I think your comments about the educational market are spot on in retrospect. Students have always been the most cash-strapped demographic at any level of education. Mention to a group of parents that a class should go all digital and you get a riot demanding to know how the average family is supposed to afford a $500+ device for each of their kids when just buying clothes is a problem.

In contrast, the working professional (of any profession), or any middle-class individual, is exactly the type of person that has $500 to spend, and can benefit from a unified multi-purpose device, especially one that eliminates paper and books.

As for trade show presence, I do believe the majority were educational and publisher tradeshows, but the tech ones like CES are the ones we technophiles perk up and pay attention to

I can't really answer the branding question. I do know that the book form-factor with both an ereader and a tablet are the secret sauce that instantly grabbed my attention. Somehow being able to fold it up and tuck it safely away or carry it is just magic. It's like having a true digital book with just two pages, but that displays anything and everything in the world. Maybe that's "something awesome to say"?