Wacom Released iPad Note Taking App: Bamboo Paper [video]

Thursday, June 23, 2011

By OP Editor

Neat note taking / sketching app for iPad by Wacom, maker of professional graphics tablets for artists. See short demo video.

Video Demo: Wacom Bamboo Paper iPad App

Bamboo Paper – Wacom notes is a beautiful app that is easy to pick up.

Tools include: pen, eraser, undo, redo, share, select, copy, bookmark. Neat hidden feature: get to thumbnail view by clicking on the number. Use your finger to draw or sketch with virtual pens of 3 thickness and select colors. The lines are smoothed and beautiful. Currently the app has 3 paper types: blank, line, or grid. (No custom paper like Penultimate).

Not sure whether the video showed AirPlay or the new iOS 5 display mirroring. Or maybe they are using the Apple HDMI Adapter or VGA Adapter.

Writing small letters or drawing precisely with finger requires zooming in. Simply use the standard two finger pinch to zoom (ignore the line that might show up briefly). When zoomed in, use two fingers to scroll around the page.

What needs improvement? Physics of multi-touch zooming and scrolling while zoomed-in could be improved.

Price of the Wacom iPad Bamboo Paper App [App Store]? ~~Free until June 30. $1.99 after.~~

Update 2012 March: not sure when this happened but they’ve changed to freemium model. The Bamboo Paper app is a free download and there is one paper pack available as optional in-app purchase for $1.99.

Wacom iPad / iPhone Stylus

Wacom also makes a stylus that works great: Bamboo Stylus for iPad [Amazon $29.99]. Pro tip: if you want to use a stylus, wear some kind of glove so your hand don’t accidentally input, or you can hover hand over the iPad like doing traditional calligraphy.

Here’s how to zoom and scroll within the app:

Tags: Apple, iPad, iPad Apps, Video

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 at 10:42 pm and is filed under iPad Apps. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Don

June 24, 2011 at 7:30 am

As a former newspaper cartoonist, and an avid doodler, this app and accessories justifies buying an iPad all by itself! I’m totally into getting this.

OP Editor

June 24, 2011 at 2:46 pm

You should draw reactions to some story on an iPad!

1.1

joe

March 27, 2012 at 1:07 am

Hi,

Just got the Bamboo Paper app and the stylus. Great stuff. But i can’t seem to do the ‘pinch’ zoom. Each time i try, lines appear on the screen and there is no zoom either. Am i missing something?

thanks
joe

OP Editor

March 27, 2012 at 1:12 am

Hey Joe,

The Bamboo Paper has its own zooming behavior. If you continue the zooming motion, then it’ll change from drawing line to zoom.

2.1

March 27, 2012 at 1:34 am

Tks OP Editor,

Been trying, so far only zoomed once. Sometimes a faint circle appears; don’t know what that does.

What about the two-finger pan? I just get two lines.

Thanks

OP Editor

March 29, 2012 at 12:50 pm

Hi Joe, I’ve made a quick 10 second demo of zoom & 2 finger pan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thjGcPSbD8g

3.1

March 29, 2012 at 1:10 pm

Hey OP Editor,

Tks so much for the vid; been practising; the trick seems to be moving both pinching fingers in synchronised fashion, be it in ink or erase mode. The same applies for the panning.

Now i’ve got to practise till i make no new lines or erase them. Haha. Tks. It’s really cool!

Cheers
joe