A couple of years ago I invested in a Wacom Intuos 4 tablet. All of a sudden I was able to draw, ink, paint in a virtual environment, and I really enjoyed it. The only problem was the eye-hand coördination. Looking at a monitor while your hand is someplace else doing the drawing takes quite a bit of getting used to and, if i’m honest, even after months of practice I would still get splitting headaches. So, I found myself in the market for a monitor digitizer. I was very impressed with the Wacom quality, both in build and accuracy. Sio I started looking for a Cintiq, the 13 inch being the most affordable option.

I was worried thought that the 13 inch screen would just be too small for me, and the 22 inch was quite an investment. So i started searching the web for alternatives. There aren’t that many reviews around for alternatives to the Cintiq, but i kind of dicited that a yiynova 19 inch + UPS would be the best option for me. I also found out that the European distributor for Yiynoa is located in Rotterdam, so that sounded interesting. Then, Yiynova came out with a 22 inch, putting it on the market for less than 1000 Euros. I contacted Yiynova and picked up the new 22 inch monitor.

I was immediately in the clouds with this thing. The pen response is excellent and it works in all the software i throw at it so no complaints there. However, after about three weeks the monitor started to act up. Bummed out I contacted Yiynova about the problem and they replaced it with brand new one, immediately. This is about a year ago now, and I haven’t had any kind of problems since.

Now, here’s my review of the monitor, starting with the downsides.

What’s not so good:

1. Te control buttons
I can be very short about that: they’re crap and in the wrong location. Now, if you’re working in windows you can use the monitor in portrait mode and then the buttons are on the lefthand side, which makes more sense. I’m working on Mac and the buttons are on the top in the middle, which is a strange place. I know Yiynova is working on some sort of function remote control that would take care of this problem but I just put my keyboard under my left hand and use the shortcuts - works like a charm.

2. The glass thickness
The glass is pretty thick, so there’s some space between the tip of the pen and the drawing surface. I suppose the glass could be a bit thinner, but on the other hand it took me about 10 mins to get used to this and it doesn’t bother me at all.

3.The calibration buttons
They work, but they’re a bit fiddly. Then again, how many times do you have to do this?

4. The pen does not have an eraser. Press „e” on the keyboard.

And there you have it: these are all the negatives. If you read stuff about font problems etc... take note that Yiynova has taken care of all that since.

What is absolutely excellent:

1. It’s an excellent monitor that can be easily calibrated.

2. Yiynova delivers the monitor with every possible adapter for your system. (I hear the newer models will be working with HDMI as standard.) So you load the drivers, hook up the monitor, start drawing. No need to calibrate the pen position, it’s accurate out of the box.

3. The pen uses batteries. Some people think this is a disadvantage, but really it isn’t. The weight of the pen is quite pleasant and the batteries last.... forever. I’m not exactly sure why the pen uses batteries but the sensitivity of the pen is amazing. I can only compare to my waxom intros and the couple of times i’ve drawn on a cintiq, but i actually prefer the Yiynova pen. And People who have tested the monitor seem to agree. The pressure sensitivity (that can easily be changed) is absolutely amazing, allowing me to draw in all kinds of linewidts without having to change the brush all the time. I love it.
There are several pens available, they’re all excellent. If i prefer their latest P2X pen it’s only because of it’s superior build quality. The basic pen works just as well.

4. The glass surface
While some claim to prefer a textured surface, I don’t. I think drawing on this glass is wonderful, it’s easy to clean and after one year of professional use, doesn’t show any scratches or signs of wear.

5.The Foot
Incline to any angle. It’s light yet sturdy. Very functional.

6. The price
This monitor is a device without compromise, despite the favorable price (now available for 829€ at yiynova.eu). Notice that I’ve tried not to compare it too much to a Cintiq. I don’t compare it because I don’t own a Cintiq and therefore comparing all the aspects would be not entirely fair to Wacom. I am convinced they make excellent devices but this review is all about the Yiynova. To me this device is not merely a Cintiq-alternative. It’s a solid, beautiful well working device all in itself. I was looking for a device that I could use professionally, so it needed to be good. And, as it turned out, the Yiynova MVP22U+IPS is excellent.