Kindle vs. nook in Canada - nook seems to have cheaper ebooks

[Doju]

I'm having a hard time deciding between buying a nook or a Kindle 2 in Canada.

On one hand, the Kindle is actually official in Canada, and wireless downloads are awesome that way. Officialness brings a lot of compelling features that unofficial devices can't touch.

On the other hand, in Canada, just about every ebook is $2 cheaper than the Kindle version at the Barnes and Noble ebook store. This is kind of depressing, the nook isn't even available officially here and they're trouncing Kindle's prices.

What would you guys recommend? I was leaning towards the Kindle until I saw this unfortunate fact, which is rather troubling.

I'm still leaning towards the Kindle, it being available in Canada is a very tempting asset, but the nook seems like an interesting device as well, but I'm not sure if it's worth it (it's thicker too) the touch screen almost seems more distracting than it would be useful, and the Kindle is a lot thinner.

Gah, help?

[djorourke]

I'm in Canada and I have a nook on the way.

I know that doesn't help you...but I'm excited and figured I should share

I went with the nook for a variety of reasons "official support" be damned. At the moment, I'm able to purchase books at bn.com and download them onto my Blackberry. BN finally lifted they're region restriction (in Canada) on their ebooks.

As for connectivity, I live with wifi, I work with wifi, I'll be happy with wifi.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Doju

On the other hand, in Canada, just about every ebook is $2 cheaper than the Kindle version at the Barnes and Noble ebook store. This is kind of depressing, the nook isn't even available officially here and they're trouncing Kindle's prices.

That's simply because Amazon add a $2 surcharge if you live outside the US for the cost of wirelessly sending you the book. It's a data roaming charge, although not openly called that.

[Aydin]

I'm in the same situation here.

Kindle is easily available in Canada, and I really don't mind the $2 extra on books. However, I honestly dislike the Kindle hardware a little, and other eBook readers seem much better (in terms of design).

On the other hand, the nook has a much better design, looks very slick compared to the Kindle, and if I was in the US I would definitely choose it over the Kindle. It's not true that BN has lifted restriction on Canada. Canadians have access to a very limited selection of BN eBooks. Almost all of them say "These items ship to US only" and only a very few I've seen say "These items ship to US and Canadian addresses".

BN eBooks in Canada are a joke. Kindle offers 333,000 books as of today in Canada, and I doubt if BN offers even a quarter of that in Canada (no statistics so no one knows for sure). Despite this, I still rather have a BN library than Amazon.

It's driving me nuts, they both have ups and downs in Canada. I really can't decide.

[daffy4u]

If you like the nook get the nook and investigate purchasing your books from sources other than B&N.

[allan_vancouver]

Originally Posted by Doju

I'm having a hard time deciding between buying a nook or a Kindle 2 in Canada.

On one hand, the Kindle is actually official in Canada, and wireless downloads are awesome that way. Officialness brings a lot of compelling features that unofficial devices can't touch.

On the other hand, in Canada, just about every ebook is $2 cheaper than the Kindle version at the Barnes and Noble ebook store. This is kind of depressing, the nook isn't even available officially here and they're trouncing Kindle's prices.

What would you guys recommend? I was leaning towards the Kindle until I saw this unfortunate fact, which is rather troubling.

I'm still leaning towards the Kindle, it being available in Canada is a very tempting asset, but the nook seems like an interesting device as well, but I'm not sure if it's worth it (it's thicker too) the touch screen almost seems more distracting than it would be useful, and the Kindle is a lot thinner.

Gah, help?

- Bought my wife a nook for Christmas -- she really likes it
- A side-by-side comparison by her and two book-reading friends resulted in the nook winning -- it has a slightly whiter background on the b&w display making it easier to read with slightly less light (maybe 10% -- not huge, but noticeable when they are side by side).
- B&N sell (many of, but not all) their eBooks in Canada, they just don't sell the nook. Amazon had exactly the same policy initially, so I don't expect this to last very long. Some publishers restrict eBooks to just USA -- not B&N's choice, but the publishers. As time goes on, authors and publishers will loosen up and go international. Amazon is leading this at the moment, but watch the others.
- Wi-Fi and USB-attached options work just fine with the nook in Canada. Amazon doesn't have a 3G cell phone partner in Canada either, but I expect they both will at some point.
- Form factors are slightly different -- the nook is thicker but feels quite comfortable; the kindle is thin, but personal taste might be that it feels flimsy, or better, or whatever -- your experience may vary -- this is not a tie-breaker. A nice leather case is an excellent accessory for each, and inside a case you won't be able to tell the difference because the wieght is almost identical.
- eBook prices will even out in the marketplace and should not be an issue -- my wife has books from 2 or 3 eBook stores including B&N, and they all work fine, so shop around (Kobo and others).
- I think the color touch-screen on the nook looks much better and has way more potential than the Kindle's keyboard -- but then I'm more of a techie
- I really don't like that fact that Amazon use a proprietary file format... who do they think they are? Microsoft? The nook and the Sony are the wave of the future and I think Amazon will eventually adopt ePub when the competition starts killing them.

