"Hmm, not sure where you saw " a good bit of Kindle bashing". I've started visiting nookboards quite frequently now and the core (and most frequent) posters (doesn't include me) never bash the kindle - there are always some drive-by trolls who do so but that's hardly a characteristic of the forum as a whole.
T"
I have a lot of first-hand experience there too. I wouldn't even venture to give a critique of my 3-wk. old Nook. They're very sensitive, generally. Other than that, they are nice, as are the folks at Kindleboards. I registered at the beginning, before the Nook was released. I visited a lot in the early days and went back recently to say I bought one.
I really don't understand all the talk concerning brand loyalty of a reader. I have ereaders by three different companies.