Really. If I have a Kindle, I can read my books. So your best argument, in claiming that I have to buy $600 of devices to compare to the $329 iPad is book reading. Didn’t convince me.
So, if I were looking for a tablet, I would be out $159 for the Kindle Fire, or $329 for the iPad.
A Kindle can read e-books purchased from Amazon.
A Nook can read e-books purchased from B&N.
A Kindle cannot read e-books purchased from B&N, iTunes, Kobe, or any other e-book retailer (PDFs and a few cracked or open formats aside).
A Nook cannot read e-books purchased from Amazon, iTunes, Kobe, or any other e-book retailer (PDFs and a few cracked or open formats aside).
An iPad CAN read e-books purchased from Amazon, B&N, iTunes, Kobe, and many other retailers, along with a bunch of other sources.
If all your books come from Amazon, then consider a Kindle.
If you’re ever going to be interested in buying books from any other source, your options are either an iPad or multiple tablets that will soon, together, cost as much or more than an iPad.