My main reason for making the e-reader focus comment was that it would quiet many peoples' complaints. "Oh look, it doesn't support Flash." Then Apple could have responded: it is an e-reader with a browser, what more can you expect? "Oh look, it isn't running OS X!" Again: it is an e-reader with added features, what more can you expect? Enjoy browsing the web on the Kindle.
Apple is looking at going after netbooks, e-readers, and small tablets (such as the terrible Asus Eee PC tablet) all in one swoop. Instead, they could have just released the iPad by focusing on the ebook capabilities first and then revealed all of the other options. In my opinion, Apple went at it all wrong. It would have been the same as Apple showing off the 1G iPhone and then said it is going to take down the PSP or DS along with all land line phone companies, digital photo phrames, iPods, home console devices, etc. Apple should have toned thing down with the iPad. Sure, include all of the features. I actually look forward to being able to write something in Pages and then e-mail it to all of the people who use MS Word. However, don't try to take everything on out of the gate. Apple is trying to take over the Kindle, netbooks, portable gaming devices (though the iPad can produce graphics better than the PS2 so it appears to be a logical choice, I would definitely welcome paying $9.99-$14.99 over $40-$50 as I do for DSi and PSP games), and many other facets.
So, by saying that the iPad is an e-reader with these added features, they could dodge some of the complaints. Look at the PS3 as an example. It is first and foremost a gaming console with a truly crap web browser. The browser is so slow that my HTC (running Droid) can access a page over EDGE a lot faster than the PS3's browser opening up the same page on my 25Mbps fiber optic home connection. People complain about the PS3's browser but, in the end, it is just an added on feature and definitely not the main focus of the device. So people can't complain too loudly about something that the device really wasn't destined to do (even though the iPad is more than capable of completing the tasks Apple is marketing it for).
I actually welcome a backlight screen for reading ebooks. A relative purchased a Sony e-reader for me this past Christmas. It was the inexpensive model but that didn't matter. I could easily carry it around in any bag and I actually had quite a few jeans and slacks that would hold the e-reader in their pockets. Well, the lack of a backlight meant that I would have to turn a light on in order to read it. I went through this with every version of the Game Boy up until the Game Boy Advance SP despite my much older Sega Game Gear having a full color LCD with a backlight. If I am laying in bed getting more tired with every moment, I don't want to further relax by turning every light in my bedroom on just to read a chapter or two.
I ended up returning the Sony e-reader because I found myself in low light conditions on a daily basis straining my eye even more. Fire up my notebok or netbook and boom, my eyes can relax and I can read chapters and chapters of text without any strain, headache, or anything like that. Traditionalists will never like e-readers as hardback books are a complete experience. The book cover, liner notes, possibility of an autograph (what, is someone going to ask Stephen King to sign their Kindle or iPad?), the feel of the paper texture, the smell of a new or old book, etc. These type of people enjoy cracking open a book, sitting right next to a light, and reading through a few chapters. They will never like e-readers as it takes away from the whole experience. So e-reader devices will never win with them.
I would take a backlight LCD display over an e-ink display any day.