Wacom Cintiq Companion Hybrid - The Perfect Multi-Touch Pen Tablet

Creative power on the go, but don't dump your Mac yet

Wacom's Cintiq Companion Hybrid has just about everything you could want from both a drawing tablet and a modern Android slate. There's a generous, widescreen, 13-inch multi-touch display with 1920x1080 resolutions. It runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, and features Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. It also packs a 2-megapixel camera up front and an 8-megapixel camera on the back, built-in speakers and mic, a headphone jack, a USB 2.0 port, HDMI out, and about 12 hours-worth of battery life. All of this is paired with a Wacom Pro Pen that has 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity.

Wacom Cintiq Companion Hybrid

Drawing on the Companion Hybrid is a blast. The display looks great and renders colors faithfully. And the tablet features Wacom's standard ExpressKeys and a Rocker Ring for various shortcuts in pre-loaded apps that digital artists will appreciate: Creative Canvas, Manga Canvas, Autodesk SketchBook Pro, Adobe PhotoShop Touch, and Snapseed. They've even thrown in Angry Birds and Cut the Rope in case you're into games.

Drawing on the Companion Hybrid is a blast. The display looks great and renders colors faithfully

But as powerful as these apps are, if you're a serious creative professional you're likely to run into limitations. None of these apps are as powerful as Adobe and AutoDesk's desktop software, and the Nvidia Tegra 4 CPU can't stand up to the Intel chips in the latest MacBooks. The Companion Hybrid is as comfortable to use as any other Wacom tablet, but as an on-the-go device, it's a tad heavy at 3.96 pounds. It's not cheap either: the Companion Hybrid runs $1,499 with 16GB of storage or $1,599 with 32GB. And herein lies the rub - the Companion Hybrid is priced like a laptop replacement, but it's not that capable just yet. It's really a drawing tablet you'll want to use alongside your laptop that, if you need to get creative on the go, can work as a solid tool if you're looking to work at the coffee shop or on your couch when needed.

The Companion Hybrid is as comfortable to use as any other Wacom tablet

At $999, Wacom sells the Cintiq 13HD, which is essentially the same exact tablet without the cameras, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, internal storage, or the ability to run Android. For the extra $500 Wacom is asking to jump to the Companion Hybrid, you could buy an iPad or top-of-the-line 10-inch Android tablet, but you can't draw on those the way you can on Wacom's hardware.

It's really a drawing tablet you'll want to use alongside your laptop

The bottom line

The premium price to add on Android is a lot to ask for what is really a companion device and not a true stand-alone machine for professionals. For most, a laptop and a dedicated Cintiq tablet will make more sense.