One point I haven't seen here (though it doesn't apply to all Sonys) is speed. If you've seen the
vids of the nook -- the guy presses a button . . . then waits . . . no, wait it didn't recognize the press, I have to do it again . . . then waits . . . Ah, there it goes . . . it's finally changed. If I were in his shoes, that would make it a demo from heck (it could have been worse, but the faults are screaming in the silent pause while you're praying, "work, gaul-dang you, work!").
All E-ink screens will be slow, but most of the delay on the slower units isn't because of the screen -- it's from the underpowered CPU trying to wake up, figure out what to do, read from memory, render the page and tell the screen it's ready. The CPU is at fault for almost all of the delay between the button being pressed and the screen starting to flash. The nook is showing CPU lag in spades.
The later, higher end Sony readers have MUCH less CPU lag .
Granted, that nook was a marketing prototype, and I imagine they'll lick the missed button presses before release or in the first patch (it's a young device, it WILL need a patch). I still doubt they'll get rid of the lag any more than other e-readers with underpowered CPUs.
It's the snappy response (comparatively) of the Sony units that sold me. Frankly, it's the slow screens from iLiad, early Sonys, Cybook, HanLin, and Kindle -- much like the nook -- that kept me reading on tiny PDA screens for so long.
Dan <><