Now what? Kindle in Canada changed my mind

[bcgirl]

I set my mind to get the Sony 505 but today I heard on the news that the Kindle is coming to Canada. What are the pros and cons. Its almost same price , Sony is $ 299 and the Kindle will be $ 311.
Any suggestion what would be a good choice? Love to hear from you!

[ficbot]

I too felt a pang when I heard the Kindle would be available here at long last But ultimately, think less about the brand and more about the features. For me, the two deal-breakers with the Kindle were that it does not handle library books and the prospect of converting all my books again; I have already done this once when I switched to the Sony from the iPod Touch. I know Calibre can handle all of my files, but I just can't be bothered. Kindle might be fun but the no library books thing is a deal-breaker for me, for now So, looking at features the Kindle or Sony have but not the other:

Both have their own stores with free and paid books
Both have good quality e-ink screens
Both can read many formats with conversion sometimes needed
Both can easily be managed via USB
Both are great for reading general books and documents

Sony can handle PDF better (so I hear)
Sony can handle emerging standard ePub
Sony can use tags or collections to sort books
Sony can read library books from Overdrive

Kindle has dictionary lookup (but only for English)
Kindle has wireless
Kindle has note-taking abilities
Kindle can sync with an ipod
Kindle store has lowest prices (but sells in US dollars so you will have to convert every time)

I think either would be a solid bet, actually. But I do want to read library books still, and also I think Shortcovers will be coming out with a device within the next year, so I am going to sit tight for now and see what developments are on the horizon I may upgrade one of these days, but with all the flux in the market right now and new stuff coming out, today will not be that day

[bcgirl]

Thanks for pointing out it all for the two devices!! Only one thing I dont understand (never had an ebook reader and i just dove into this whole thing) but what are libraries. What do you mean that Kindle does not offer that? Could you please explain it to me?

[GA Russell]

BC, many public libraries offer eBooks to borrow (for a limited time), but they cannot be read on a Kindle.

[neilmarr]

I wonder if Canada will be subject to the same $2 loading on Kindle titles as other 'foreign' countries. You'll probably find hefty geographical restrictions on some books that it's tough to get around with Kindle, too. Good luck. Neil (who's a 505 fan)

[bcgirl]

So far, am still leaning towards the Sony 505...what about newspapers and magazines? Can you find these for both devices?

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

BC, many public libraries offer eBooks to borrow (for a limited time), but they cannot be read on a Kindle.

Lets clarify that.

Library books can be read on a Kindle by running kindlefix script on your computer after downloading the book.

They must be mobipocket format, and they still "close" after the loan period.

Reading library books on a sony is easier, no script required, and they read the "epub" formats, of which there seems to be a larger variety available.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by neilmarr

I wonder if Canada will be subject to the same $2 loading on Kindle titles as other 'foreign' countries.

Given that it's a data roaming charge, one would certainly imagine so.

[pholy]

Latest word from the Globe&Mail is that books will cost $11.99, same as Europe. We won't know for sure about the restrictions, but Canada is, after all, a 'foreign country'.