Wacom Bamboo Spark review

Japanese tablet maker Wacom has enjoyed consistent success with its range of graphics tablets and styluses. With its new device, the Bamboo Spark, the company is hoping to preserve the handwritten note at a time when it is very quickly becoming superfluous. The Bamboo Spark is what Wacom is calling a ‘smart folio’. Notes you make using its smart pen and pad will be turned into digital versions ready to share online. The device uses a smart case which contains an electromagnetic resonance sensor, which communicates with the included smart pen to record your strokes. It then syncs with your phone or tablet via bluetooth, storing your scribblings digitally for later access via the accompanying app. At a time when the hand written approach is slowly being eclipsed by digital alternatives, can Wacom’s device help to preserve the once ubiquitous method of note-taking, or does the Bamboo Spark simply highlight how outdated the humble pen and pad are?