I think it's important to distinguish between our judgements about a device and our experience with a device. If I'd gone into a B&N store to look at the Glowlight 3 I'd never have bought one. It's big and clumsy looking and would need a big pocket to fit it in. And page turn buttons really never interested me.
I bought mine sight unseen and I'm glad I did. I have the original Kobo Aura but the Glowlight 3 is a far nicer device for reading. I have Paperwhites, both new model and old and, all in all I think they're a better device but for simply reading the Glowlight 3 is better.
It's big and ugly and nobody with any sense would want one. It's also great for reading. I don't think anything else can quite touch it. For everything else other than the simple act of reading, it's a terrible device. Weird how these things work out, huh!
Barry