The ONLY reason that I have been on this one long, is because I was trashed and impugned for saying that I have no use for an iPad...which lead to other posts from me, to reply to other replies.
Talk about "using up bandwidth"....that's what you and others have done since I first posted to this thread, instead of just passing over that post. ;^)
Nothing wrong with bound, ink on paper books, I sort of miss them actually. Nothing wrong with all manner of analog ways of doing things, it can be very satisfying.
But, speaking for myself only, the sheer volume of books, music, really anything that can be stored via electronic means, available anywhere on the go with a very usable screen size for viewing, typing, even interacting and doing productive work (unlike an awkward cell phone screen), when combined with internet connection anywhere there’s cell reception, well, it’s a genuinely transformative device. Very freeing, the things you can do in some beautiful, fairly remote places now, it’s pretty amazing when I stop and think about it.
But, some don’t want or need that, I completely understand. The way things have always been done were done that way because it had value and still does for many.
To each his or her own.