Looking at your need for a reference manager, what springs to mind first is Zotero running as free plugin on Firefox web browser, because this is available in Linux and many ereaders run linux OS's. For example the (non e-ink) SmartQ reader which is largish and runs an OS one can run apps in (like
calibre an itunes for books) (eg
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.39078 ) ( or the more MID version
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.31523).
Not e-ink however. But a lot cheaper than the iliad irex thingos. I don't own any of these, as I am still looking. I read novels on my old palm treo phone (except for bigger nicer screens none of the you-beaut ereaders or ipads can provide more functionality than a 10+ year old operating system).
I'm looking for something similar for my legacy pdfs, and journal articles but the formed content ereader (as opposed to formless content like novels) has yet to be well developed. (This is your fault publishing industry people.) Particularly with some sort of manager that understands academic referencing.
Something which
Calibre fails at massively, for despite being most of what I need it has an organising principle based on 'the book' rather than 'the reference" ie the author, the date #FAIL calibre #fail.
A large colour e-ink screen running an academically focussed Calibre style program and which displays "formed content" well (ie legacy pdfs for now), has not yet been built, even though I can describe it. Seems really obvious.
The focus has been on novel readers (paperback replacements) and RSS feed newspaper replacements.
(PDFs are an evil abomination we have to put up with for now.)