What Are They?

Graphics tablets are useful little electronic devices which connect to a PC and consist primarily of two parts- a tablet, and the pen/stylus. Every point on the tablet's sensitive area corresponds to a point on the screen; hovering the pen over that point on the tablet, or pressing it down, will result in moving the cursor to the corresponding point or clicking on that point on the screen, respectively. The pen is, in cases, pressure sensitive.

So How Are They Useful?

Well, they are primarily useful to people who tend to do photomanipulation or graphics on their computer. As a demonstration, open up Paint, or whatever picture software you may have at your disposal, and then try to draw a circle with the mouse. Messy, isn't it? Now try the same, but with a pen, on a piece of paper. Most people will find this much easier to pull off.

Some graphics programs work hand-in-hand with the pressure-sensitivity of the pen to get effects which are harder, or softer, in response to how hard you press down with the stylus. This too is something that mouses lack.

To those who do naught more with their computers than browse the internet or send e-mails, a tablet would not really do much good for them.

Which Brand Should I Get?

By far, Wacom is the current leader in the market. They manufacture tablets of all sizes and costs, ranging from the hobbyist's Graphire series tablet (around $90) and the more serious, larger Intuos series (which range from $200 to $700), to the massive, Cintiq, which ranges in the thousands of dollars.