bamboo

Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch Fun Small Tablet
$99.95
I use the Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch with a late 2008 iMac 24". I replaced my Mighty Mouse that came with my computer with this tablet. This was my first Wacom tablet.
I love this tablet! I mostly use the touch and not the pen, but I got the pen and touch because it was only a little bit more and it saves space to have one device that can input two ways rather than two different devices. I also plan to use the pen for more precise things like Photoshop and image editing. Like I said, I never had a Wacom before. The last Mac laptop I had was an iBook which was before they got the fancy "trackpad" with the multi-touch gestures. But I've read a lot of people saying that they love the multi-touch gestures so much they never want to go back to a regular mouse.
I have been having major problems with my hand and wrist hurting from too much mousing. The Mighty Mouse is really too tiny and painful and not at all ergonomic, and the buttons are a real pain to use. I got the Bamboo so that I could give my wrist a rest. I also got a gel wrist rest which I rest the heel of my hand on while I use the Bamboo.
The Pad is really big if you are used to using a trackpad, which is really nice. My iMac is also really big, so I can't drag something from one corner of the screen to the opposite corner - the Bamboo just isn't big enough. But how often do you need to do that anyway?
I love the multi-touch gestures. Before I used the Bamboo, since like I said I had never used multi-touch gestures on a trackpad before, I watched the Bamboo tutorial video. It was helpful, and taught me a bunch of gestures I would not have otherwise found on my own. I would say it took an hour or two for me to really get used to using the multi-touch. Scrolling, dragging, right clicking all work beautifully. You can even pivot in certain programs. Being able to scroll in all directions is really nice, and I use the forward and backward swipe all the time. The right click took a little getting used to, but now it's natural and I don't have to use my left hand to hold down the ctrl button as I used to with the Mighty Mouse.
The surface is matte, which I really like. I'm glad it's not a glassy surface since for touch that would mean that the oils on your fingers could mess up the tracking. (I put a matte screen protector on my iPod Touch and it made using it so much nicer!)
One thing I noticed that you might not think of if you never had a tablet before is that it can get dusty, and dust can confuse the device if you have a lot of it or really big pieces. I recommend covering your tablet when you're not using it, or wiping it clean with a clock. Your hands should also be clean (no eating!) so as not to get residue on it.
This tablet is such a joy to use, I'm thinking of asking if I can get one for work. I don't even mind having to pay for it myself. My hand will appreciate it!

Brussel's Bonsai - Pyramid Bamboo - Double Layer
$29.00
The bamboo plant arrived about 2 weeks before christmas and was a gift for my mother in law. Depsite my best efforts, the plant was dead before Christmas. I retured it. It didn't look particularly healthy when it arrived and just went downhill from there.

Joyce Chen 3-Piece Burnished Bamboo Stir-Fry Set
$9.99
This Joyce Chen, 3 piece burnished Bamboo Stir-Fry Set is absolutely WONDERFUL!! You can was in the diswasher, does NOT bother the finish. Tools are ergonomically made to correctly lift and stir your ingredients in so easily!! They are perfect in size...not too long and not short. The price is super low...and you will actually enjoy woking with these fine tools!

Juanita Williams

Bamboo (Small) Pen Tablet with Pen Only
$69.99
When I purchased this tablet, I had a feeling that it wasn't going to be all that great because it was so cheap and I was okay with that. Truthfully though, it works great. Installation is very quick, configuring the settings is simple. I LOVE the fact that you can just flip the pen over to erase, it makes it so much easier to correct a mistake. The buttons on the stylus are handy as well, as you can set them to be left-click/right-click functions, and you don't have to worry about tapping on the pad and missing your target (say, to change a tool on Photoshop).

The small size is excellent for me because I have a small apartment, and I also travel a lot. The size of this tablet makes it easy for me to bring it along on roadtrips, to a coffee shop, or any other place where a 9x12 inch tablet wouldn't be able to go. That and this little thing fits very nice in one's lap, in case you only have enough desk/table area to set down your laptop.

Since I started out coloring my works with a mouse, I'm used to the whole smaller-space feel. So again, the size was no problem and I have no regrets going for the small.

The surface of the tablet can get dirty very easily I've come to find, fingerprints easily leave marks on the shiny top function buttons, dark oily marks on the more matte finish of the rest of the device. Scribbling with the stylus on the tablet can leave small scratch marks, but these can be rubbed away to leave the surface looking like new. Don't know why it does that, but it doesn't seem to have effected the performance yet. Any of the fingerprints can be cleaned away pretty easily with a dry, clean cloth.

Perhaps not the choice for someone who wants top-notch professional quality, but if you can't afford the nicer tablets, this one is a great buy.