Any way to use an Android tablet as a cheap touch-screen (display + pointer-input-device) for Photoshop?

Question

Is there a way (a hack; a commercial app; etc...) which enables me to use any of the available <300$ tablets as a pen-input device to my PC? And specifically in Photoshop?

Wacom's offerings are out of my reach and the school wouldn't get me something they couldn't get back in a perfect state which means only software licenses. So I'm asking for a software that enables a tablet's touch screen to be used as an display/pen-input for Photoshop/other-design-programs as they run on my PC's resources; not using the tablet for anything but displaying what the GPU outputs, and inputting from the pen.

If you can also recommend specific tablets within this range, please do.

• It should be Android. But Windows 8 also looks promising and I'll be using Windows (8 too) on my PC so maybe higher compatibility?
• Pressure sensitivity is a must.
• Precision should be high.

Of course that all depends on your knowing a particular tablet model that works, or a workaround that works for a model or a series.

Answer 1

Although not a straightforward solution - not sure it will work, but hoping - there's the LEAP Motion Controller. It looks fantastic!

They say that it doesn't directly support tablets or smartphones; but, with at least some sort of manual calibration, it can easily be set to work on inclined planes/displays (even horizontal ones) with custom sizes, disregarding the main monitors's size/distance/inclination.

In other words, if you have a high-res tablet (like the new non-mini iPads, although that might be a bit small for graphic design) you can use the LEAP as the pointing/stylus with pressure/speed/rotation/etc capabilities and the tablet as the display. Then the tablet only has to display whatever is on the PC's display in real time, but I don't of know any apps for that.

Of course, any good display that can be inclined low enough (or maybe any display; if you use aisles; I draw on the table with my head down :/ ) would work perfectly with the LEAP.

I'm already set on that one (preorder, yay!) and will let you know as soon as I can work with it. Though I don't have any tablets to try it on. If you find android/iOS apps that can show the PC's display video stream on a tablet, and if you have a LEAP, give it a try and let us know how it goes.

~~ May 2013

---

According to a survey posted by Wacom sometime in April, they are working on a Design Tablet with either Asus or Samsung (both were mentioned in the survey). There was no info on the OS and the maximum size mentioned was 7 inches.

*So realistically, the only options seem to be the Bamboo tablets from Wacom.

*For $99, I heard that Wacom's Bamboo Capture is a really good deal.

See this for a bit on what's available.

-I've also found this but cannot comment on it, recommend it or otherwise.

*Also this.

There's also the Inkling which is said to work with tablets other than the iPad.

All in all, it's a no for the original question. Until Wacom does something about their promised tablet(s), we're out of luck. Any software available for Android today to provide touch input to PC's would lack precision even if the tablet was able in hardware. The options marked with the asterisk (*) are available in the market today while those with the hyphen (-) look very promising on paper.

Material ~~ August 2012

Answer 2

Have you tried GfxTablet? It allows a user to use his/her android tablet like a cheap drawing tablet. But the catch is that the user must be using a Linux based system (sorry no Windows support) Its has 2 components-one an app to be installed on the device and the second a driver to be installed on the Linux PC that you want to use it on.

http://rfc2822.github.io/GfxTablet/

Answer 3

I have had the opposite experience from Alan. Every RDP product I tried on my little Android reader did exact positioning of the mouse using the stylus. It would be unusable otherwise; I display the PC screen zoomed out in a lot of applications and require pin point accuracy to check radio buttons and what not. Only big issue that I had is that it is difficult to make it do anything other than what it would do with a mouse by left clicking and moving. For most drawing applications that works for the most common operations.

Answer 4

I'd agree with the others that say you're not going to get a quality graphics tablet experience from an inexpensive tablet. The right software (don't know what) teamed with something like the Thinkpad tablet would work, but only because the Tablet has a digitizer (Wacom branded) built in already.

