I just got a new Wacom Bamboo and it is everything I could ask for in a tablet. The first thing you will notice about the Bamboo is how small it is. At only 7.88×7.36in. and 0.3in. thick, it is much more manageable than my previous 6×8 tablet. I always wanted to use a tablet as a mouse/trackpad replacement but I have a Macbook so keeping a full size tablet connected while maintaining portability becomes cumbersome. Because of this, I would only bring the tablet out when I needed to re-touch a photo or for digital calligraphy. However, the Bamboo’s size and weight, makes it easy to keep it connected and use as your main input device as well as a graphics tablet. the integrated ExpressKeys and Touch Ring also reduce the need to go back to the keyboard and trackpad. My favorite feature has to be the tablet’s surface which is textured to simulate paper. This is such a brilliant innovation it’s like Wacom read my mind. Previous tablets have a surface that is slick as glass making it almost impossible to draw controlled strokes and turn sharp corners. I always taped a piece of paper on top to solve this problem (which would wear out and tear in time) but now I don’t have to. I had two main concerns before using the Bamboo which were it’s smaller active drawing area (5.8 W x 3.7in.) and the fewer levels of pressure sensitivity (512 vs. the full size 1024). As an experienced tablet user, I can say these things were not the least bit noticeable while working. The pen itself is very comfortable with a soft coating that goes from the tip to about an inch from the eraser end. The Bamboo website implies that there is no eraser which is not the case. There is an eraser it is just not pressure sensitive. But who really needs that? The build quality of the Bamboo is top notch. While previous tablets I have used have a sort-of hollow feel to them, the Bamboo feels very solid, sleek and sexy. Wacom is trying to market the Bamboo to business type people but I think it is just as well suited for graphics professionals without the budget to spring for the intuos.