None of the proffered answers in the poll worked for me. I guess I bought my iPad as a portable information/entertainment device. Today it functions as aa ebook reader maybe 90% of the time.
I liked having a way to read while not lugging books with me. I started with my Palm Pilot (whoa! how long ago was that?), loading Shakespeare on it for those moments when I was bookless yet wanted to read.
Then the iPod Touch (which I lost last summer) served me well with free public domain books. But never did I buy a book. Too small a screen to make steady reading feasible or comfortable for me.
But the iPad that I got while it was on sale was the Big Moment. I bought this thing to listen to music and/or spoken word (Dylan Thomas reading his own work, Richard Burton reading The Rime of the Ancient Mariner), web browse, play games (now very rarely). I then loaded apps for iBooks, Kindle, Nook and Kobo. I have lots of books loaded, and now read more than I can ever remember. It's like I'm back in college. Seven books read this year so far! Clearly, the iPad and reader apps re-ignited my love of reading.
I love the fact that many ebooks are inexpensive, many free. For those older books I am re-reading now and that are not so cheap, I still occasionally go to
http://www.bookfinder4u.com/ to locate the cheapest used copy I can get. So my library and my e-library are both growing by leaps and bounds.
The best thing about the apps? I can locate a book very quickly and can have a copy in my hands (so to speak) in seconds! Before my interest or memory fails.