Amazon Kindle 2 in Canada
Now that I have had a week or so to get acquainted with my Kindle 2, I thought I’d share my initial perceptions of the device as it pertains to its functionality in Canada.
First off, the first thing you notice with the Kindle is just how nice the screen is. Amazon designed the kindle so that it would disappear in your hands as you are readying and that is certainly true. The screen is clear, crisp, and renders detail in photos exceptionally well considering it only has 16 shades of gray to work with.
Whisper net seems to deliver books as fast as I would expect it to, purchasing a book from amazon.com on my computer, then turning to my kindle a few minutes later and the book was showing in my list already. Wireless delivery is very handy as I don’t have to search for the USB cable and copy the books manually.
Starting with Version 2.3, the Kindle now supports native PDF reading without the need to convert. There is a catch however, and that is you cannot zoom the text. Most of the PDF files that I read are formatted to fit an 8.5×11″ sheet of paper, not a 6″ screen. You can rotate the PDF and hold your Kindle horizontally, but this only goes so far, as some PDF authors seem to be using 6 and 8 point font as standard text. The solution is to use an application such as “Calibre” (http://calibre-ebook.com/) which is free. Once I converted my PDF files to .mobi, I can zoom the text and read them comfortably.
Compared to the US Wireless version, web surfing is disabled, with the exception of access to Wikipedia. Given the greyscale screen, this was not a deal breaker for me, and I do enjoy getting free, 3G wireless access to wikipedia.
I wish I didn’t have to purchase the leather case/cover seperately, this I feel should have been included with the Kindle, as I would say some sort of case is a requirement to protect the unit. The leather cover is really nice and worth the extra $30 USD.
All in all, I am very happy with my Kindle 2. I was torn between the Kindle and the Sony PRS-505, but I am glad that I went with the kindle. 2GB of internal storage is a lot of storage, and once I have read a book I see no need to keep it in the device unless it is reference material.
If your in the market for an e-reader, I’d recommend the kindle.
Hi…I am thinking of buying a Kindle 2. Are there any fees for downloading books and newspapers in Canada? Fees such as, duty/tax fees from the USA. Also, are there any surprises not mentioned in there add?
Can you download books wirelessly? I also thought to buy the Sony PRS-505 but in your opinion the Kindle 2 would be the better choice?
Hi Janice -
Which reader you should get depends on how you want to “get” your books. Sony supports epub and adobe digital additions, which is what you would need to read ebooks from the public library (at least here in BC).
However, on the kindle, in Canada, I can download books wirelessly from the amazon store. So far, there are no duties or taxes, those only apply when you purchase the device. It looks like Amazon is bundling the taxes into the book price.
From what I gather from the site K2 will operate wirelessly and seamlessly in this area-Comox Valley. Just wished to confirm that is the case and that one must order from Amazon.com and that it cannot be shipped from Canada. If so how much extra is there for the CRA and for shipping costs. From $259. how high do you have to go? Thanks.
Hi Tom -
I’m not sure about the Comox valley specifically as I haven’t taken my kindle there, but it does work all over the lower mainland without issue.
Amazon will show you what the shipping, duties and taxes are at the time of order. With the leather case, mine came to just under $350