[blaabjerg]

I've never owned a Kindle before, but I want one and I can't decide if I should go for the standard Kindle or the Voyage. What are your thoughts, is the upgrade worth it on a tight student budget?

I'd be upgrading from paper books, so I'm not entirely sold on the idea that I particularly need a front light. Is the readability significantly better even in a well-lit room?

[Yizahi]

There are only two things to consider: 1) Buttons; 2) Front light;

For me any buttons at all are priority 1, light - priority 2. I have Kindle 3 and occasionally use paperwhite. About 90% of all time you will read not in the dark, so light is not an issue. Other 10% may be a deal breaker, but personally I just use a phone with Kindle app.

[BillinghamJ]

Normal Kindle is more like black-on-beige, whereas the paperwhite/voyage one is black-on-white. Personally I don't like the look of the normal one.

Also you may be surprised at how much you use the backlight. Especially when reading in bed, on airplanes, etc. - it's pretty useful.

[higherpurpose]

It's FRONTlight, not a backlight. Otherwise we could just use LCD tablet instead. And yes, I agree, I think the light is great and indispensable.

[ode]

Get the Paperwhite.

You get the most important feature of the Vogage (the light - I leave it on all the time as reading on white is so much nicer than gray of the low end Kindle.) At the mid price point on your budget.