THE AMAZINGLY CHEAP GRAPHICS TABLET REVIEWED- all students must read this before buying one

Money can be tight for students, so the decision to buy a $250.00 Wacom is a very hard one. But graphics tablets can be exceptionally beneficial in helping you to create some amazing work quicker and easier than what is possible with the 'ol pen and paper. Although Wacom do offer one of the best built and designed graphics tablets available, there is a mind bogglingly cheaper option...
On amazon and ebay there a lot of graphics tablets, like this UGEE M1000L, going for only $49. There are a heap of other brands that are basically the same tablet with a different logo on it, and I have seen them go for as little as $30 in ebay auctions. Surely a deal like this is too good to be true, and in my opinion, this is a rare case where you don't get what you pay for, you get a lot more!

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DfS decided to buy and test one of these tablets to see what they are really like (the UGEE M1000L as linked above).

This tablet has 2048 levels of pen pressure, 220RPS, a 10 by 6.25 inch active area, 5080LPI and 16 customisable buttons. These specifications are impressively on par with that of the high end Wacoms. If none of those specs make sense, don't worry- they are explained well here.

First impressions of the UGEE are that it feels cheap- the side buttons are sloppy and clunky and the AAA battery powered pen is a little 'cheap Chinese plasticy'. People often complain about the pens on these tablets but when you think about it, what does it matter what it feels like? It doesn't matter at all, because within five minutes of using the pen you adjust to its weight and feel (like you do with any 'real' pen). The pen is responsive and is not glitchy, the pressure sensitivity  works well and the pen flows along the tablet surface smoothly. Overall there are no complaints about this tablet, I am surprised that such a cheap product works so well...
What I can't guarantee is product longevity, but according to other users you can get at least 2-3 years of continuous use- and of course it may last many more years with less frequent use but who knows? Either way for the price this is OK.

Here are the first sketches I did with the UGEE tablet. I noticed that I could zoom in and get a level of precision that would be impossible if done by hand. Also, shading and rendering is effortless and looks flawless. Here at DfS we are no experts at drawing- we are just students like you- still learning, but with the graphics tablet I was able to produce a nice piece of work a lot quicker than if I did it on pen and paper. Keep in mind that your intermittent drawing skills will still apply here- if you don't know how to draw in real life then don't expect to produce masterpieces just because you used a graphics tablet. What you will notice though is that the skills you do have will be easier and quicker to apply to the work. But the only way to improve is with LOTS of practice... so try to sketch every day, even if only for 20 minutes, and you will see an improvement in your drawings quality.

DfS will be uploading a tutorial on how to draw things that product & industrial design students will want to know how to draw. This is because DfS is a place built specifically for design students, so please help expand our community by spreading the word about our site, either by facebook sharing,  word of mouth or any other means you know how! The more that people support this community, the more content it will publish and the more great help you guys will get!