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E-readers have progressed enough to make them useful for mainstream needs. No e-reader is perfect and each person has to weigh the pros and cons and make the choice for themselves. When leaving for work I like not having to worry whether I have enough book left to make it through lunch or dinner. One-stop shopping (that stop being the web) is great. For day-to-day use, or road trips, I have multiple books to choose from, a handy dictionary feature and with Kindle I can access the web for books, weather, news, etc.
In 2006, I lost most of my books (and all of my good books- i.e. anything larger than a non-trade paperback) in a flood. I can't replace most of them and don't have the heart to try. With e-readers, a card-reader and a computer I can back up my books and have them forever. I still buy p-books but nothing like before.
One way to move closer to 'perfection' in e-readers is to buy what's available now. Show the business world that there is a market for such products. Regarding formats, if trends show that e-reader owners are not buying DRM'd formats then that may drive change as well.
As far as average users go, I would buy my folks an e-reader if I could get them to switch from dial-up to dsl/cable. They would have no trouble using one and I think that most anyone that has used GUI-based software could use current conversion programs if the book you want isn't available in a format compatible with your device.
Ok- that's my 2, er, 4 cents on this subject.
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