These threads are always down to a matter of opinion. Some folks are going to enjoy an LCD and some folks e-Ink. Some people will use both! Like someone said previously, they both have their (dis)advantages. Now that I have gotten that out of the way...
My preference is LCD. I do a lot of reading in low light situations or in bed at night and e-Ink just doesn't cut it for me. Rarely do I sit in full light situations. I don't mind charging any reading device every day. Sometimes I use my portable device to surf the internet. Last but not least, I listen to music while I read. e-Ink just won't do any of that (except the music part). I have an e-Ink device by the way, and have used many of them, and just don't like them.
At the same time, I sincerely believe the statement that LCD causes more eye train than e-Ink is purely a marketing strategy. There has been no evidence that this is the truth! You are going to get eye strain no matter which device you use. Some folks might find LCD causes more, and others might find e-Ink causes more. Seriously, how many of you have been using a CRT monitor most of your life even before LCD came out? I'm a programmer and I've been using computers since I was about 11 years old. I'm 43 now. I see 20/20. If LCDs were going to cause me eye strain I think I would have noticed it. Let me just ask the question - If it were true, wouldn't Amazon or B&N mention it in their online product descriptions or specs? Both the Kindle and Nook mention no glare - so it can be read in direct sunlight. Nothing about eye strain in any of their marketing materials... Hrm...
So, I buy the extended battery life - as that is a proven fact of e-Ink. I buy the reading in full daylight with no problem. Another proven fact (although I won't do that - its too hot here in Arizona to read outside, sheesh). Don't even bother posting some phoney baloney link or claim that my LCD hurts my eyes more than your e-Ink though.
Finally, there is a much bigger market for a multi-function device than there is for a single-function e-book device. Sales of these devices have helped ebooks enormously. The iPad just helps to speed it along. There are many people using their Android phones, iPhones and other devices to read on. They are also using them to surf the web, listen to music, and watch movies. Why pay nearly the same amount of money for a device that has only a single function? More power to you folks that want to do that for the advantages of e-Ink, but its not the best bang for my dollar - and I do a LOT of reading.
After all of the above is said, I am not buying an iPad. I think it has many great features, a very attractive screen being one of them. On the other hand, I can buy a netbook that has more functionality and about the same portability with more power behind it for less money. I also don't like that the iPad won't support Flash (although that is not as important to me as others). I think it is too expensive still (for what it delivers). EDIT: I'm also taking into account the form factor. My ideal reading device is 5 to 7 inches for the screen. I don't use it for PDF reading (my netbook will do that fine), and I only use it for recreational reading. I need a portable device that doesn't weigh too much as I use it during flights and travel quite a bit.
No, I'm looking at the Dell Streak. Or something like this:
http://www.pandigital.net/pandigitalnovel. I hear it will be selling for $199 and that is a VERY attractive device for what I will use it for. If anything, I'm very happy the iPad is doing so well. It has really brought into focus the exact market I'm shopping in: multi-function tablet devices. Tons of companies are going to enter the fray at better prices than Apple with more open operating systems. This is a good thing for me. The more people that buy iBook books are also going to help get more books for me on the market to read in ebook format. The Amazon president himself said just the other day that color e-Ink is a LONG way from happening. You have to wonder - will the Kindle have a LCD multifunction version in the future? I'm betting YES.