Artist Resources Computer tablets

I'm thinking that I need to get a tablet for my computer but I'd like some advice before I get one. I don't have much of an income and I'm not good at prioritising anything at all. Once I've upgraded my computer I plan on getting a new widescreen monitor though at the moment I have a 4:5 monitor. Should I get a decent 4:3 tablet now and keep my monitor or should I go for a decent wide tablet to go with the new monitor when I get it or should I just get a cheap 4:3 tablet and replace it when I replace my monitor?

That aside, I don't know which ones are good, other than Wacom ones and they're out of my budget range. Any recommendations on make and/or model would be greatly appreciated here.

 

I bought a Genius G-Pen M609X tablet in March:

[image=http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Genius_G-Pen-M609X-540x415.jpg]

It's pretty good, it's dual-mode, so it should work for both 4:3 and widescreen monitors. I got it from a Slovak online store that I almost always use when buying electronics, and it cost me 65 EUR - although I'm now checking Amazon.co.uk and it's over £80 there! That's almost double the price I paid for it!

 

You said that you're not going to buy a Wacom, but my suggestion would be to reconsider that.
The Intuos4 is out now, so the older Intuos are a lot cheaper due to that. If you could save up and buy an Intuos3 or even an Intuos2 I think you'd be a lot happier.
We had a couple of the cheaper ones when I was in art school and I was never that happy with them. They were ok; they worked, but I wouldn't have bought one for my own use.
I have never used a Wacom Bamboo, but I think they're less than $90 and I have heard good things about them.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=wacom+bamboo&x=0&y=0

http://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Intuos3-6-Inch-Format-PTZ431W/dp/B000I62PEU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1294275228&sr=8-2

You can also look at eBay. I know that it's a big risk buying something used on eBay, but my brother-in-law bought his Wacom Intuos3 used on there for a really good price and it works great.

I'm not saying that the thing recommended above is bad, but for me I think the Wacoms are definitely worth saving up for. And keep in mind that the Intuos come with a lot of software. I can't remember what the Intuos3 came with, but when I upgraded to the Intuos4 I got trial copies of Photoshop, Corel, AutoDesk Sketchbook Pro.

 

If you can, save up for an Intuos4. I love the thing. Photoshop Elements 8, a limited Corel program, and the freebie Autodesk Sketchbook came with mine as well as brushes for Photoshop. You can get a few dollars knocked off by getting the student edition off of Amazon (unlike Adobe, there is no verification process before or after purchase for the tablet...at least not if you go through Amazon).

I have the medium, which has an active drawing area about the size of half a sheet of paper. You can program all of the buttons for various functions and it will automatically switch settings if you switch programs (so in one program the eraser button could erase, in your RealPlayer it could pause music, while in another program it could be a right-click). It can be set for left- or right-handed users. Vista and Windows 7 support writing recognition, so you can use it to write in web addresses, emails, or change pages in your browser. You can also use it to add comments to Word documents (at least if you run a 64-bit version of the OS).

Lots of good stuff.