I've been waiting for this. A long, long time.
You have the following CURRENT choices:
1.) irex 1000ds. You could buy two netbooks for less. And it's a bit old.
2.) squinting. Nothing else will really provide a reasonable experience with academic journals. Screen sizes are all to small, and scrolling on an e-reader is laughable.
3.) tablet. Even here, you will either spend an arm and a leg, or go with the Asus T91, which uses a fairly underpowered processor and still has a limiting screen (8.9", but now you can scroll).
IMHO, there are NO choices for someone who doesn't have cash to burn. It is getting me frustrated thinking about it. Good luck.