In our “Why is there no iPod for book?” essay, we took it as a given that the Sony ebook reader would be a reasonably good bit of kit. We may have been half right. From the Wired News article, “Sony Reader is a Work in Progress“:

I gave three of my colleagues a sort of Malcolm Gladwell Blink test by handing them the Reader and asking for their instant impression. Two out of three ooohed and aahhhed, and the other was immediately turned off, saying, “I’d never want to read a book on one of those things.” My own feelings are an amalgam of theirs: Having used the device for many hours, I found it to be a comfortable, pleasing way to read, after initial hesitance.

Of course, the reviews of the original iPod were mixed, too. Still, I think we’ll have to wait a little longer for an “iPod for books.”