[Kichererbsen]

yes, academia should totally love this, but my experience is that they just all got used to reading papers on their laptops or tablets.

but I would totally love this. in fact, I have a remarkable tablet just for reading "papers" (ahem Dungeons & Dragons PDFs). but switching quickly between pages is tricky there...

[wuschel]

That depends. Back in the day, in my research institute, it was common practice to print out the papers that should be read thoroughly - after skimming them on a Laptop screen.

[was_a_dev]

I read most papers on a secondary 19" monitor that's mounted portrait. Seems to cover all the requirements

[Someone]

Not all ones not mentioned in this thread yet. A secondary 19" monitor ties you to a desk. A tablet would allow reading wherever people typically read paper printouts (in the train, while sitting on a couch, etc.)

[bluGill]

When I have a complex paper to read I will spread it out on the floor. A single page at a time is too limiting, I want to be able to see page 5 and page 12 at the same time.

[was_a_dev]

You're not wrong. But in those scenarios, I tend to be off the clock

[bee_rider]

It was nice to be able to jot things down in the margins (math, not just notes). Provide yourself the couple steps the author skipped (to show how clever they are).

[LoganDark]

There's only a certain number of papers you can carry around and flip through like that. With a tablet, it can store hundreds or thousands of papers without getting any more unwieldy.