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Well, First of all I'll like to welcome you here, and hopefully soon to the world of Electronic Readers.
The Question you have asked is a bit of a dozy, as no current reader (that I am aware of) and upcoming one supports all the features you are looking for.
As you are looking for the Non reflowable PDF's, it does leave out the smaller readers such as the Sony, the Kindle, The Cybook, Etc. Thatis a pity as you mentioned that you are fond of classic literature. The Memberes of the forum have uploaded tones of classics here, all specificity formatted for the individual devices, so you can just download and start reading.
Going on to the Two Currently viable options, the Irex Illiad and the upcoming Astek 9.7'' Reader, they are bot smaller then A4, indeed I understand they are closer to A5, so that most non reflowable PDF's are going to be quiet small on the scree. You shold however be able to shift the image sideways and split it over two pages, making it quiet legible.
The Problem with the Illiad, as I understand it is multifold. While it does do a lot of the stuff you are looking for including the USB host, it does require you to do a bit of configuration to get it to work well. It is quiet expensive, compared to the smaller readers. PDF Support is basic, and the built in Mobipocket client is not as good as on the Cybook Gen 3, and nowhere near as full featured as the Desktop client. While i understand a new version is under development, there is no firm date as to when it will come out.
The Astek, is not currently available and the ship date has already slipped once. Untill actual production models are out in the hands of beta testers,it is not going to possible to really comment on how well it performs.
Have you considered the feasibility of getting a Tablet PC. It would be bale to do mot , if not all you are looking for, ad lib, with a lower battery life. The cost would probably not be that much higher then the Illiad, but much more capable.
If however, you are set on getting a E-ink device, and if Non reflowable PDF's are a must, the Illiad is currently the only game in town, and while the Astek is forthcoming, it is still a few months away at best.
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