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I own both a Kindle (bought January 2008) and a Sony 505 (bought in May or June 2008). When I bought my Kindle, I wasn't even aware of the Sony -- I had never done any research on what devices might be available. I had been aware of the older Rocket book readers and had even downloaded the Rocket emulator to my PC, but decided that I didn't want to have to sit up to read and taking my laptop to bed with me was too comfortable. Then Amazon came out with the Kindle and I ordered it based solely on the info at Amazon's web site. Shortly after my Kindle arrived, a friend took me to Border's and showed me the Sony on display there. After handling it a while and looking at the books pre-loaded on it, I realized that I could have been perfectly happy with the Sony if I had seen it first. But, having had the Kindle for a couple of weeks, there was no way I was going to give it up. My hubby was kind enough not to get mad at me when I bought a Sony later on.
"Best" is an indefinable measure. What's best for me may be quite different from what is best for you. I use my Kindle for pleasure/entertainment reading. If I were needing to read technical or scholarly documents, I'd probably be using a different device. I use the Sony for book development and experimenting with book file formats. (I've never even installed the Sony software!)
Since you're asking what is best *before* you buy a device, I'd recommend thinking through what factors are most important for you. Is this for reading fiction or technical material? Where will you get your books? What formats will be used for those books? How big a screen do you need? How much are you willing to pay for the device? How much are you willing to pay for new fiction releases? All of these will come to play as you sort through the available devices.
It may also matter where you live and whether having a local source and support is important. For example, the Sony 505 was just recently brought to England. The Kindle isn't marketed there. There are people who own Kindles living in England, however there are also people who don't want to buy a Kindle until Amazon actually sells the Kindle directly to a UK resident.
The overall important thing to realize is that no matter which device you purchase, you are going to find *something* that could be improved. There's no perfect device for sale. You may, however, find one that a perfect fit for your needs and usage.
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