Honestly, it's only a few bucks more than most ereaders. It's a dirt cheap tablet, but it doesn't FEEL dirt cheap. 7 inches is ideal for reading, and it has a really solid heft to it. Yeah the iPad is better in a LOT of ways, but it's more than twice the cost and is unwieldly to read with. I got the Kindle Fire with my expectations in check. I got it to read books, surf the web, and play games and music on. I can do all of that on my rooted Kindle Fire with no problems. 200 is the sweet spot for tablets for me. The iPad doesn't do ENOUGH to justify the laptop price in my mind, and the same goes for the Tab, etc. They are wicked nice tablets, but they are too pricey. In my hierarchy I have my PC for gaming and serious tasks, my laptop for lesser tasks and mobile usage, and then I have my Kindle Fire to keep with me on all times to fill in the rest and my Galaxy Nexus for everything on the go. An iPad would be lost in my hierarchy, so the Kindle Fire is perfect for my expectations. The people giving it bad reviews have different expectations is all.