I have an Intuos3 now, and it cost about 200 bucks back when I got it, not sure how much it's going for now (I'm sure less on Amazon, anyway) because Wacom has been making so many tablets, but it's always treated me right and hasn't given me all those problems that I hear about the Bamboo ones which like to stop working a LOT.
I used to have a Graphire4, I think it might have been discontinued but I still see some on Amazon, closer to 100 dollars. I really enjoyed mine, but the pen grip started coming off the pen because I used it so much. I just taped it down with duct tape and it was fine, or you could just buy a new pen if that happened to you and it really bothered you, but yeah. I didn't have any problems using it, really. The feel of the tape did bug me, though, and my sister had been wanting that tablet for a long time anyway, so I gave it to her and got a new one, so we can both draw.
So both of these tablets have treated me really well and I used the Graphire4 for about 4 years, and the Intuos3 has been with me for 4 years too, and it'll be longer than that, since the grip on this pen is still in perfect condition.
I'm not trying to scare you away from the Bamboos, I've just known a lot of people who keep telling me they have issues with them randomly not working, having to unplug/replug them in, restart, etc., and I can count all my incidents with both my tablets on one hand. Maybe I'm a special case and I'm really careful with my stuff, I dunno, but I did/do use these tablets regularly, for long periods of time.