[ficbot]

I am thinking of buying a Kindle. I have lately been finding that my Sony 505, while excellent, has some drawbacks for me that the Kindle seems to address. For example it seems non-English dictionaries are now supported, so I would be able to read in French. Also, I am very interested in the 'read to me' feature. I am not very into music and get bored carrying my ipod with me for walking to the subway (admittedly not a far walk) and while shopping. I like the idea that I could spend an hour in the grocery store, have it read to me the whole time, then when I get home, I could turn off the read to me and read it the regular way.

But before I pull the trigger, I have a few questions:

1) Does it come with a case or protector of some kind? I just want to be able to carry it in my bag without damaging it.

2) Is it lighter to hold than a Sony 505? I find my hand gets a bit numb after a time if I hold the 505 one-handed.

3) Should I just convert my LRFs to mobi using Calibre, or is there a benefit to re-downloading my Fictionwise multiformat books or books from here?

4) Does Amazon only store/collect data on books on the Kindle you buy from them? For example, if I buy a book from Fictionwise in secure eReader, liberate it, and load it onto the Kindle via USB, will Amazon know?

5) Do you find subscription newspapers to be a good value? Does the 'read to me' feature work with them?

6) In Canada, I am assuming I can use the wireless (while in Canada) and the USB for free. Does the 'email this to my Kindle' feature have a charge?

Any assistance or advice appreciated. I was very tempted to wait awhile and see what comes out, but I have weighed the options and really feel that there are features here I would like to use. I am just hoping they get folder support soon as I have over 500 books...