[captainralf]

First of all: thanks everybody for your detailed responses. I really appreciate your time and effort!

I had the same requirements as you do (and we are not alone ) and went for the Pocketbook 903. At that time, the Onyx M90 did not exist, the only additional possibility was the Asus DR900 (sith Sipix screen).

I read somewhere about the Asus device. I've had very good experience with their line of laptops, if that's an indication for anything. Thing is.. I don't think it's available in my part of the world(Germany), at least I couldn't find it. Is that one out yet?

But the annotation of other files now works like a charm - you can higlight, underline, make free hand notes with the stylus. They say the full annotation capabilities for pdf will also come, and I believe them (though you will also find a lot of disgruntled people, who by the way do have a point with the PB302). The competition from teh other devices can only be good in this respect. For the moment, what you can do is select a piece of text, save it as an image, and then annotate that free-hand. Better than nothing (i.e. I can work with that), but this device can do better.

that's a start I suppose which would at least make it superior to the Kindle DX(in the note taking department that is), or am I mistaken?

So, no problems for basic browsing.

That is more than I had hoped for

For instance, the Onyx has a Pearl screen, the Pocketbook does not, but I can tell you I have read in any light with no problem whatsoever. The lovely thing about the Pocketbook is that you can customise it in many many ways, so it is very flexible. This may also be true of the Onyx, but I do not know.

I'm a little concerned about the "old" screen technology. I read a few discussions here that got reaaaaally childish, so I don't even dare asking about that...
then again, who am I to judge... so you said you read in any light. I don't mean to offend, but can you give me an example of a low-light situation where you had no trouble? e.g. waiting for the metro at night, with those shabby lights they have

I am in a similar position to you in the sense that I am going to get another of these for my household - I expect I will end up with another 903, but who knows, I am keeping an open mind. I would also suggest you lurk the Pocketbook and Onyx forums to see what's up.

Well you seem satisfied with the Pocketbook then. I was wondering about one thing. If I was to search for a certain word in a pdf, does it take a long time to go to the next found term? I am aware this probably depends on the size of the document, but maybe you can give me your personal impression... if you ever used that feature

Dictionary use is fine, I presume this is equivalent across readers with dictionary capabilities.

This really isn't my biggest concern, but good to know!

Battery life not a problem (though any audio use suck a lot of power - brwsing also does, but not that much), in the sense that you forget the last time you charge it - but this I think is for most e-ink.

Well got my shabby old mp3 player thingy which is a tiny little bugger so while I'm lugging around a 9'' screen that one might as well tag along

I am not sure I understood what you meant regarding references.

I wasn't very clear, sorry about that. what I meant was if a reference management software is included(probably not on the Kindle)?

As you see, I am "ignoring" the Kindle

I get your points about the kindle. You are probably talking about the book deletion incidents. Well, I probably won't buy a lot of books from amazon, but what I don't like about the Kindle is that I might have to start converting files... that is, I want to say archaic, but really it's not only that but also a pain and something I REALLY want to avoid.

There are other devices you might want to check out, namely the aforementioned Asus DR950 and the Entourage Edge, which is an e-reader plus tablet with some nice features, like immediately copying a webpage from the tablet browser to the E-ink side (problems for me: too heavy at 1.5 kg, plus the company migth not be around for much longer)

Again.. where does one GET the Asus?
I checked out the EDGE. It seems like a really good idea. For me the additional weight and probably way reduced battery life are a deal breaker. I am aware that the additional functions are kinda neat. If I ever thought about buying a really small laptop, I might even ditch that and go for a device like that

I really like iPad for PDF documents. It is fast and give you the flexibility you need to work on your documents, read, make annotations, etc. But, you strike that one

I totally get your point jocampo. the iPad is nice, but my reason for buying an eReader is mainly because I don't like reading of LCD for a long/er time. but thanks for mentioning it, anyway!

So the other two alternatives are Sony and Kindle DXG. I personally prefer and like the Kindle DXG over Sony because the screen size. For a large PDF is kind of annoying, at least for me, keep zooming all the time in order to read a big document. If the whole page can be displayed without zooming, is better for me and the reading experience is also faster. The downside is that the Kindle DXG does not give you lot of PDF editing capabilities; on that aspect, Sony's shines and is really good.

My main issue with the small screen size is that it'll make a lot of documents almost unbearable to read, as I can't easily go back and forth between looking at a diagram and it's descriptive text on the same page.

If you can stand the weight, the learning curve, and the fact that the company's future is uncertain, it sounds to me like you are a perfect candidate for a full-sized enTourage eDGe. Look for comments and videos here https://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=218 and here http://www.entourageedge.com/forums/forum.php and here http://www.entourageedge.com/support/

Thanks for this Filark. Just I really don't think I would be happy with the extra weight I'd have to schlepp around

Well, to sum it up, I'm a little confused and surprised. This shouldn't be that hard now should it?
for your help so far.
Now what I really need is a decision or more information about the new Onyx. Are there any other devices expected in the near future that would be appropriate for my needs?

as for what I can tell from my rather noobish view:
edge: too heavy and short battery life -> dealbreaker
ipad: no eInk screen -> dealbreaker
sony: too small a screen? -> probably a dealbreaker

Pocketbook: screen?, flawed software, basic annotation/browsing, reader functions work... DO they work without a hassle? -> good reader, basic enhanced functions; has possibility to improve in the near future

Kindle DX: good screen, few pdf functions, bad file support, ships from US... don't know, if I'll be able to return it without paying through the nose if I don't like it. -> good reader, no extra functions i need, not a lot of room for improvement as to adding features.

Onyx M90: good screen, everything else pretty much a mystery till later this month. I read a lot of good things about previous models though, if that is of any importance -> hard to judge without the hardware to prove it, i think page turning times appeared to be slow in presentations, does anybody know if they were able to fix that?

Please let me know if I forgot something, or am totally off with some of the points. If you have any additional input, I'll be greatful!

Cheers