This is my first post here. I felt obligated to post since much of the information I've gathered came from the many contributors of this forum.
After nearly two months researching these Ereader devices - I took the plunge and bought a Sony PRS-700BC. Just got it tonight from Borders - so can't do a full hands-on review just yet. I can say that I don't believe I will regret my purchase.
I was really confounded by the Irex products - I believed they had/have awesome potential, but from the information from this forum and others - I simply could not trust that their products were ready enough for me. Then there was the issue of cost
Kindle2 came up as an honorable mention - however due to the limitations of format compatibility (i.e. I read lots of PDF documents) I had to rule it out.
FWIW - my daughter got the PRS-505 tonight. I think calibre, supported formats and build quality pushed us toward the Sony offerings.
Thanks to all who helped me navigate the Ereader market
Sam