I tried two local Borders (hoping to save $112), they both told me November.
On the Librie you can turn off the progress bar, I'd be amazed if you couldn't on the Sony Reader. I turn it off to get more screen space.
The Librie draws energy when left on, it has an adjustable time out to turn if off after a certain idle period. But its energy draw rate is far lower than what my iLiad does.