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Cthulhu,
I think you very elegantly express what is good about the product. Its not meant to be a laptop or a tablet replacement. I also completely relate to your attempts to explain to friends why you like the device.
A lot of innovation can be found in E-ink's display technology and Sony has been way ahead of the curve in getting long battery life for its portable players. Its earliest digital cameras had proprietary batteries that could indicate roughly how much time remained in the charge. I know Sony will continue to innovate somewhere but will it improve the Reader?
Its not clear to me that Sony considers the reader worth continued development and resources. A while back, Stringer mentioned adding wi-fi, which if recent history is any indication seems to just promise shorter battery life. Unfortunately, most consumer tech these days aren't granted Model A development cycles. The product's innovation may yet lie in a smaller and more dynamic competitor. If that happens, it will be more the result of Sony allowing the market to slip away rather than from a defeat after an aggressive attempt to hold on to its, admittedly early, lead.
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