I had a Kindle and a 7" Galaxy Tablet. Sold the kindle within the first week and got myself the larger Kindle DX.

If you're a heavy reader, don't compromise: just get a DX or something that size.

I don't even try to read more than a page on my Galaxy Tablet.

for reading fiction, ~7" tablets or e-readers are the sweet spot. if you're reading technical stuff with diagrams, the ipad really is the best option. a 10" 16:9 screen sucks for anything but movies, you really will appreciate the 4:3 screen.

Right on all counts. Fiction on 6 inch e-ink works well - think paperbacks. Technical PDFs need more, and even at the same screen size, really work better on the iPad than on the old Kindle DX.

I also much prefer the 4:3 ratio - the narrow 16:9 devices give you much less area for the same diagonal measure, as this chart accurately points out: https://twitter.com/trojankitten/status/221270669273468930 (or http://a.yfrog.com/img615/4234/6j2n.png for just the image).

Incidentally, the Archos G9-80 is a nice 8 inch Android tablet sporting a 1024x768 screen, currently selling for around 200 euros. I think the rumored mini iPad will be the same form factor.

For the ratio not reflecting the actual screen area, IMO, manufacturers should reference screen sizes with four numbers: resolution (e.g. 1920x1080), aspect ratio (e.g. 16:9), and area (e.g. 22 in^2). I would drop the diagonal measurement, as it is completely misleading. I'd be willing to drop the actual resolution in favor of DPI.

As a consumer, you generally want a high DPI screen, with a specific aspect ratio, and a certain amount of screen area. The current spec reporting is not helping people out in this regard.

You don't need to have a large screen for reading. It's more important that it's easy to page back and forth through the text - and that it reflows well and is easy on the eyes.

I watched someone trying to read Hacker news on their Android phone's web browser and it looked like the most horrific experience. Doesn't seem to put people off of smartphones though.

iPad is great for reading, particularly with the retina display. It goes super dim at night too, which I like. Only downside is it's a little heavy and big to take everywhere, whereas the Galaxy Nexus is portable enough to literally take everywhere.

For me it's between the iPad and Galaxy Nexus, the Galaxy Nexus is the best Android tablet right now by far.

It's a nexus 7. The Galaxy Nexus is a phone.

I enjoy reading Kindle books on 7" tablets. Reading PDFs can be cumbersome since they only zoom instead of reflowing the text. E-books work great though.

I'm surprised there isn't a readability style plugin for PDFs specifically tailored for small devices.