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I think it's not really sensible for people who aren't regular readers to review these devices. A bit like my reviewing shotguns - I don't have one and am not interested in them, so I don't know which features matter and which don't.
Since I've got a cybook, I overlooked to give their conclusions on the others, which are as follows:
Kindle - "the company has been shrewd in ensuring you don't need a PC to use the Kindle" (but hasn't everybody got access to a PC anyway?)
It's ugly, though the screen is "beautiful to behold". The Kindle is "an enticing proposition, although one we'll have to wait for" (though I'm not clear why it's enticing as they don't really say). No stars as just a preview
Bebook - It "lets itself down in a number of key areas" - 4 shades of grey instead of 8 leads to pixellation and "bleached out" pictures; a "bargain basement feel about the device"; plastic case feels cheap; a "design that's utilitarian rather than enticing" so it's "not a real rival" to the Sony 505. 3 stars
Cybook Gen3 - "by far the best menu system"; "lack of extra page turn controls make it difficult to hold comfortably"; "sleek lines"; light; "can't zoom in on PDFs"; "feels cheap in the hand and the ARM processor is a second too slow to respond"; four shades of grey as Bebook. 3 stars
Irex Iliad - Wifi "disappointing" as it can't be used for web access; touchscreen good for business users; 8.1 in screen "pleasingly large" though it "doesn't feel bulky"; "pages turn nice and quickly"; ample storage with 256MB flash memory; but it's "too expensive. It's £208 more than the Sony and, given the limited .. wifi, we can't recommend it. 4 stars"
Sony PRS-505 - "A stunning piece of design and ..the most striking ebook reader on the market"; just heavy enough to sling in a bag with confidence, not too heavy so it's bulky; page turn controls either side; "a beautiful reading experience, with three levels of zoom to present text clearly"; faster processor and eight levels of grey make it "more pleasurable than cheaper rivals"; good battery; 256MB memory; "good format support"; can't annotate text like the Iliad; no wifi; "struggles to display PDFs properly with random line breaks appearing"; menus poorly arranged. "But if it's style and a magnificent reading experience you're after, we can't fault the PRS-5-5. Five stars.
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