Expert: Scott Valentine - 8/4/2009

Question
Hello Scott,

My questions aren't specific to Photoshop.  Rather it's about the Wacom Intuos4 tablet.  I read your review of the product on Amazon.com.  I couldn't find the answer to my questions from Wacom or Amazon so I'm hoping you can shed some light.

I live in Shanghai, China.  I'm trying to decide whether to buy the tablet in China or the US (where it's cheaper).  Here are my questions:

1)  Does the tablet require any external power source or does it get its power solely from the USB connection to the computer?
2)  If an external power source is required, can you please tell me if the power pack can support 120V - 220V?  If it can, then I won't need to purchase an additional power converter.
3)  Does the accompanying software allow you to install in different languages?  If I end up purchasing it in China, I want to know that I can still install the software in English.

Thanks for your help.

Jae

Answer
Thanks for your question, Jae!

I should have pointed out that the tablet is powered entirely by a standard USB port. If you use a USB hub, make sure the hub is powered. I am using a Belkin hub that is USB 2 compliant.

As for languages, I don't know if the hardware is any different. But I am fairly certain you can download the English drivers from Wacom's site. They do list wacom-asia.com, along with a list of regional languages, so I would guess that the hardware is universal in that sense. The CD I have asks for localized language, but I didn't scroll through the list.

I hope that helps - please let me know if you have any further questions!

-Scott