I concur about reading on the iPad. I have both a Kindle and iPad, and while I really like reading news on the iPad (and the many many other things it does too) it is lousy for extended reading. I didn't expect glare to be an issue since it doesn't really bother me on my glossy screen laptop, but the fact that the iPad is usually used near horizontal means that you're always fighting ceiling lights. Even in cases where glare isn't a problem (e.g. reading in bed with the lights down or out) there's something about the screen that causes eyestrain. My gut call is that it's pixel sharpness rather than backlighting, since I never had trouble with eyestrain on palmtops (including the iPhone where I run the same software as on the iPad) or laptops or desktops (I'm staring at those screens most of every day!) but I do not know for sure. I wish I had more fonts to play with or could turn off pixel interpolation.
Another big surprise about the iPad was that the weight made a huge difference. It actually gave me tennis elbow! I've never had that kind of trouble before with any device or even large hardcovers and certainly wasn't expecting it. When reading on the iPad you really want to support it with something.
On the other hand the iPad has almost completely replaced my laptop, which was not the intent or expectation. It's not great for e-mail with the software keyboard but it will do in a pinch and the always-there network makes it awesome for travel (without having to pay $70/mo to Verizon for a data card) and it sure is small and has great battery life.
If I had to pick an all-around unit I'd pick the iPad and deal with the fact that it's not the greatest e-book reader. But if given the choice you really want to do extended reading on an e-ink device.
jim frost
jimf@frostbytes.com
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