[Zetmolm]

The last freeze on my Boox 60 (=Neo) is more than half a year ago. Current firmware is very stable.
Expect an average battery life of 1-2 weeks, depending on how intensively you use the reader. If you leave it on standby permanently, battery life will be less than a week. I would not call that battery drain, it's just the way the Neo works.

The Club had some freezing problems as well as battery problems until recent versions of the firmware. Things seem to have been resolved in the latest version (at least everything seems to be OK now on my wife's Club), but somehow I have a feeling that the Neo is more reliable than the Club. Also, Neo hardware seems to be a bit more robust than the Club.

As to the "pre-order" issue, it looks like they are selling more Bebooks than they can get from Onyx. The Bebook people also seem to give priority to supplying their vendors rather than their own webshop. Here in the Netherlands it is easier (and often also cheaper) to buy a Bebook from other shops than from the Bebook website.