Well - I broke down & ordered the gadget, which arrived today. I have good news and bad news.
The bad news is it was a defective unit and it's on its way back:
"We are extremely sorry about this. You were unfortunate enough to have received a defected unit. What you are describing is a known issue that may be found in the first 10 devices we've sold. This was later fixed in our distribution points before proceeding with shipments.
We are sending you a new WikiReader, it will go in the mail today. We apologize for any inconvenience it causes you. Thank you so much for reaching out to us."
The good news is their support email answered within 20 minutes, confirming my diagnosis. Sigh. So if you ordered early, be aware you may be returning it. The problem is failure to load pages when trying to access links within an article- the darn thing kept throwing up an error message telling me to turn the unit off.
But I did play with it first.
PROs:
1. Very sensitive touch screen - just need to brush it with your fingertips. You read by brushing the screen to scroll through the article, or tap on links to access other articles.
2. Virtual keyboard can accept either 2-thumb texting or 1-finger hunt & peck typing.
3. Undocumented feature - you can password-restrict access to articles judged unsuitable for children (not sure what filter is used).
4. Pages load FAST - during initial searches and accessing links.
5. Very light weight - really can carry Wikipedia in your pocket.
CONs:
1. A LOT OF GLARE on the screen - really need to angle it just right to read it. Don't know if you can add a screen protector on top to cut down the glare.
2. Screen really picks up fingerprints, smudges, etc. fast.
3. Clunky keyboard - you have either an alphabetic keyboard, or can switch to a numeric/symbol keyboard. But the switch is fast.
4. Not a lot of contrast to the font - fuzzy edges to the letters. Reminded me of an old Tandy computer screen that had the blue letters on a white background - that "fuzzy" look - It might read better under different light sources. The actual screen (to my eyes) is a muddy gray/green with similarly-colored darker letters.
5. No "back" button - if you click on an embedded link to another article you have to use the "history" button to get back to the original article.
6. Small screen - need to use a lot of scrolling to read an entire article.
CONCLUSIONS (so far):
1. In its present state, not worth $99. The price needs to drop considerably for what it offers.
2. It IS fun to use - if you're a wiki-holic or love to read dictionaries/encyclopedias - it is addictive to keep hitting those links and keep reading. The page refresh rate and scroll refresh rate is fast enough to not hinder reading. When I think how long I have to wait to look something up in Wikepedia when reading on my Kindle, the Wikireader shines.
3. I hope they continue to develop this concept. I think it has a future niche for readers -- for accessing information offline, for pairing with an ereader like the kindle with a SLOW web interface, etc.
Please ask questions about features I've omitted. Sorry, I don't have any screen shots - already packed it up to return. (Go here for pics:
http://thewikireader.com/index.html )
If anyone else ordered and got a functional unit, jump in with more info!