I bought an iPad a couple weeks ago and all I've really used it for is reading my .pdf books from O'Reilly et al. I like the larger screen and being able to quickly search the book for a particular method or function. The weight and cost are the obvious downsides. I have a friend who sold his in preference for his Kindle, but he was reading mainly novels.
Cost is a big thing to me, along with portability. My laptop works great, but taking it anyplace is a real hassle just to read a book while waiting for whatever. I still think after the 1st of the year I'll get the Kindle. I looked at other e-book readers and really didn't like what I saw.
