The keyboard is a huge negative for me. Why would I want a significant chunk of my screen space taken up by a keyboard on a device that I'm aiming to use primarily for reading?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticising manual keyboards in general. Just specifically on a device for which your primary purpose will be reading (which is what the OP's article is about). If I'm going to be mainly reading on the device then I want as big a screen as possible.
I get the sense that they're not using it only as a reader, but as a general smartphone replacement, where for the most part the reduced capability set rhymes with better living.