...Lol, ouch. Sorry. Might've been just because the cord got bent around a lot too though. My friend has a Pen and Touch and it's lasted since 2007 with no problems, they're a bit more expensive but they work pretty well. Intuos is known for being the best kind of tablet but they're around 300 bucks for a good one.
I'm actually gonna get a new tablet for Christmas too, it'll be funny if we get the same thing and compare art. :B