I bought a kobo specifically to NOT get a kindle. I really like it, and have enjoyed sideloading stuff on to it.

It's a shame their store has DRM but like the kindle there's no issues syncing with Calibre so you aren't locked in to their store.

It's funny how nobody has succeeded to one-up kobo or Amazon on the hardware front, but I guess that's because they're selling them at low/no margins. Must be nice!