A graphics tablet/screen hybrid (or tablet/LCD hybrid, tablet LCD monitor[1]) is a graphics tablet that incorporates an LCD into the tablet itself, allowing the user to draw directly on the display surface. They should not be confused with hybrid tablets.
Graphics tablet/screen hybrids offer advantages over both touch screens and ordinary tablets. Unlike touch screens, they offer pressure sensitivity, and their resolution is generally higher.
While their pressure sensitivity and resolution are typically no better than those of ordinary tablets, they offer the additional advantage of directly seeing the location of the physical pen device relatively to the image on the screen. This often allows for increased accuracy and a more tactile, "real" feeling to the use of the device.
Wacom holds many patents on the key technologies for graphic tablets,[2] which forces competitors to use other technologies or license Wacom's. The displays are typically very expensive, often selling for thousands of dollars. For instance, the Wacom Cintiq series ranges from just below $1000 to over $2000.
Some commercially available graphics tablet-screen hybrids include:
There have also been do it yourself projects where conventional used LCD monitors and graphics tablets have been converted to a graphics tablet-screen hybrid.[3][4][5]