I'm going to respond to just those readers that I have some personal knowledge of. I own both Kindle (K1) and Sony (505) readers.
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Originally Posted by Djehuty
Maybe I'm making too much of the various drawbacks, but I'm actually beginning to regret sending my Kindle back -- even though I wouldn't be able to use it after I move to Canada!
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I beg to differ. I used my Kindle in Toronto and it worked very well. I even bought a book from Amazon while I was in Toronto, just to demonstrate to a friend how it works. Yes, the Whispernet function doesn't work in Canada -- at least for now -- but I don't use my reader for Internet access, so that doesn't matter. I don't rely on Kindle for newspaper or blog subscriptions, so the only thing you'd give up without the Whispernet access is the free samples.
Keep your current Amazon account and fund it with gift cards. Open a new account with your Canadian address, e-mail, etc.
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Originally Posted by Djehuty
Kindle - Pro: Looks nice, works well, large selection through Amazon. Con: Forever limited to Amazon only, very poor PDF support, incompatible with Canada.
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See my earlier comment about using the Kindle in Canada. I also don't agree that the Kindle is forever limited to Amazon only. I've bought 25 or more books from Baen and a good dozen from Fictionwise and have enjoyed reading them on the Kindle. PDF support is inadequate on all readers except the large-screen version of the iLiad -- unless the PDF is created specifically for the small screen used by readers. (Feedbooks creates custom PDF files for the Sony and other readers, for example.)
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Originally Posted by Djehuty
Sony PRS-505 - Pro: Looks good, good screen, good PDF support, good tech and customer support, good warranty (which none of the others seem to have). Con: No Mobipocket support, therefore only a rather small selection of current books available.
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Lack of Mobipocket support does mean that there are fewer stores where you can buy books for the Sony reader -- but the addition of ePub support seems to be a good step forward. And, as I was browsing through the Sony store and comparing to Amazon, every book that I was interested in appeared in both stores. The per book price tended to be about $2 lower at Amazon, but Sony had these cool "bundles" of 3-7 books and the price for the bundle was less than the sum of the book prices at Amazon.
I think that no matter which reader you get, you'll find it a welcome addition. You'll adjust to whichever store carries books in a format you can use with your reader. No reader is perfect. No store is perfect. At this point, some are just less flawed than others.