I love mine. Size is only an issue I guess if you like to make longer strokes or see more of your work when you zoom in.

dont look at it, use it and make your awesome art awesomer! Damn, I too gotta buy a nice wacom; but we rarely have wacoms here.

That's what online stores are for :p
Being told by dad that if I really want to make the most of my hobby, I should get the 21UX (by comparing it to him and his cycling bikes XP). Still, it's too much money for me at this point.
That, or I'm a scrooge. :p

well I KNOW that I already have to get fancy with online stores. you see, I always made my payments wit cash till this day, and when I finally start doing online shopping, I will use my ATM card instead of a credit card.

I own one and I love it. It takes a little while to get used to to but I find it sooo much nicer to work with than a regular tablet. I've used the larger ones as well but I find the size of the 12 WX more comfortable to work with.
I'd recommend it, but really the best thing to do would be go to store with it on display and see if you play around with it for a bit.

The only problem I have with it is the click detection near the edges could be better. That said I still highly suggest it.

I have a Cintiq12WX since last year. It's really very nice to draw directly on the screen compared to a "regular" Wacom. I think I would recommend it and wouldn't replace it any more (though I also still have my Intuos3). Some impressions of mine:

Good:
• Nice effect and fun to draw directly on the screen
• Hot Keys / Buttons are fine
• You can rotate it when drawing (like a sketch book)

Not so good (but still not bad):
• The 12WX - for my taste - is indeed a little bit too small... you have to scroll quite often, which can be annoying sometimes (if you're painting large artwork). If I would have been able to transport the 21 from USA to Germany - I would have (here it costs the same price in EUR, which is TERRIBLY expensive... the $ prices are still OK).
• The colors are OK, but not as good as on a proper monitor. But that's OK, I just do the color proofs on my regular screen.
• It's not handy at all... forget about "just taking it with you to the bar" or something. Lots of cables and devices (box, needs power). It's very fine for working on your desk (or taking it to another place in your house), but it's nothing for carrying around much outside.

Bad:
• The cable is attached to the graphic tablet (fix), which I am sometimes a little afraid of that it might break when moving too much. But so far, it didn't happen. =)
• Price is still very high compared to the other Wacoms

The wires wouldn't be much of an issue, since I'm not planning to be mobile with it and only use it with my desktop.
Also, I'm realizing that the big version might not be very optimal for me. While it's definately a handy thing, I'm used to drawing with smaller strokes by now. Drawing on a large format never worked well for me, though that's a moot point in case of inking or coloring.
I gather the 12XW isn't much bigger than an A5 Intuos3, though? That's what I'm currently using, and the smaller size is ticking me off a little by now.

I got lucky and I was able to afford the Wacom21"

Having a bigger "canvas" to work with is really handy most of the time :)
as although I don't draw very big, I use the space to colour and shade evenly in less time and less fiddling around with scroll buttons

I wouldn't recommend being very mobile with it, even on the 12" - it's fairly heavy to have on your lap (not to mention, expensive if it's dropped)

Very nice for transition between traditional to digital and back again ^^ as it feels very much like drawing on a sketchbook, but with the quickness of drawing on a regular tablet (for me anyway)

The problem is the size. Go to the computer store and snag one of the smaller netbooks, then set it on your lap and try to picture drawing with that. I bought one from Fry's a couple months back, but had to return it because it was just *too* small.

My girl has exactly the one you're speaking of and says anything over 12 is cumbersome, but at that size, it's totally worth the cost. And I can vouch; her work is getting better and better.  holydust if you want to see for yourself.