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Yes, Pete, I did read the piece, and also the author's original review of ereaders from the previous CES in 2009. And I'll stand by my statement that he is clearly a techy and not a reader. My terminology wasn't defined, so that may have led to misunderstanding.
Anyone reading books on an ereader of any stripe is obviously both a techy and a reader. But from observing ebooks for years, I've seen that it's pretty easy to divide most readers (meaning the people doing the reading) into two groups at this point: One loves gadgets first and is drawn to them to do his/her incidental reading, and the other loves reading first and sees ereaders as a way to do more of it, faster, cheaper and/or better.
Jon's review and article glommed onto the three techiest objects that glittered on his sidewalk: The QUE, the Skiff, and a new kind of display (not even a complete device).
These items were possibly swept aside by the iPad, so in Jon's view, the iPad dealt a serious blow to ereaders. He's even given up his own Kindle (once a shiny, attention-grabbing device, but not so much anymore) in favor of the iPad, which he loves, except for reading at home, for which he buys paper books.
So for him, in his blind-man-and-the-elephant way, ereaders are all but dead, killed probably by the iPad.
And yeah, I think that if your ereader doesn't provide you with an enjoyable reading experience when you're sitting at home in your favorite chair with your favorite drink and a dog-at-your-feet/cat-in-your-lap, it's failing you as a reading device. A Kindle or Nook or Kobo might well fail someone who mainly reads magazines or textbooks or needs large pages and full color; in this case, for some reason, Jon doesn't like reading on his iPad at home. That doesn't mean I think that the iPad isn't a good device for him, but yeah, as an ereader, it doesn't seem to be doing the job.
And of course this doesn't mean that it doesn't work for you!
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