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But is bookeen so much worse at communicating and delivering updates than her competitors, that we're all making such a big deal out of it?
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I have studied small companies (Bookeen) versus large (Sony/Amazon). There is no best way that always works. However, you will find that in many cases the small company can not directly compete with the resources of the larger company.
For example, in the case of ebook readers the larger companies might offer a large selection of books, a wide distribution system, features such as a bundled nationwide wireless service, etcetera.
The way the small company can offset these advantages is by being more responsive. Big companies typically don't listen really well. Small companies can offer solutions that are initially weaker, but that grow over time in response to customer issues. In fact, the smaller company product may never have **all** the features of the big company product, but an attitude of continuous improvement and tailoring to specific customer requests can bring them a long way.
Unfortunately, Bookeen doesn't appear to be winning any battles. Bookeen had an early entry. As others have entered the market (Sony, Kindle, Cooler, Jetbook, ...) the Bookeen features have become quite ordinary. Since it is all based on the hardware of an OEM provider, its not unique unless Bookeen can bring some software specialization. Furthermore, Bookeen's lack of responsiveness has left them at a real disadvantage. At this point in time they are priced similar to the Kindle (considerably more than the Jetbook & Sony), they have fewer features, and they just aren't showing the ability to listen or adapt that can be strengths of smaller companies who are trying to compete against behemoths.