after a day's work. The sensitivity of the device means I don't have to press hard, but that doesn't matter. Maybe these surface sheets are meant to last forever, but I'm not happy about having to shell out another $40 for another sheet to save my nibs. I actually like the texture, I prefer to skim a bit on a glassy smooth surface, but I can't afford to burn a pen a day. Wacom should have invested in a more durable material for these tips. It might be okay for occasional light use, but this is a pro line device that costs close to $500. Wacom knows what's best. I use mine wired, so I can't comment on the effectiveness of the wireless feature. Bottom line: don't rush to upgrade to it if you don't need it. That's quite a lot of money for a tablet that has far too many issues in my opinion. When it works well it's a dream but it starts to become death through a thousand paper cuts with the problems it has. UPDATE August 2017: I received the smooth surface sheet and installed it quite easily. able to get all big bubbles. this increased the life of the main springs, but now the surface is too slippery for my liking. If Wacom reads these reviews, please carry over the flexible tip from the previous generation of pens to the Professional Pen 2. I've only used it with my Intuos 5 and am having trouble finding the right balance between pen resistance and stability. random glitches. At least once or twice a day the tablet stops responding and I have to press Ninja on my keyboard to go to services and restart the driver (and when I do that I have to delete my art programs and everything I'm working on At this point, restarting is no longer pressure sensitive until I do.) I also still have Photoshop (cs5) that loses pressure sensitivity randomly on different strokes. This was an issue with my old Intuos but seems to be particularly common on this tablet. I'll be very upset if there's an upgrade to CC due to some weird incompatibility with slightly older software. I've already spent a fortune on this gear, don't force myself to put more money into it.