Thank you wondergirl and zackdog that is helpful. The reason I am after an e-reader( I own a desktop, a laptop and an ipaq hx2790 tablet) is the screen technology that allows you to read in direct sunlight i.e the eInk technology which as far as I am aware is only used on the Kindle, the Kobo and the Nook.
As I do not live in the USA that rules out the Nook so it is a choice between the Kobo and the Kindle. Even with devices that claim they have a superbright screen such as my camera I find that sunlight makes it difficult and using the Ipaq in the same conditions is equally impossible. There are times when I would like to just sit outside and read.

 

I own a Kobo (not Touch!) and at the time this was the only available eReader for purchase in my area. Don't have much to say about Kobo versions after but I've had access to Sony eReader and Kindle, both of which are great eReaders, in my opinion. I would highly recommend either of those.

I have a digi-reader and love it all the way. Allthough it does not support all the different types of books the .EPUB is basically all you need and my 8 year old steals it away for her own reading pleasure.

The big plus was that it was the cheapest one i could find and reading all the issues on the internet this ones seems to be one of the better ones.

I only want the e-reader for reading. For me it does not need to do anything else (like playing music) so therefore I have taken the Sony PRS 300 and I am very happy with it.

I recommend Kindle. Amazon's customer service is excellent, and all my friends are very happy with theirs.

I use mobipocket. Install into my Blackberry to read if I dun open my laptop...

Kind of tired if read from mobipocket, but it can help me to kill my curious about the story I wanna read before I can sit in front of my laptop.

what are features are you looking for in a ebook reader. I usually look for txt to speach feature.

I have owned the Kindle (3rd gen) and i must say the screen cracks real easy. Really happy with my rooted Nook Tablet.

If you're in the market for one right now, and plan on using the built-in stores... Kindle touch. Really is as simple as that. Do you plan on acquiring your literature elsewhere? Than stay *FAR* away from the kindle.
Basically, if you want to play safe and only read what is available in stores from each respective reader:
Kindle touch > Nook Simple = Kobo touch > Sony PRS-T1
If you want to side load the stuff yourself, or maybe do some hacking:
Sony PRS-T1 > Nook Simple = Kobo Touch >>>> Kindle touch

The non-kindle readers support more formats(ePub being the major one) and run off a modified android OS. They can all be hacked now to run a true version of android(though they are hardly usable in that situation).
There really isnt a selling point for the kindle if you dont plan on using the Amazon store. Its hardware is slightly weaker than the competition, the file compatibility is the worst, and the .mobi format is harder to come by when browsing non-amazon places(and impossible to find in legit stores other than amazons) The PRS-T1 is the newest and most technologically advanced(has multi-touch and a slightly faster cpu) and the community made custom firmware called PRS+ is probably the most user friendly ereader platform out there... Plus, should you want to run vanilla android on it, it manages the best.

We've got two Nooks -- a Simple Touch and a Tablet -- and couldn't be more pleased. My wife mainly uses the Tablet because she likes to browse the Internet when she doesn't feel like reading a book. The screen is awesome. Me, I love the Simple Touch because it's so light and compact that you can comfortably hold it with one hand and turn pages with the same hand.

We've had no problems with either unit and what few questions we've had have been answered courteously by either B&N's online chat support or a representative in the local B&N store. Bottom line, our Nooks have been excellent purchases.

i read that there are several companies that basically work on e-ink color display or a similar technolgy which they aim to get patented.

examples:

• Pixel Qi 3qi screen

• Qualcomm Mirasol

• Bridgestone QR-LPD

• LiquavistaColor

you can read more about it here

I now have, Original Nook, Kindle 3, Blackberry Torch, Samsung Galaxy Tab 7"

The Original Nook was a complete dog with frequent crashes and poor battery life.
Blackberry Torch (with Kindle software), good for those moments when I don't have a tablet with me.
Kindle 3, the best reading experience of them all, huge battery life, if you only want to read books buy this one.
Samsung Galaxy Tab, the one I carry around all the time because it can do so many things (Phone, GPS, Internet browser, video/music player, book reader).

Of course the format your device reads doesn't matter at all as Calibre can quickly and easily convert.
Don't be put off by Noobs confusing the issues by talking book formats ....... totally irrelevant.

well, now that I have the new ipad, I am loving it more than my kobo touch, due to the fact that it can view full colour magazines, and illustrated books. LOL And the page turning in iBooks is pretty cool too.

If you're going to pirate, the ereader is irrelevant. Calibre makes everything work. With that said, my Kindle Touch is awesome. I haven't had any problems with getting anything I've wanted to read with the exception of a few great books that I can't find anywhere in any format, not even on torrent sites. The customer service is excellent. One of my contacts here got his Kindle replaced despite not being in the US (he fed them some bullshit story about being on holiday here). They just sent him something to print out and slap on the package for free shipping to the US. All he had to pay for way the reshipping back here. (he used a 3rd party package reshipper to get it through the US restrictions on online electronic exports).

I've got a Kindle 3, 2 Sony PRS-350's (I like them so much I bought one as a spare from ebay) and I've used a Kobo Touch for a week while I set it up for a friend. All of them have their pro and cons, but I like the build and size of the PRS-350 over the others. Also the Sony has produced a great developers firmware in PRS+.