the size is only a matter of your preference. Do you like drawing on humongous skdtchpads, or do you prefer to work smaller? The only real difference when it comes to the Wacom brand is that the Intuous 2 9x12 and above come with a "4D" mouse, of which serves no purpoise to me cuz i dont work in 3D and I dont like using the wacom mice (just because you can only use the pen or the mouse one at a time. If i use my normal optical mouse, I can work with both very quickly and interchangably). I dunno much about Aiptek, but my graphire 2 kicks booty. Wacom customer service is fantastic too, I had to get the wire on my graphire replaced, and they did it free, and paid the shipping back here. Got my tablet back in less than 2 weeks after sending it off.