I agree, mostly because the technology is finally there for a multi-purpose device to be a first-rate reader. You need high resolution, low enough weight for p

I agree, mostly because the technology is finally there for a multi-purpose device to be a first-rate reader. You need high resolution, low enough weight for pleasant one-handed use, and decent scale (both size and aspect ratio). In B & N's defense, their current 9" model is far and away the best thing on the market for hitting all these sweet spots (it's about 10% lighter than the comparable Kindle and has a slightly wider screen). But yeah, a "retina" iPad mini is going to kill the dedicated reading device. Aside: I'm a big e-ink fan (I've owned 4 generations of Kindles) and heavy reader that's slowly being brought around to the value of hi-DPI LCD screens. For all the explanations of e-ink's virtues, I think the main advantage was the lack of aliasing and other artifacts that text suffers on sub-200 dPi screens.