Is an e-Reader in our future?

We have been envious of a few cruisers who have had Kindles on board, and are seriously contemplating buying one or two e-readers while we're back in the Land of Stuff. Not just for the downloadable books, but also because we now have many manuals and cruising guides in PDF form.


I knew about the Kindle and the iPad, but didn't realize that there are now about 20 other brands of similar devices. Uh-oh, choices!! Now just trying to sort out price vs. functionality, etc.

Someone told us 'definitely the iPad is the best', but then I looked at the iPad starting price and had a heart attack. Another friend highly recommended the Kindle 3 over the iPad--better daylight readable, better battery, and a significantly better price. At $139 for a new Kindle 3, we could actually afford to buy 2.