Size?
I have Soprano, Concert & Tenor sizes.
Concert is more usable higher up the fingerboard around the 12th fret purely because it is a longer uke. However chord reaches are easier with smaller ukes (I mean when you have to stretch your fingers between something like 2nd and 7th fret if you need a particular alternatate version of a chord when you're playing fingerstyle). I was quite scared of a soprano when I started but you shouldn't let it put you off. Budduh Iz had bigger fingers than you! My hand span is 9.5 inches and my fingers are big enough. I have no problem with a soprano now. The trick is to try and play chords like standard EMaj, Dmin, DMaj using a 1 finger barre that is lifted over the non-barred strings. If you try and squeeze a bunch of fingers on each string, it is too tight. Watch how Aldrine Guerrero plays. I think it was Eddie Kamae that advised on this method and would scold his pupils for playing these chords with other fingerings. So I have slowly switched over to this barre method and it has broadened up my playing ability. Most people say there's no right or wrong way if you can use the barre, it certainly is very handy.
Kala versus Lanikai:
I think you have asked about the right 2 brands for this price bracket. At this lower end of the price bracket, I don't think that there's a lot of difference as you spend a little more, Kala seems to be better.
What you're paying for is a decent laminated wood body with decent construction. If you could stretch to a solid mahogany wood, you would notice the difference. My Kala solid acacia concert sounds cleaner and sweeter than my kala laminated tenor. The laminated one produces almost harpsichord-like harmonics - Still massively better than my dirt cheap Mahalo though!.
Strings:
Aquila is a brand, Nylon is a material. If you get a <$100 uke, replace the crappy strings with Aquilas and it can make a great difference.
Cheers,
Claudio
http://claudio-uke.blogspot.com/
