The adoption of an open DRM format that is supported and works across many devices has to be the way forward. If it is an open free for all with no DRM, then publishers will never support these devices in the way we need.
In my view Mobipocket have come closest to this across multiple devices and made it a commercial success, i am not saying its ideal, but supporting a major DRM format like mobipocket would make the Illiad a much more desirable device !!!
As for the librie, i had one of the first in the UK hand carried from Tokyo (told you i was keen)
and i can tell you two things about it.
1) The sony connect bookstore thing was shocking with very few decent titles (which is why i think it failed). It also only supported that stupid format BBE, or whatever it was called.
2) The screen was more hardy than the Librie, it survived a trip in my checked in luggage unboxed.
I love the librie and i really really want it to succeed but i also want to be able to purchase new books and read them on it, it will never win this argument on hardware alone.
As it is without some kind of popular DRM we will be left to trawl newsgroups for files, scanning our own books or reading 100 year old stuff
Mark