Monoprice’s 19" Tablet Monitor Enters the Fray, a History

In April of 2012, I wrote a review of Monoprice’s graphic tablets that went a bit viral. After being picked up by Drawn!, it was reblogged over 40,000 times.

I loved that little punk rock tablet so much that it inspired me to start ordering other relatively obscure hardware for review. There were undiscovered gems like the Monoprice tablets out there and I wanted to find them.

I’ve reviewed dozens of graphics tablets and tablet monitors in the time since and found that Monoprice’s tablet used UC-Logic digitizers. I tracked down other vendors selling UC-Logic-alike hardware such as Yiynova and Huion.

When reviewing the Yiynova MSP19U (the third Yiynova I purchased that year and the first to abandon its previous, terrible Waltop digitizer internals for UC-Logic tech), the dream of a cheap Cintiq alternative had come true.

Since, Yiynova has stumbled a bit. Their tech uses outdated VGA connections and their prices have raised significantly concurrent with their higher profile in the art community as result of the reviews.

With that history in mind, I’m happy to say that Monoprice is releasing a new, incredibly affordable 19" tablet monitor. Where other Cintiq alternatives in the category cost $700, this new monitor starts at around $390.

I’ve been in contact with Monoprice and hope to receive a review unit.

These alternatives were made possible by the vigilance and curiosity of the art community as a whole. So good on us.