Well then, I've been using my new Reader since last Friday evening and I have to say I'm smitten.
The display is very good, just the right contrast. I don't find the black/white flash or the delay as it refreshes the page to be particularly distracting, I just press the "next page" key a second or so before I get to the end of the page and the read is more-or-less seamless.
The device size is about right, although I would have preferred it if there was less non-screen area below the display itself and possibly it could do with being a touch thicker for my tastes but these are very minor issues really.
The keys are okay, though I do find it distracting that the left-hand page-turn keys (the ones on the circular pad) are a bit vague and the circular key seems to be a shade lower on the "next page" side than on the "last page" side. These do seem to be improving as I use it more so maybe that will go away.
The software, on the other hand, I find quite irritating. The Sony software is remarkably slow at spotting the Reader has been plugged in and I tend to use a separate SD card reader to transfer files for use on the device. Calibre seems like a much quicker and more useable application, plus it doesn't look anywhere near a daft as the Sony software. One huge omission from the Sony software is the ability to populate a library on the PC and to sync it up all in one go, as iTunes does.
Reading PDFs on the Reader is a bit hit-and-miss, being very dependant on just how the PDF has been formatted; a particular problem is when they have large margins, quite common on documents formatted for printing.
In all I am very very pleased with my Reader and I plan to make lots of use of it. My "other half" has already asked if Mills & Boon books are available...I might buy her one of the Gen3 ones from WHSmiths if they are.
Tra
WigglyPiggly.