Alex -

Certainly, I know lots of people that are big fans of e-ink. However, I've never seen a single study - aside from people's individual experiences - that shows "eye strain" is worse on an LCD screen. I'm actually a doctoral student (screwing around with the Pocket Edge has been a welcome distraction from my dissertation), and I've read literally THOUSANDS of pages on my ASUS T91MT. Most of my colleagues own some kind of LCD tablet, and they mostly love their devices. Nevertheless, the market will ultimately determine such issues. Right now, it's pretty clear that Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other companies have decided that consumers are fine just reading on tablets (arguably, it better reproduces the experience of reading book, because you actually flip pages rather than just push a button).

One of the biggest problems is that the LCD/e-ink screen doesn't allow multitouch gestures. On my T91MT, which was released around the same time, I can pinch/zoom into certain areas and easily adjust the paper size based on the pdf format. On the e-ink side of the Edge, you have to hit the zoom button and fiddle with things until it suits your tastes. Even at the time the Edge was originally released, it was pretty obvious that the entire market was moving toward tablets with multitouch capabilities. Most smartphones featured accelerometers that easily allowed you to switch the tablet's orientation. Most were infinitely customizable with literally thousands of different applications options available through a centralized marketplace. Without these features, the Edge was doomed to look extremely innovative at first when there were no competitors but then quickly degenerate when better options appeared in the marketplace.

Finally, I don't agree with you that the Edge is necessarily better for work applications. For starters, it doesn't come equipped with Google Calendar, G-mail, and other such apps. It doesn't come with apps specifically designed to work with the larger touchscreen. And so on. Really, the point is not that I want to play Angry Birds. I hardly EVER play games. Rather, it would be a nice perk if my tablet could play Angry Birds, watch Netflix, and be a useful productivity tool. The iPad and other such devices mostly accomplish this feat.