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NatCh, I think you got something backwards. It was Sony that requested the NYPL meeting, not the other way around. Thus it was natural to expect Sony to come with questions or at the very least explanations.
I never said that NYPL had to be convinced about ebooks: they already are, as evidenced by the fact that they offer them. They were looking for some reason to offer them in a Sony-readable format, and they never got one. I will tell you that if NYPL offerings were now available for the Sony, I would have to consider buying one. All those free (and current) ebooks!
Last Friday I went to the Borders in Danbury CT (a small city about one hour from NYC) and saw that they had the Sony reader display up. They told me they expected a supply of 6 readers the following day. I went there yesterday and learned they had gotten the 6 readers on Monday. They are all still there. In my 10 minutes there, I saw 2 adults and 2 teenagers eyeing the product. The teenagers were wowed by the technology, but did not care about the books available. Both adults thought the price too high for a "gadget".
I played with it for a few minutes and while I think the display is better than those on pda's or smartphones, it is still not as good as paper. I also found the page turning button less than adequate: at the least, I think they should have put one on both sides of the unit. But the main problem for me (I have small hands) was holding it: too big for one hand, but not big enough for two. When I read a book on paper, I don't always hold it the same way every time: that would be difficult to do with this.
In any case, I didn't buy for what remains my major problem: books. I just finished two books and am starting on two others. All are available for ereader, and I read them, when moving around the city, on my smartphone, and when at home on my T/X.
I'll wait for Sony's competition to convince of the need to own one of these.
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