Well the software is $50. You'd also have to add a stylus which costs another $30-50 (the one they recommend by Wacom is $50) which brings total cost to ~$100.
At that price you might as well get a Wacom tablet which comes with a stylus in the box.
Cintiq has far higher accuracy compared to the Astropad and Cintiq also has 2048+ levels of pressure sensitivity.
Also, input lag with actual tablets/Cintiqs will be far less than the Astropad.
For casual sketching/scribbling, the Astropad may be OK but for professional level work, nothing comes close to Wacom-powered tablets (and, unfortunately, won't anytime soon due to Wacom's patents).
It doesn't have to be better than a Cintiq, it just has to be closer than an equivalent dedicated graphics tablet at the same price point. I think it's a valid comparison.
Except this doesn't come close to any dedicated graphics tablet, let alone one of the most high-end tablets you can get like a Cintiq so the comparison is really bad.
All real graphics tablets, even ones in the <$100 range, have pressure sensitivity unlike the Astropad and the accuracy is far higher with real tablets.
* Astropad does have pressure sensitivity via the supported pens.
* Astropad does provide a visible screen like a cintiq at a much lower cost.
How can you clame it "doesn't come close to a desicated graphics tablet" when you obviously haven't tried it in the preferred setup of iPad + pressure sensitive pen? I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just saying ita speculation at this point.
There are styluses for the iPad with 2048 levels of pressure, the Cintiq still does have better accuracy but the iPad tech is getting better all the time.
Alot of pro artists are using Astropad now, in fact we even had a Pixar animator use and loved it!
PS: We are especially excited for the rumored iPad Pro and stylus
I'm a pro artist. Astropad has less perceived input lag than the last time I tried a friend's Cintiq.
It's not going to replace my Intuos tablets, mostly due to power consumption issues, but it is a killer app for one use case: I can now draw on a crowded airplane. I do not mean sketching; I have worked on pages of my comic on the plane with my iPad hooked to my Air. The only real problem I had is that my usual Illustrator palette setup wouldn't fit on the smaller screen.
But I can sit there in a single seat, with my Air on my lap, and my iPad on top of that, and draw.
Just like typing on a physical keyboard, you're not supposed to look at the tablet while using it. After you use a regular graphics tablet for a while you develop the muscle memory required to use it accurately.
It cannot be compared to either really. The input precision is pitiful compared to either, although you do see where you are drawing as a plus vs a cheap blank slate pad.
What about palm rejection, precision, pressure sensitivity?
I'll be honest, I'm not much of an artist. I know plenty of people who use graphics tablets, though, and I just don't see them trading away the three things I mentioned above for a screen.
This does seem like a cool thing, and I'd love to test it with my Pencil by 53, I just can't justify it at that price.
