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I have both an original Kobo and a Kindle 3, and I live in Canada.
Hardware wise, the only thing that the Kobo does better is how it feels in your hands. It's a bit lighter and is easier to grip. Everything else, in my opinion, is better on the Kindle 3.
The Kindle 3's pearl screen is substantially better (much higher text contrast that looks more like actual print). There are a couple extra font sizes which makes finding the ideal size for you easier. You can display in portrait or landscape. You can adjust vertical line spacing to what suits you.
There are dedicated forward and back button on BOTH sides of the Kindle, making it much easier to hold the device in either your left or right hand. The page buttons are easier to press than the Kobo's, and a lot quieter. The Kindle's D-pad allows you to easily move forward or back by chapter. It also allows you to select and look up a particular word using the built-in dictionary. The D-pad also makes navigating Kindle newspapers really easy. I'm not sure how it works on the Kobo because my original Kobo currently doesn't support Kobo newspapers.
As for buying books, Kobo and Kindle prices are really close. Generally, Kindle books that go for 9.99 US go for 10.19 CA on the Kobo bookstore. Two factors to consider however are (1) exchange rate - the Canadian dollar just hit par with the US dollar so it is not much of a factor now ... but that may not be the case in the future. (2) the Kindle store does not charge me any tax when I buy from Canada i.e. no GST or provincial sales tax. The Kobo store charges both. That's a 12% difference that negates the exchange rate difference.
To conclude, the Kobo is not a bad e-reader, and the Kobo bookstore is quite good. The Kindle is just better in my opinion.
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