I got a very recent Wacom Bamboo tablet. Works fine after I upgraded my Ubuntu Linux to handle it.
Or maybe "fine" would be a stretch. I can use it in Inkscape, but in search for a better term, I would call it erratic. The problem is that Inkscape (or my window manager or whatever) doesn't detect every click/press I do with the pen. For example, when I wanna pan the drawing area, I press the middle mouse button on the pen and drag; but every time I do this I have to press that button twice. It only every goes into action on the second click. Same thing -- very often, at least -- when I try to press with the pen tip on a layer in the layers dialog, or when choosing a tool in the toolbox.

I've switched my window manager (Unity under Ubuntu) to sloppy focus, but it didn't make any difference.

Anyone have any suggestions?

I don't know what the wacom driver and control panel setup is for linux, but in Windows htere is a 'hover click' option for Wacom pens that might fix the dragging problem. Bamboo tablets as you know are low resolution so double-clicking is a bit of a problem in many apps.

Is there any reply from the store you bought your wacom pad? This is must be the quality problem, you should ask for warranty.