Anybody use a HyperPen? What do you like about them?

Answer 1

I got a refurb model for cheap, so my experience may not be representative to those who're buying new Aipteks, but by far the worst problem I've had with my Hyperpen- worse than the flimsy-feeling pen and mouse, worse than the useless software, worse than the driver that doesn't work until you hunt down one well-hidden update that is not, as I recall, even on the Aiptek site- is the cursor shake. There's really not much reason to buy a tablet other than the cool pressure settings, and it seems like the Hyperpen has exactly three of those- 'very very light', 'full pressure', and 'shake like a spastic orangutan on amphetamines'. The cursor is largely uncontrollable over the entire middle band of its pressure spectrum, which pretty seriously limits the use of the pen. I can still get some good out of it, and it's handy enough to deserve at least two stars, but due to its incessant twitching and the impossibility of taking full advantage of the pressure tip the Hyperpen is not of use for most of the things tablets are supposed to be best at.

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1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

entry level.., November 6, 2004
Reviewer: Aaron Creagh "siamus" (Albany, NY USA) - See all my reviews

hey..the software that comes with it is garbage..but I wasn't planning on using any of it anyway. I bought this mainly because using a mouse to draw in photoshop and other programs was to time consuming and i needed something more natural, and this does the job. I will probably be upgrading to a wacom in the future, but hell...for the price you can beat this one.

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4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

Don't get this. Get Wacom, October 9, 2004
Reviewer: Terri Yang - See all my reviews
It gets an extra star for pricing, but remember, you get what you paid for. I recently had an Aiptek Hyperpen 9x12... and it was good in the beginning. But after awhile, problems started arising. First the pen cursor would just freeze on the screen no matter where I moved the pen. There were also times when the pen would jump across the screen, creating lines that I did not draw intentionally. Eventually, the pen just basically died and the mouse failed to work properly (the mouse worked, but it would sometimes become faulty).

Basically, even though a Wacom seems out of range and rediculously priced compare to this, I highly recommend buying a Wacom before wasting money on an Aiptek. Just look at the statistics between the two, such as the pressure sensitivity numbers. Of course, if you are just experimenting and don't intend to get into digital art seriously, then get this. The price range is fair, and if you aren't using it extensively, then those problems I had stated above shouldn't hurt you too much.

But after having used both (the Aiptek Hyperpen 9X12 and the Wacom Intuos3 6x8), I can tell you that there is a significant difference.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Sufficient., July 8, 2004
Reviewer: Kate (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
The tablet itself is good. It's not a Wacom. It's nothing expensive, but for the money you pay for the size of the tablet and the basic functions that go with it it's well worth it. Don't like the software that goes with it? Download GIMP. It's free, legal, and works much like the always-expensive, always-pirated Adobe Photoshop. The mouse is basically useless. It was the first thing to go.
A replacement pen is $10 off of the Aiptek site, which I find a little absurd as far as the price goes. The tablet itself is $50 as a refurbished item off of the Aiptek website, which is around a $40 average savings off of the sellers here. Replacement drivers are downloadable, replacement software + drivers are purchased for $5 off of the Aiptek site, which is kind of stupid because the software is a joke, as others have said, and the drivers are downloadable.

The support on the Aiptek site is decent. You can download the drivers for most operating systems (I believe all 98+ operating systems are supported) and if you run Linux, you can download Linux-based drivers if you Google search them or if you look on Aiptek's FAQ. (Why Aiptek does not just host the bloody drivers themselves is beyond me, but, whatever.)

Overall... I'd say it's well worth it, especially if you're looking to just play around and doodle, and possibly upgrade to a more professional tablet later on.

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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1 star is generous for this waste of money, July 6, 2004
Reviewer: Brett Carlson (L.A.) - See all my reviews
After purchasing my Aiptek pen, I noticed it would lose it's pressure sensitivity, and the dpi quoted on the package was not accurate at all. After calling Aiptek customer service I sent it back for repairs. 3 weeks later, after many phone calls to track it down, it was finally sent back (I actually only live 30 miles away). It still doesn't work properly and dealing with Aiptek customer service was a nightmare. In the end, Aiptek would not solve the problem, I purchased a Wacom tablet (with outstanding results) and now use my Aiptek tablet for a very large drink coaster. Avoid this time/money waster at all cost.

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Not the greatest........., May 18, 2004
Reviewer: An electronics fan
Okay, well it's not the greatest tablet. I have the older version, but they operate the same I presume. Nothing is "new" about it besides the price tag and the appearance (the pen looks the same, it's just the mouse that's different and the tablet part). I didn't even bother to try to use the mouse it came with it. I tossed it aside and took out it's battery, and the tablet itself is what you would expect for it's price. Don't bother with the bundled software, I got Photoshop and Corel Painter, so who needs some cheesy software. The pressure is okay and it's tracking of the cursor with the pen is pretty good. Going to Wacom's site makes it seem like their tablet is the only one that can be used. The tablet also works fine with Windows xp with no hitch. Overall, it's probably best if it's your first tablet and you aren't ready to fork over the $200 plus for a Wacom Intous 2.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Fine for amatuers, insufficient for pros, March 29, 2004
Reviewer: Dave (Denton, TX United States) - See all my reviews
I've used this particular tablet for several years now and have recently upgraded to the Wacom Intuos. The tablet itself is sturdy and very durable with a metal backing. The cursor accelleration does not quite match the stylus, but the position is accurate, and the sensitivity is adequate. The setup options for the tablet are vastly inferior to Wacom's control panel, however, and the mouse (as on most tablets) is a joke. It's actually a good buy if you're just going to play around with it (as you get a larger tablet for your money than the graphire or Intuos), but if you're serious about your art, you will probably want to spend the extra money for the features and software the Wacom tablets provide.

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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

The pen works okay, but the software and mouse are a joke., September 19, 2003
Reviewer: Chuck70 (Cleveland, OH United States) - See all my reviews
When I opened the box and took out the pad, it seemed really durable and heavy. "Nice," I thought all happy and excited to try this gadget out. Then I took out the mouse and the darn thing rattled like a box of rocks. I thought it was broke but closer inspection into an aperture under the battery compartment revealed some kind of electromagnet suspended by a thin wire, which clanked around. "Cheesy," I thought, starting to get worried. Maybe the mouse isn't supposed to be that way, maybe it actually was broke, but it worked in its own crummy fashion. Compared to my optical mouse, using this cheesy thing felt like doing surgery with a pickaxe. Then the real problems started. They have bundled a drawing program, "Art Dabbler," that is supposed to complement the basic functions of this hardware -- the ability to utilize variable line thickness by varying the pen pressure, etc. The software application wouldn't even launch on my XP system: I was given an error message, "not enough available memory to run art dabbler." Well, I have 1 GB of DDR RAM installed on my Pentium 4, 2.66 GHz machine. I did a little snooping online and found that this software is three or four years old, and pretty much incampatible with XP. There were some suggestions on a public forum (where others were having the same problem) about changing virtual memory settings or disabling the paging file completely, and even if one were inclined to tamper with such settings for the sake of one outdated program, none of these things worked for me when I tried them. Even with a tweaked or disabled paging file setting, still the same message about insufficient memory. I also tried re-installing and running the program in compatibility mode, with the same result: "not enough memory." Corel, who supposedly took over this "Art Dabbler" property from Meta Creations, doesn't even acknowledge it on their website. That's how behind-the-times it is. And Aiptek's site has no postings addressing this issue. They have chosen to bundle their hardware with garbage software. So guess what? The whole kit and kaboodle gets returned.