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This thumb thing is a red herring. Some people hate the Kindle 3 navigator pad ... but after you train yourself, it's very efficient. Same with Kobo's Touch screen.
Personally, I tap, I don't swipe ... and it works very well. Left side screen tap to reverse a page, right tap (including with the tip of a thumb) to go to the next page, mid-screen tap to bring up a navigation bar on the bottom which allows access to the home page, table of contents, bookmarks, next chapter, font changes .. and a scroll bar to drag pages forward or back.
Most folks who do gadget reviews base their comments on first impressions: they rarely "live" with a device for a while to get its true merits (and challenges). And some gadget reviewers have agendas: they might be especially biased toward a particular platform / brand, or, really much worse, try to make a gadget into something it was not designed for.
Ereaders are a particular niche device serving a particular sets of needs. We are fortunate that there are currently choices in the market where real consumers have access to mainstream produced devices at reasonable prices ... that deliver the goods.
The e-ink devices from Kobo, Kindle, Nook, Sony ... each has its merits and trade-offs of features but all of them deliver a pretty sound ereading experience and have evolved from one iteration to the next adding perceptible value. And, geez, these devices -- unlike smartphones and tablets -- are pretty inexpensive starting under $150 for a full featured current model device. And, unlike your smartphone and tablet, an ereader "pays for itself" in the real savings you enjoy through content purchases over the physical alternatives.
So calling the Kobo (or Nook, or Sony or Kindle) "nightmarish" or "flawed at best" does not reflect the experience of the (tens of) millions who have embraced these devices in the past couple of years.
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