The others that have taken this line insist Wacom is your best choice. I'd ask if you've looked into the Monoprice tablets. They're dirt cheap, and have very good reviews; I included two detailed reviews below. I'll likely be ordering one, maybe two for myself rather shortly.

http://frenden.com/the-little-monoprice-graphics-tablet-that-could/

http://draw2much.blogspot.com/2012/04/welcome-to-my-review-of-monoprice-12-x.html

Answer 5

I did some research on using my AOC tablet as a pointing device and ended up downloading Remote Mouse. It uses an IP address (i.e. 105.166.2.4) so both devices will meet at. It worked on most applications but I could not get it to work on AutoCad.

Answer 6

Just buy photoshop touch for $10 and enjoy it.Its great and i use it.

Answer 7

There are Android (and IOS) apps that let a tablet or phone control a networked desktop computer (I can't recommend specifics as I haven't tried any).

But it seems like technology overkill - a complex solution to a simple problem.

If you don't mind not having a built in screen, Wacom's Bamboo range is both cheap (much less than $200 I believe) and surprisingly good quality. Wacom products are very well built so second hand is a good option. Their latest range works with both finger touch and pen touch.

If you need a screen built in to the tablet, there are a growing range of Windows tablets on the market which would do what you want with only one item of technology required. If you don't need pressure sensitivity or pro quality, you could probably replace an existing laptop with one of these, sell the old laptop, with overall cost less than $200. (if you do need pro quality pressure sensitivity I've heard great things about samsung slate 7 - it's better value than wacom cintiq, but still not cheap)

--EDIT IN RESPONSE TO "Pressure sensitivity isn't a big issue but appreciable. Built-in LCD is a must. Precision should be high enough." edit:--

See comment below for a (non-selective) example of an android remote desktop access app.

The only Android device I know of with pressure sensitivity and good precision is the Galaxy Note (not cheap), with finger and pressure sensitive pen input (I think HTC have an android tablet with pen too, I don't know if it's any good). Capacitive (finger) touch screens just don't do pressure sensitivity.

I've tried the Galaxy Note pen in a shop - its default pressure curves are a bit off and apparently can't be changed but I found it surprisingly good, decent drawings were possible with it. It's more than $300, but a Galaxy Note with a remote desktop access app could be a good pocket-sized solution to your problem (with a free super-large high spec Android phone as a bonus...). I think the HTC tablet is cheaper since it's not also a phone, could be wrong.

Answer 8

I still haven't found a useful tablet app for working with Photoshop (or any graphic application, for that matter). With apps that try to use the tablet as a sort of remote desktop device, bandwidth problems will drive you crazy. None of the "remote" apps I've tried, including RemoteDroid, PRemoteDroid, Win-Remote and several others, provides absolute-positioning input such as a real pen tablet provides. They make your finger or capacitive pen work like a mouse -- relative positioning -- which makes them counter-intuitive and thoroughly annoying to work with.

I strongly recommend getting a Wacom Bamboo or small Intuos tablet. You'll work a lot faster, learn more quickly, and turn out much better products than with any of the current tablet apps.

Answer 9

I think the viewsonic Gslate has pressure sensitivity.

Answer 10

RemoteDroid is an Android app that lets you use your Android phone or tablet as a touchpad/keyboard/mouse for your computer. You just need to install the Android app on your phone/tablet and the RemoteDroid server on your computer for it to connect to.

There's also PRemoteDroid which seems to be the same thing, but with apparently no documentation. I'm not sure where to find the Android client app, as the Google Code project only has the server app.

Neither of these are designed to let you use your Android like a Cintiq tablet. But they are handy for drawing on your computer when you don't have access to a Wacom tablet.

Answer 11

precision + screen = expensive

android no.

These technologies have not crossed paths ever on the cheap, and if so, it would be seen as a pro device. The price would be then in the thousands. Look at the Cintiq range from wacom. they are just a screen and already way past your budget.

Sorry to be a downer but a Wacom tablet is really your only option.