Like some of the others who have posted here, it took me a few hours of reading to get used to the 700, I had been using an ebookwise 1150 for years and loved it. When we compared the 700 to the other Sony reader (I think it was the 505) at Borders before buying, the older model was definitely clearer. I chose the 700 because I really liked the touch screen capability of as that was what I was used to with the EBW 1150. It was a hard decision, though. I think I went back 3 or 4 times to compare them.
Perhaps Borders will let you exchange the 700 for the other model and get a store credit for the difference. Good luck!
By the way, thanks for your post. I will be much more careful in making purchases from Borders in the future. No matter that they are new to selling electronics, in this economy making sure customers are happy and getting them back in their stores should be a top priority.
Kaz