They've been around, but I don't know of anyone who took them seriously back then (as a designer). My memory was that the driver was really spotty (the current one seems to work pretty well) and the pens broke very quickly. At the time the Wacoms were built like tanks, and so on the surface at least it seemed like a no-brainer for professional work. I never tried a Yiynova so I can't say for that but the second hand reviews I got weren't so great either until now, with the UC Logic components. Anyway, I'm glad that more people are discovering them now, especially myself! ;)