Everyone has their own set of criteria. But for me the iPad has become a tablet that is used primarily around the house and only occasionally when out and about, but rarely for reading. Although it has a wonderful set of apps available for reading, the iPad screen is too low-resolution for my middle-aged eyes. The iPt4 with its Retina display is great, but it is way to small for a fulltime reader. So when I combine the low-resolution screen, lackluster text rendering capability, and bulkiness factors, I find that I cannot rate the iPad as a good reader option. If I was you, I would hold on to my Kindle for a while and first verify if the iPad works for you as a reader. It does seem to be the primary reader for many people, so perhaps it will work for you too.

As a tablet though, I highly rate the iPad. I use it a lot for non-reading purposes and I find that it is more portable than my netbook for when I need to go out. But it is still a luggable device in that it does take up space and it does weigh over a pound.