Re #1, I presume you mean "switched off" to conserve battery. The thing is, a backlight wouldn't really work with the eInk screen. eInk is an ink technology d

Re #1, I presume you mean "switched off" to conserve battery. The thing is, a backlight wouldn't really work with the eInk screen. eInk is an ink technology designed to mimic ink on paper. Like paper, you read the screen by light bouncing off it, not through it. Think of reading a backlit sheet of paper, like a transparency on a projector -- more pleasant to read the reflection than have it lit from behind. I have a Motorola MOTOFONE F3, which also uses an eInk display. It has a light source -- an LED between the display and outer plastic. Works ok, but direct reflected light (like a flashlight) works better in low light conditions. I think you can just use a normal booklight with the Kindle.