To answer the silly question of how we read books before we had backlights....
How did you manage without your e-Ink devices? You read paper books. Some of you with a light on. Well, so did we. Pretty obvious answer for a sarcastic question again from JSWOLF.
The fact is, we now read e-books on devices and it is our preferred method of reading. I don't need to go over the reasons WHY we read ebooks when they have already been discussed a million times elsewhere.
I think several of us have made it very clear why we ask for a backlight on an ebook device. So you folks have the device and technology that pleases you. That's great!
According to 50% (at the time of this post) of the people who have answered the poll, most of us want a backlit device. Bringing up irrelevant questions about what we did before ebook devices were created does not further the discussion. The fact that the need remains in this market for a device with a backlight is obvious. Most of us are willing to charge the thing more often. Its simple. You walk over and plug it in. Personally, I think it is ridiculous that a reading device does not have at least some type of light attached. Many of us read in bed at night and use that feature on devices that are now old technology. You say, "Turn a light on." I say - put a light IN. Seriously, I am glad you folks are happy with e-ink technology - it really is a huge step ahead for people that read, but a large number of us are not happy with it unless it has a light. You can accept that or keep trying to find excuses to throw us back into the paper market.