Thanks for the responses! Looks like Iconia A500 is not as bad as reviews led one to believe. Looks like NewEgg has one for ~$300 refurbished, tempting.
My main fear is that no matter the price, I would hate the screen. That is, I would be unable to read for an hour without hurting my eyes.
This was an issue with my Acer One netbook. Glossy screen and massive headaches from reading in bed. When I replaced the screen with matte the issues went away.
Kupa seems very nice although pricey.