The ultimate lowcost Ebook reader?

Ultimate low cost eBook reader? Good question, I was actually looking through a slew of them a couple of weeks ago as I wanted something to read all my PDFs on. Never found one that I liked, despite a few of them that had great reviews. My main qualms was that the e-ink readers didn't have backlights (and most my reading is at night or in low level conditions) without much light available. Secondly, those who had backlights had color screens and sub-par battery life. So I never got one, and instead invested my chump change into getting a Samsung Galaxy Note which paired with the Adobe Reader, makes an awesome 5.3 inch eBook reader.

Second choice would be a robust PDA running WinCE with Adobe Reader installed as many PDA's can be had for cheap and Adobe Reader (and other readers) are widely available and free.

If the key criterion is "low cost" then I'd have to go with a Handspring Visor Deluxe. I've picked them up with cradle for $5 and they have a decent screen for reading texts and plenty of ebook readers that read in various common formats.

And it has a backlight for Solidus's nighttime reading...

But I still love my Jetbook Mini as my favorite ebook reader...even though it doesn't have a backlight...it is so easy on the eyes....and so simple to use.