How come e-book software/hardware is so poorly executed ?

May be its me but given the new interface of the iphone and palmpre I am really taken back everytime I look at an e-reader and see how clunky the software is.

Ok it's displayed in e-ink but I for one still love the first gen ipod software and wonder why ebook and (linux) based readers cannot sharpen up there act. As for the readers themselves they have more button than a tv remote and as Apple is unlikely to make one what will happen to them ?

I'd like to have one but at the moment despite the big increase in books available I find the clunky software and crappy hardware no incentive to buy into ?

Am I alone on this ?

Neal