I have a tablet that I use for creating diffuse maps but I find for accurate drawing/sketching you must spend some good money to get a good tablet! to do detailed drawings my tablet is a tad bit delayed which makes it tricky. I love it though, great purchase!
I have a tablet as well that has pretty much replaced my mouse, except when I'm playing a game. I use the pen all the time, I just find it a lot more comfortable now, plus it's less strain on the wrist during long uses.
I just have one of the small Wacom Bamboo tablets, but it works quite well. I plan on upgrading to an Intuos tablet soon which is quite a bit better than the Bamboo series, but also quite a bit more expensive.
For starting out with a tablet, I'd recommend the Bamboo. It's pretty cheap ($70 for the Bamboo Pen version) and works well. You can always sell it and upgrade later on if you find yourself using/liking it a lot.
Adobe Photoshop CS4/Illustrator CS4
Adobe Flash CS4
3DS Max & Maya
PC Spec:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 (2.8ghz)
8gb 800Mhz DDR2 RAM
1gb nVidia GTX275
2TB SATA HD
Windows 7 RTM
Yes... I plan on getting a bamboo fun from wacom - They seem pretty good but I want to get a tablet that will do the job, nothing mega serious but a pretty decent one. The bamboo fun seems pretty nice though and it's my choice to go with my soon to be 27inch iMac
PHP/Python (amongst other things) Person - Big Fan of MVC Architecture. Love CakePHP and CodeIgniter.
I use a tablet. I got mine from Amazon. Had it for 2 years now. I love it. I am just learning that when working with Blender 3D, I can use the tablet for more detailed work. Though I still aint good enough to post any pics, but I'm just saying.