Wordsgear or...

[friendoffun]

Hi everyone,
I'm a first time poster who wants to pick your brains. I'm currently based in Japan and had the chance to get hands-on with a Panasonic Wordsgear at the weekend. It seemed pretty impressive, but it was difficult to judge as they only had 6 pictures advertising bikini girly books on it.

I mainly want a reader to read comics on (both American and manga), occasionally novels and if it can play music and videos then it's even better.

My concerns with the Wordsgear are:
1. The file formats accepted (can be seen here in Japanese, but easy enough to figure out). Will I have to convert my music from mp3/wma formats to AAC in order to play them on this? Converting video isn't really much of a hastle to me, so I don't mind that. Can I make my own books in SD-ePublish format easily? Can I convert other files to SD-ePublish easily?
2. The screen size. Even with the 211ppi clarity (which is very easy on the eye) will I be able to read an American size comic book without giving myself a headache on the 5.6" display? I also don't want to have to zoom and scroll in order to read. I tried it on my PSP and the scrolling just sucks the enjoyment out of comics.
3. Is there something better available now or coming soon for a similar price? Wordsgear is about 40,000 yen (about 340 US dollars or 170 UK pounds).　I'd be interested in not only readers, but also personal media players and tablet pcs. It should be light and easily portable though.

Thanks in advance for any advice or help you might have for me.