I decided on the B&N Nook and I've been quite pleased with it. I find that the battery life is quite good and the screen is very easy on the eyes. PDA/Smartphone screens are too small for these old eyes.
They've updated the OS and have included a web browser (still a beta version). Since the Nook has wifi I can surf at hotspots or around the house. It also has a MP3 player on it so I can listen and read at the same time.
I'm building a collection of pdf versions of all my various gadets' manuals to put on it.
So far so good.
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In a crisis one does not rise to one's level of expectations but rather falls to one's level of training.