Kindle Paperwhite brightens up UK on 25 October, costs £109

Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite is headed our way, with the light-up ebook reader landing in Britain on 25 October.

You can pre-order now to have your beaming Kindle arriving before the end of the month. The Wi-Fi only version costs £109, while the Wi-Fi plus 3G option will set you back £169. That's cost price, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos told the BBC, so Amazon's not making any money on the hardware.

The 3G version might be significantly more expensive, but once you've thrown down those extra sheets you needn't pay any more for data, as the Kindle gives you free 3G both in the UK and abroad.

That's handy for downloading more books while you're on holiday, or you could even use the primitive E Ink browser to do a quick, no-cost email check.

Unlike in the US, there's no ad-supported version. Amazon.com sells a Paperwhite model with 'special offers' that display when the Kindle is turned off, which costs $20 (£12.50) less.

The Paperwhite has a touchscreen, beefed-up resolution and -- Amazon says -- higher contrast. The book-flogging company is also very proud of the device's built-in light, which shines onto the screen instead of out into your eyes.

Despite the beaming bulb, Amazon's touting 8 weeks of battery life. Thanks to their low power consumption, the E Ink Kindles are some of the best gadgets for battery, so here's hoping Amazon doesn't squander that status with a glowing light.

Amazon has also kicked off the Kindle Owners' Lending Library -- a prestigious name for a not-so-exclusive club. If you have an Amazon Prime membership (which costs £49 per year) you can download one free book per month, from a library of over 200,000 books.

That's not particularly exciting, I think you'll agree. Also bear in mind that with other ebook readers, such as the Kobo, you can actually 'borrow' digital editions of books from the websites of real libraries -- something not possible on the Kindle because it only supports certain file formats.

Will you buy the Paperwhite? Or is there another ebook reader you'd rather stuff in your pockets? Educate me in the comments or on our erudite Facebook wall.