OK, tried your scenario:
Starting situation: led off.
Plugged the CyBook into USB, led turns red, no response from laptop.
Waited a few minutes (took a picture in the mean time and uploaded it), then pressed the power button while it was still plugged into the laptop. No response at all: led colour does not change, screen does not change and nothing in dmesg.
Pressed reset button while still connected: same result.
Unplugged USB: led goes off.
Pressed power: led turns green, but intensity varies: starts low, then gets brighter. Led turns off after a while (fairly long).
Here's the picture I took, somehow it wasn't properly rotated... but it shows the text of the last page still on the screen, plus the 'snow' from the aborted boot:
http://www.twitpic.com/a8q60