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I think of this as two questions:
1) Why an e-book reader at all? (Because the advantages of e-books apply to the Kindle)
2) Why a Kindle rather than one of the other fine options?
So, why an e-book reader at all?
My husband and I have over two thousand (paper) books between us. E-books weigh nothing and take no space.
Bookcases are bulky and expensive. Hundreds of e-books will fit on a 20$ SD chip the size of a postage stamp.
When I travel (admittedly only a few times a year) my books are heavy and packing them into the suitcase so that they don't chew on each other is difficult. And when I go to the store, I can take a dozen books to choose from while I wait for them to fill my prescription.
Of all the e-book readers out there, why a Kindle in particular?
I want e-Ink. Some people have no problem reading from LCDs for long periods of time, but I'm not one of them. I want the clearest screen I can get, which at the moment eliminates touch screens.
I want dictionary lookup, and to be able to search, highlight, and annotate. There are other readers that can do this now, but at the time I started, Kindle was it.
Kindle has free web access, anywhere there is cell phone coverage. I grant you the browser is slow and clunky, but this has been enormously convenient in the past.
Kindle hooks up to Amazon, which has a great selection of recent releases in e-book, and very convenient purchasing. I am less enamored of their DRM, of the topaz format in general (fortunately a small subset of their books), and of their tendency to offer public domain e-books for money instead of for free, but I am a reasonably savvy e-book buyer, and can take care of myself.
I bought a Kindle when Kindles were $400. At this point, the price looks great!
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