Seems Wacom has a new product to be released, and the beans were spilled early by retailer Best Buy, who put the product out on the shelves before the official release date. In fact Wacom has no information on their site about the new device. Wacom’s new Bamboo Touch is a USB trackpad incorporating multi-touch, giving users an iPhone-like experience on their Mac or PC. Early reports on the pricing are around $70 USD for this model.

The model featured here is finger input only, but there’s been speculation across the web that there are going to be multiple models of the device, some which support a pen/stylus in addition to the finger gesture input. And extrapolating from Wacom’s current product lines, it’s reasonable to deduce that there may be an Intuos Touch, perhaps incorporating advanced features, and perhaps the models that include a stylus.

Any graphics tablet user who has experience with both Wacom’s Bamboo products and their Intuos products knows that there is a huge difference between the two lines (which is also reflected in the prices). It’s fair to assume that if an Intuos Touch is in the pipeline, it will be far more fully-featured than the Bamboo version of the same product.

Many might dismiss the device, thinking that drawing or sketching would be far less intuitive than working with a pen/stylus, and I tend to agree. My interest in the device isn’t for drawing, rather for rotating, zooming/scaling and moving the canvas around in Photoshop and Illustrator. A far more intuitive method for those actions other than hunting down the keyboard shortcuts every time.

Here’s a brief intro video by a YouTube user who picked up a Bamboo Touch:

Here’s the text from the box:

Smart
Gain all the benefits of Multi-Touch. Use Bamboo with all standard operating systems and applications. Custimize your Bamboo, too. Flexible and versatile, Bamboo is the smart choice.

Engaging
Engage with your computer in an all-new way from the very first touch. Multi-Touch makes complex commands as easy as a gesture, while Bamboo’s ample tablet space lets you get in touch with your work.

Natural
Make your every gesture count! Scroll, zoom, rotate or flip through photos and documents. Everything at your fingertips.

• Multi-Touch input for intuitive and direct control
• Use a single finger to navigate and multiple fingers for gestures and clicks
• Use finger gestures to scroll, zoom, rotate, go backward or forward
• Spacious touch area for all gestures
• Four user-defined ExpressKeys for shortcuts or clicks
• Easy USB connection
• Interactive tutorial helps you make the most of your Bamboo
• Overall tablet size: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.3 in (208 x 138 x 7.5 mm)
• Wide-format active area size: 4.9 x 3.4 in (125 x 85 mm)

PC: Windows 7, Vista or XP with Service Pack 2
Macintosh: Mac OS X (10.4.8 or higher), Intel or PowerPC Processor

All you Wacom users out there: what’s your take on this product? Something you’re interested in or not? How can you envision using muti-touch gestures in your creative workflow?