[jabberwock_11]

I have been a huge advocate for eink devices and believe that if you read for long periods of time that an eink screen is a much better choice than a tablet, however, tablets have their pace. Many of the 7" deices are fairly close in weight to eink devices and battery times are constantly improving. I have a 10" tablet and have found myself reading on it more and more often. My tablet works quite well for 3D gaming, writing grant proposals, submitting office work, watching movies, etc. In fact I don't even use my laptop anymore because I can do everything easier and faster on my tablet. When you're doing everything else on a tablet it becomes less attractive to switch to another device just to do something that you could just as easily have done on the tablet.

I have a feeling that most people are looking at the cost of a new eink device and the cost of a cheap 7" tablet and seeing far more value in the comparably priced tablet. It's the same reason that more folks are using their phones as MP3 players even though stand alone MP3 players have far better battery lives. Why spend the extra money when you can get everything in one package? As people have less and less to spend on luxury items it becomes more and more about value, both perceived and actual.