The e-ink Kindles are outstanding to read in direct sunlight, like on the beach or at the pool. Any backlit screen - like the Fire or the Nook Tablet - gets washed out in direct sunlight.

On the other hand, if you're on a red eye and want to read and e-ink Kindle, you either have to turn on the overhead light (in which case if I'm sitting next to you and I'm trying to sleep, it's war), or you have to attach one of those little reading lights to the Kindle (or a cover that you buy for the Kindle). Those actually work pretty well, as it turns out.