Well after fidgeting around with a borrowed Kindle for a couple of days and seeing the 700 and 505 in the local Sony store I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the 505.
For me the Kindle just felt a bit clunky with regards to the ergonomics. The wi-fi is not critical to my usage, but I did like the preview feature.
The 700 was pretty and snazzy with the touch features but I did not like the washed out greyish appearance. I liked the speed and the light was a nice touch however I just could not get past the display.
The 505, a little slow but had the better contrast and display as compared to the 700 along with a form factor that felt comfortable to me. I'm happily awaiting my shipment to arrive since I purchased it online instead of at the store.
Thanks for all the feedback gang