[abrahaml]

On the flip side, the advantage to a darker color background is the ability to read in direct sunlight. Not that I would want to, but I find white paper is much too bright under direct sunlight.

The problem with holding the jetBook towards a lamp is the glare. As the source of light falls off axis, I also find that the screen is noticeably unevenly lit, which is annoying and distracting to me. E-ink screens do not need to be held in such a position that the light is close to perpendicular to the screen and thus provides more flexibility in screen/hand positioning. AFAIK, they also don't suffer from off axis uneven lighting issues.

I would contend that this situation arises more often than we may think. For example, right now, I am sitting at my desk. My lamp is roughly 3 feet away, and this particular lamp's bulb is about 1 foot off the surface of the desk. Those of you fresher at trigonometry can calculate for me what the angle of incidence is. Suffice to say, you may be placed into compromising situations where the angle of incidence is much greater than you realize more often than you think. At this angle, the brightness of the jetBook screen is subtly compromised. A light blue sheet of paper with black text I have on my desk is much easier on the eyes. Black text on white paper - goes without saying.
Is it legible? Absolutely. However, it leaves me wanting. I would much rather read off of my monitor.

Of course, the benefits of the LCD screen have been adequately described in this thread, as well as others, so I won't get into them here. Please don't take my replies as unqualified criticism. My replies only reflect my disappointment in the screen in relation to my limited e-ink experience. I am otherwise satisfied with the functionality of the reader.

If I get a chance to borrow a Kindle, I will do my best to take pictures that illustrate the matter.

As far as the blue light spectrum of the LED light, one might keep in mind that color balance changes all the time and we don't always realize it. Light is very blue in the shade. Most of us have tungsten lightbulbs at home, which are definitely orange. We often have flourescent lights at work, which are green tinged. I suspect your eyes could quickly adapt to the blue LED light if you use it well away from tungsten light sources, which exacerbate the contrast in color temperature. I suppose we do tend to be more attracted to warmth.