I also got my cradle today! (Anyone else receive one yet?)
It is just as expected... appears to be exactly the same as the prototype sneak peaks we saw. It has a plexiglass rim that you slide the Reader into (either with the cover on, or with the cover off and an included sleeve inserted to make up the difference in size). When you put it in, the plexiglass rim glows white. The light should go off when the battery is fully charged.
I'm not sure whether or not it's better to keep it in the cradle all the time, or whether after it charges I should remove it.
It really is convenient for me on my desk, and minimizes the mess and hassle of cables. It's very easy to connect the reader by plopping it down inside, cover and all. The only trick is to remember that the open end of the case goes "into" the higher plexiglass rim on the cradle. (BTW, I call it plexiglass, but it's probably some nicer material and I've probably made the entire Sony design team cringe after working really hard to find a great material for it!)
One interesting thing to keep in mind, though. Remember how we mentioned that there is a slot for a lanyard? The instruction book (yes, it comes with it's own instruction book for the cradle) says "If the hand strap is attached to Sony Reader, set it to the side of the cradle." There's an illustration also. But the warning is "Placing Sony Reader on the cradle may not be possible if the strap end is thick." They seem to write as if a strap was included, but I don't think it comes with the Reader or the cradle. At least I didn't find one.
And, of course, you aren't supposed to disconnect it if it's doing a transfer. But if you do, sounds not as bad as messing with a PalmOS or PPC sync... it says to just restart transferring. Cool!
My apologies to those who are still waiting for delivery. I don't mean to be insensitive with my excitement. Yours will hopefully arrive soon.
