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I'm not certain we can define the "best" device or devices, currently. Is eyestrain the prime consideration? Or is device flexibility the number one priority? And what about battery life? Or solar power driven...Or, or, or.....
I'm not complaining about current technology (much), but different priorities lead to different answers. I think we'll get an all-in-one device for most of the above priorities - in 10-20 years! Right now you have to make trade-offs. And the current e-ink device concept (even though it is poorly implemented in software so far), will fill a growing niche. But it is a niche, and it will grow only so far. It will probably get filled in as technology changes.
Let me give you a current example. I bought a Cybook Gen 1 in Sept 2006. I sprung for the full kit, at $600. It's still my primary e-reader. It weights a Kilo, and has a (10 in) touchscreen but no keyboard and the battery lasts 3 hours. It has a touchcreen keyboard (I think) and nice reader software and file folders but lousy music playing capability. It's what I call the PC side of e-book readers.
In 6 months or so, you'll be able to buy a EEE CP with a 8.9 inch screen (not touchscreen) and the same battery life and weight for the same 600 dollars. You'll get a full computer with a excellent audio and video performance (both have wifi), and the ability to run any standard e-book reading software as well. But the form factor does not provide for a fold-back screen (to look like a PMP player or the Gen 1) so page changing will be a pain if you turn your computer on its side to mimic the narrow, long format of books. Still, at 1024X600, it's better resolution than my Gen 1. It's still an inferior limp-a-long compared to my Gen 1 for e-book reading, but the gap is closing. (And you get so much more other fuctionality!)
On the other hand, I have one of the first Gen 3's as well. The form factor is nice, and so is the e-ink screen for reading. The battery life is superb, and the weight is very light. But the software is rudimentary compared to my Gen 1, to the point where I simply don't use it yet. Maybe after the next firmware upgrade...
In addition, it's strictly a one trick pony. The easy to read screen prevent the device from being used for virtually anything else. So if I need to do other things, I need another device. Nuisance (but I'm used to it.)
(I don't use PDA's. The screen format is just too small for me.)
I think something like a better 8.9 inch EEE PC will win in the long run, and e-books will be just one of a suite of applications. But for today, I would recommend the Gen 3 (after the next firmware upgrade) for pure reading and to carry a second device for every thing else. But I concur with Cory that these are transient devices, to be made obsolete in the future. (But then again, what other digital hardware hasn't been made obsolete over the years? Zip drives, anybody?)
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