For me the kindle is not so much about the hardware.  It is more about the ability to buy most of the books I want for less that I would pay for the paper version, get them within 60 seconds, pay less than the paper version, and not have to stack and store them for the rest of my life.  I don't really care that much about the hardware.  iPad, kindle, computer - they are all fine for reading to me.  The real breakthrough here is the electronic distribution.