[Duiker]

Originally Posted by HarryT

That's simply because Amazon add a $2 surcharge if you live outside the US for the cost of wirelessly sending you the book. It's a data roaming charge, although not openly called that.

The reason be damned. Two dollars is two dollars.

[Duiker]

I'm not an e-reader owner yet but I am doing a heck of a lot of research before I buy. Being in Canada I have little concern for 3G connectivity as I think it will be a cold day in hell before we get a Canadian carrier to step up and grant us access to their network for free. I would go with the Nook over the Kindle simply because it reads more formats and like many other people find it appalling that Amazon uses a proprietary format. It's important to me to be able to shop around for good prices on e-books and not be stuck with one store. That being said you can always simply convert whatever books you buy to the Kindle format using Calibre if you go that route. A friend of mine has one and that's what he does.

[allan_vancouver]

Originally Posted by Duiker

I'm not an e-reader owner yet but I am doing a heck of a lot of research before I buy. Being in Canada I have little concern for 3G connectivity as I think it will be a cold day in hell before we get a Canadian carrier to step up and grant us access to their network for free. I would go with the Nook over the Kindle simply because it reads more formats and like many other people find it appalling that Amazon uses a proprietary format. It's important to me to be able to shop around for good prices on e-books and not be stuck with one store. That being said you can always simply convert whatever books you buy to the Kindle format using Calibre if you go that route. A friend of mine has one and that's what he does.

Another tidbit: One book I was interested in was showing as not available in Canada on the B&N eBook store, however it WAS available on Kobobooks.com (Kobo started in Canada). The competing ebook stores are likely to level the book pricing rather quickly, IMHO. If not, it is very easy for us to shop around for the right price. I don't think that ebook prices at a point in time should affect the choice of the "right" reader for each individual.

[time4mercy]

Originally Posted by allan_vancouver

- Wi-Fi and USB-attached options work just fine with the nook in Canada. Amazon doesn't have a 3G cell phone partner in Canada either, but I expect they both will at some point.

This is incorrect. My Kindle 2i does 3G just fine. I think you have to be in a metro area though, or it defaults to EDGE/GPRS.

[jessTay]

Hi I'm from Canada and just bought a kindle. I love it! The ebooks are still super cheap when compared to real book prices and you can get tons of free books as well around. The price that's displayed in the kindle shop for me is already altered to the price I'll pay. Think about it, when you look at a card or book, a paper book will be like 30 to the 25 us, which is always way more than the dollar conversion. A few books I was able to get for 3 dollars and you can have sample chapters and free trial magazine and newspaper subscriptions. I even got a trial of a view pages of a graphic novel, which, surprisingly, looks pretty good!

I wrote a review here:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70180

[angelad]

Nook I didn't like at all. Don't want to deal B&N.

[crod]

I got a Nook and as long as you have your B&N account registered with any US address (real or not) you can buy any book as there is really nothing that is not available in the US. For my tastes/needs the Nook beats the Kindle hands down. Again, my personal opinion. I know some Kindle owners that love their devices and I do think it is a great one. It is just not for me.

CR

[RobertJSawyer]

Are Nooks generally available in Barnes & Noble brick-and-mortar stores now, or only for online ordering? I'm a Canadian who will be in Chicago next weekend, and might make a detour to a B&N store to pick one up, if they're likely to be available ... Thanks!

[CandyNJ66]

According to news today, the Nooks will finally be in the stores for sale BEFORE Valentines day. Within the next few days.

If you are in the USA, close to NY, the stores in Union Square and on Lexington already been having loads of Nooks for awhile now in stock.