This is my sixth Kindle. I have had the older ones, the DX, and now the paperwhite. I have an iPad 3 that I thought would be great for reading books on but I just dont enjoy it that way. The ipad has more eye strain and the distractions it allows (email, news,) just make it stressful. When you use a Kindle you are reading and thats it. Nothing comes between you and the material. I like that. The E Ink is a superior surface for reading than the lite tablet screens.
I got my wife a paperwhite, then ordered me one. The screens of the two are different and you can tell the variations of color. It may have more to do with the led lighting than anything else and mine casts more shadows than that of my wife’s paperwhite.

Even with the quality control issues or design issues (whatever it turns out to be, its something) it is still the best Kindle made. I am confident that Amazon will fix it and for those who have problems they will make it right. I enjoy mine very much, I just have to turn the light up a little more than I would like to get rid of the shadows. With such differnces in the screens of both my paperwhites it leads me to belive the reports of quality control issues being a valid concern. So for now it looks like hit and miss in getting a good one. The really good news is Amazons great return or exchnage policy.