Kindle, Should I Buy One?

WIth the emergence of the tablet pc, from Apple's I-Pad, Blackberry's Playbook and Samsung's Galaxy Tab and just an overall explosion of smartphones, what in the world would you need a Kindle for. One perspective could argue that cost can be persuasive. Since the cost of an average tablet PC ranges anywhere from $300-700, the Kindle coming in at $139 seems like a steal...if your objective is to merely read content.

But with the interconnectivity provided by a well equiped handlheld and an internet connection, at what point do you stop buying various components for highly specific tasks.

Tablet PC's have applications that allow you to "read" your favorite authors, but expand the offering to perform all of the tasks you'd normally use a laptop for.

Is it worth the extra money to pay-up to consolidate media devices into one unit? Imagine travelling across country. You're about to walk through airport security and place your lap-top, your i-phone, your kindle and your i-pad into the tray...

Wouldn't the smart choice be to just use a smartphone for everything you need? While the limitations on screen size and keyboard use somewhat limit the overall ease of use, convenience is a factor to not be overlooked.

So why in the world would you buy a kindle? It seems that the perfect solution would be a smartphone with a screen somewhat larger than the i-phone with the functionality of a tablet PC.

While economies of scale seem to be working towards a universal media device, the Kindle does seem to be the best pure-play e-reader. I just don't see the advantage of owning one. Maybe I'm missing something, but if I'm going to travel and carry 3+ electronic gadgets with me while I travel, I'd tend to prefer just buying a physical book that i can take and use anywhere, anytime and never worry about battery life.