Just an example of me hanging out in my yard enjoying a good book on my iPad. Full sun? No. The iPad is not good in that situation. But really, I don't want to bake in the sun when I'm reading anyway. In shade, as I am in this photo, with the brightness turned to the max, I can read just fine.
You can also see why I don't think the 1.5lbs is much of a deal. I don't actually hold the weight of the iPad in my hands, it rests on my belly. And you can see what they iPad does not read like a computer, though it is a computer. This is the same position I read books in. The iPad is actually more comfortable to hold than a hard back book -- even most paper backs if I don't break their spines.
This is for those who don't have an iPad to try. I would never have guessed that reading on an LCD screen could be comfortable on the eyes based on my own experience reading on a computer. However, I don't get to curl up with my computer. Even my experience with reading on my iPhone did not convince me that the iPad would be good -- FOR ME -- for reading. I thought perhaps the small size of the iPhone's screen was why I could read on it for hours.
Even though I do read outside -- I do far and away most of my reading indoors. For me the iPad has been an excellent reader. I would expect the same for the top tier tablets coming out running Android or Windows.
Lots of folks are finding out that it wasn't inherently the "LCD" technology that makes a computer such a poor tool for reading book length material.
For some, even an iPad doesn't help and they can only enjoy reading on an eInk type device. I'm not trying to convince anyone who has tried it and found devices like the iPad unsuitable FOR THEM.
Lee