The concept behind Wacom’s Inkling ($199) digital sketch pen set is almost amazingly simple. Using the included pen and receiver, you can draw on whatever paper you’d like, and the sketches will be digitally transferred to your Mac when you’re ready to refine them using your favorite software. For artists (and writers) who like to work in a physical medium at least part of the time, Inkling seems like it’ll be a great option. It’s just like Wacom’s tablets—minus the tablet.
The company includes its own Inkling Sketch Manager software, which can export to Photoshop, Illustrator, and Sketchbook, and even supports layers. On the hardware side, we particularly like the charging case that holds the pen, receiver, extra pen ink cartridges, and a USB cable. Both the receiver and pen’s batteries need to be charged, so it’s a convenient way to carry everything around and power it up. We’re hoping the whole thing is just as cool as it sounds when it’s released in a few weeks.