Yes, it's a birthday present for my husband, but I had to unpack it first to make sure it was ok, right?

I think Walter Mossberg in his WSJ review covered the main downsides: You can't enter notes, search inside books or documents, or look up words in a built-in dictionary. And while you can bookmark pages for later retrieval, you can't highlight passages. Sony says it's working on a future version of the Reader that can perform these tasks. And it doesn't really read pdf files well (at least Mossberg found this true, and so did I with the one analyst report I loaded on it).
Here's the WSJ article (subscription required I think): http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116059982533389758-search.html?KEYWORDS=sony+reader&COLLECTION=wsjie/6month

What doesn't really come across in that review is just how lovely it feels in your hand. It has a nice light heft - enough to feel like a book, but light enough to be like a light one. We went to the SonyStyle store when they finally came out (delayed since Spring 2006). And I'm not sure I even "got it" then.

But at home, where I have one pile of books by the couch, and another by the bed, the thought I could have it all on this one device feels perfect and neat.

The display of the pages is very nice, similar to reading a book. All that eyestrain I've given myself reading the Wall Street Journal online in bed, would be gone. I haven't tried out the RSS feed features yet - cause I'm just setting it up for my husband. :) Right..

The Motley Fool article (TMFTwitty posted it on this board) says that Sony has struck deals with a bunch of major publishers... hmmm - I haven't seen that yet. The Connect bookstore is a bit of a disappointment when you're used to the huge selection from Amazon, the online reviews, and the easy to use interface.

Supposedly I can take "books from other sources". All this and more to be found out. But that soft cover, that easily folds back, with an easy to read page? Seems like all those struggles on the treadmill to keep a book open, or trying to lay in bed and cuddle with DH while we both read? all those struggles look to be over.

The biggest trouble will be the need to wait for a second one...

You know, those Sony folks have some stupid ideas, like the Mylo? Who's going to by that? But I really hope this one works out... It has its faults, but I'm a little in love with the Sony Reader already.

Sarah