Firm not Hard!
There I was, sitting on the loo/bog/dunny/head, reading your article on my Kindle Touch, thinking you got it pretty much right yet I wouldn't be out looking for new e-book readers, I'd be looking for development and enhancement of the top ones out there.
I should declare that the only thing I do with my mobile phone is make and receive phone calls! Strange, but true! I take that philosophy to the e-book device. All I want to do is read and, from my look-around, believe the e-paper experience is the best way to do that. So what Firmware can they provide that makes that experience better?
The recent upgrade to Kindle Touch added online translations and some formatting improvements - Nice! That works for me.
I've heard of too many that have purchased extremely ordinary, el-cheapo, devices only to be turned off of the e-book concept. Support the big players and ask (or tell) them how they can improve their offerings, remembering, at the end of the day, all you want to do is read a good book - AND - perhaps being able to easily comment on articles like this from them.
I also don't have issue with the .mobi format. PC software, like the brilliant Calibre, ensures that it matters little what format you start or end with.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
