I do most of my reading on a Kindle Paperwhite. I'm not a fan of the Kindle Fire and got rid of my original Fire as soon as the Nexus 7 was first released. The newer Fires are much better than the original but are still primarily aimed at those who want to consume Amazon content and are too locked down to Amazon's ecosystem for my taste.
Recently, I decided to buy a larger screen tablet for watching videos and for reading magazines, PDF's and graphic novels. For my limited uses, I couldn't justify paying a premium price.
My decision was to go with the Nook HD+ and I've been very pleased with mine for the following reasons:
1. Price. At the current price of $149, it's the lowest priced 9" HD tablet on the market and is an incredible bargain.
2. Form Factor. The size and weight are great and very comfortable to hold and use, even for long periods of time.
3. SD card slot for expanded storage.
4. Access to Google Play. Even though it uses a forked version of Android, as does the KF, it has access to the Google Play app store.
5. Easy to root or use dual boot SD card to run stock Android OS or switch back and forth between OS without voiding your warranty or running the risk of bricking it. You can do it yourself following instructions on XDA-Developer Forum or you can buy an inexpensive preconfigured card such as one of these:
http://www.androidfornook.com/nook-s...micro-sd-cards
6. The Kindle for Android app works great on it. The Kindle app also works fairly well for graphic novels and supports panel view, although it's not as good as some of the third party readers from Google Play, such as Perfect Viewer.
7. HD video resolution is fantastic. The newest Fire HDX and Nexus tablets are as good or better but the resolution is very good and I doubt anyone would see a visible difference on the newer, more expensive models.
The disadvantages of the Nook HD+ include:
1. B&N has a poor reputation for customer service and support, and the content selection and prices tend to not as good as Amazon and some others. I don't care about any of this because I don't buy content from B&N and don't need their customer service or support. The device itself is well-made and of high quality.
2. B&N has made it unnecessarily difficult (but not impossible) to sideload third party apps from sources other than their app store or Google Play unless you root it or run Android from a dual boot SD card.
3. It requires an overpriced, proprietary 30-pin connector for all connections - usb, charging and HDMI.
With these considerations in mind, I highly recommend the Nook HD+. For the price, you can't find a better large screen tablet anywhere. I find that I use it two or three times as much as I used my 7" Kindle Fire or my Nexus 7, and far prefer it for all of my uses.