And the winner is: Amazon's Kindle Wifi

So without blogging further details about other e-readers (first), I decided to go ahead with the Kindle Wifi.

For a variety of reasons I chose the Kindle over the others, primarily because of value. Even though being in Ireland means I had to put up with ridiculous shipping and import charges (estimated) from the US Amazon site,

                [ note: It's not possible to purchase from Amazon.co.uk if you're in Ireland or other countries; 

                       it is a good deal for UK residents though. ]

it still only cost me around € 147 in total. Comparing that to other top brands with 6 inch screens, it's a bargain. ****The only comparable pricing (€ 100-150) I could get was with the Sony PRS - 600 touch and pocket models available at Hughes & Hughes in the Stephen's Green Shopping Center in Dublin. But that's last year's model with glare issues.****

On a side note, I did have use for my laws of purchasing in deciding. The first one was completely fulfilled since it's been a good few years since I came across the [my] first ever e-reader. I'm assuming it was the Sony PRS 300 from youtube videos. It looked like a novel idea but the price was inhibitive and the refresh rate for pages was painful. The second rule was hard to follow at first, but, eventually, international shipping and duties made it a hell of a lot easier. I had wanted (still do) the Kindle DX, which is more suitable for textbooks and content with diagrams, reference material etc. but factoring in the extra costs drove it to the upper limits of € 300 mark. Not to mention that with upcoming technological advances such colour e-readers, simliar to e-ink technology, virtue of companies like mirasol (Anticipated to enter the fray and with larger screens with more features inevitably becoming cheaper within the next year or so) the Wifi only model seems a very prudent purchase.

The Kindle's built-in Wifi was a strong selling point. Even though the primary use isn't web-browsing, it does enable searching for books and getting more information possible on the go and without being tethered to a computer.The only difference between the Wifi and 3G models is the 3G and that isn't very compelling to pay a higher price. A larger screen on the other hand would've warranted it. Now I just have to wait to get my hands on it to review and read like a mad scientist, or some other person who likes reading, madly.