I have and use both the Intous3 6x8 and Grapphire4 6x8 and love them. The above comments are correct - the 9x12 was too big and the 4x5 was just too small.

I used to own an Aiptek and it worked just great as well - the only problem I had with it was that I needed to change the battery for the pen (the Wacom pens don't need batteries).

Inkyy was right - once you get used to using a tablet you never wanna pick up a mouse again for any kind of drawing and/or creative use.

I like the Intous3 a little better simply for the hotkeys - I've recently gotten very used to keeping my other hand hovering over the hotkeys and it really does save me some time.

Yeah, the Wacom's are expensive, but they're not targeting the casual/non-professional user. They have some extra bells and whistles, and they are fully aware that businesses have the bonus of a tax writeoff for equipment purchases.

Hope that helps-
-Lew ;-)