Wacom Intuos Art Creative Medium Pen and Touch Tablet: Create memorable graphic designs with this intuitive tablet, which lets you mirror a variety of brushstrokes with the pen and offers multitouch gesture support for simple navigation. ExpressKeys make customization easy.
I've only just decided to move away from scanning ink-and-paper drawings and toward digi-drawing; I was afraid I couldn't afford any "good" technology. I knew I couldn't afford any of the fancy tablets with displays on which you can draw directly and my research for alternatives brought me to products like this one. The reviews were good but I would have liked to try one out before I spent money on one.
Thankfully, this simple little gadget is BRILLIANT. There are a lot of interface customization settings that were a little overwhelming at first but very simple once I started playing around with them. I use the tablet with GIMP software and it's LOADS better than drawing/editing with a mouse the way I had before. The stylus is amazingly well-tuned for detecting whether the tip is hovering near the tablet (moves the cursor without "clicking") or touching the tablet (click-and-hold), has buttons along the side for other clicking functions, and is uses no electricity (no cords or batteries). Also, the software and documentation that you download from the Wacom site is simple, plainly explanatory, and useful. I am ultimately happy with this purchase -- I don't often get to say that about tech purchases. :)