Want to read ebooks, but you don't have a Kindle?
    No problem.
    You can read ebooks on just about anything with a screen, from a cellphone to a desktop.  If it's the Kindle's E-Ink screen that attracts you, you can get that paper-like quality on other devices, usually with a longer battery life.  The only thing you can't get is access to the Kindle store.  Hundreds of books are legally available online for free, and most of the latest best-sellers can be purchased at any number of online bookstores.
    Anyone can get free books at places like the Smashwords, Baen Free Library, Feedbooks, Manybooks, Project Gutenberg, and Mobileread.  Most of what's available are from the Public Domain, but Baen has recent SF and Fantasy titles.  Current best-sellers aren't usually available for free, the 'sellers' part of 'best-sellers' was probably a clue; but you can buy most of those at independent stores like Fictionwise or Books on Board.  Baen also sells ebooks through the Webscriptions storefront.
    There are two nasty-looking flies in the ointment that we have to address though:  DRM and format restrictions.  DRM (Digital Rights Management) is supposed to reduce piracy, but what it primarily does is promote vendor lock-in.  DRM or "Secure" ebooks are tied to either your account with the DRM provider or a short list of specific devices.  Luckily most free ebooks don't have DRM, and some sellers like Baen and Fictionwise provide DRM-free books.  Everything from Baen is DRM-free, and Fictionwise offers both DRM and non-DRM titles.  That's catch number one.
    Catch number two is that not all devices support all formats, so you do have to make sure that your reader supports the format you're buying or you may be stuck reading the ebook on your computer.  One of the most popular formats is mobipocket, which can be read on just about anything except the iPhone and some dedicated reader devices.  Ereader is another format; its biggest draw is that it supports current best-sellers on the iPhone.  Adobe has two horses in the race, with PDFs, which don't work well on most portable devices because of page size, and the new epub format which is very good.
    With that out of the way, let's look at some alternative devices:
    First we have the iPhone, and its little brother the iPod Touch.  The screen's not as big as the Kindle, but it fits in your pocket and most people take their phones everywhere.
    Other smartphones and PDAs work too.  The screen is similar to the iPhone, and Windows Mobile lets you read any format except the Kindle, giving you the widest range of format support.  Blackberry and PalmOS users shouldn't feel left out; their devices support almost as many formats as Windows and work just as well.
    The Sony Reader gives you almost everything the Kindle does in a prettier package for a lower price.  You do give up wireless access, and the Sony Store is a bit more expensive than the Kindle store, but the device costs less and you get support for the new epub format which more and more publishers are beginning to support. It's not the only E-Ink reader, but Sony has the closest alternative to the whole package you get with Kindle.
    Netbooks, and full-size laptops, are another great alternative.  Linux models have issues with DRM (just like Linux users) but Windows models can read almost anything out there, with the widest format support of anything available.  They aren't as easy to hold as some of the other devices, but they work fine for reading around the house.
    So don't feel bad if you don't have a Kindle:  you can probably read ebooks on something you already own.