What is your opinion of e-book readers like the Nook, Kindle, and iPad?

I've never read a book on the Kindle, Nook, or iPad personally, but I have had experience reading an e-book many years ago on my Jornada 565 PocketPC PDA. I only think I read two at the time, as the small screen was just intolerable - I'd have to switch to the next page every 20 seconds or so and the repetition got old fast.

I also got a free sample of the Winnie The Pooh book on my iPhone, but that again was just too small and too much clicking required for a satisfying reading experience. Even though those two past experiences weren't the best, I would be game for trying it out on a low lit bigger screened device. The iPad is flashy but just too bright - the Kindle would probably be what does it for me.

What about you guys?

Keep in mind that I have the Sony E-Reader which is similar to but not the same as the Kindle. It's still the same experience, though.

One of the huge and important differences between the Ipad reader and the Kindle reader is the backlight. In those pictures you can even tell that the iPad, as you said, is much brighter. The Kindle relies on an external light for you to read it - although with my Sony reader, the case has a built-in light in the event that I don't have access to light, and I'm sure the Kindle would have something similar. What this means is the Kindle gives you more of a REAL book experience in that the page is sort of dull and mimicking the real page of a book where you really need to curl up under a light to be able to read it, and it's less painful on your eyes.

If you like to read... a LOT, I suggest getting the Kindle. From the looks of it you intend to get an e-reader regardless of which one you get? My mother has the Nook and, while its features are highly amazing (It's pretty much a cross between the iPad and the Kindle, since my mother can go surfing the net on it, etc.) there is a backlight on it which I'm not sure you can turn off.

Still, all of them will hold insane amounts of books so that, in the event that you are going on a trip and want to bring a book or a magazine with you, you can bring your entire collection.

I've never really used any kind of eReader, I don't read too much honestly. I have a tablet laptop that I use because most of the books I have are PDF's.

My roommate has a Kindle though, which I have played around with. I do agree with Quierta's statement that the Kindle is more of a "REAL book experience". It has no blacklight and depends on another light source. If you have adequate light, then there is no problem reading from a Kindle. The words are displayed on the screen in a very crisp way, and doesn't cause any stress on the eyes.

On my Android phone I have the Amazon Kindle app that came preloaded on it, and checked it out. Like bobbonew said, the screen to read a book on your phone is just way too small, so it didn't really please me that much.

All in all, I think that eReaders the future of literature. You won't have to go to the book store to buy a book anymore. Browse a selection online, buy a book from the comfort of your living room, and begin reading within minutes. Our future is digital.

I have a Amazon Kindle and I think it is amazing, the way how it loads a book and its pages in less than a second is amazing, compared to the iPads e-book store. The only problem I have with the Amazon Kindle is that it doesn't have a color screen so my eyes hurt after seen the yellow and black screen over and over again.