The first question I always get from people who haven't seen a Kindle before is "can you go on the internet with it?" sigh
"No- it's just for reading books. Nothing else."
The problem is, I realise that it can go on the internet. It's just so damn slow that it makes everything else look way better. Not offering web browsing would stop feature creep.
Although I agree that removing non-primary features would help have a more honest comparison, there is a great advantage to the Kindle having a web browser.
You can download books straight from the internet to your device. You can go to the Project Gutenberg website (http://www.gutenberg.org/) browse for a public domain book, and download it straight to your device. You don't need to use an intermediate computer.
"No- it's just for reading books. Nothing else."
The problem is, I realise that it can go on the internet. It's just so damn slow that it makes everything else look way better. Not offering web browsing would stop feature creep.