Last month we wrote about the fact that Amazon’s e-reader, the Kindle, was being released in 100 countries, but Canada wasn’t going to be one of them.
Well break out the champagne and block off the weekend – the Kindle has come to Canada – well, most of it has, anyways.
There are a few things missing from the Canadian version of the e-reader, the browser (limited as it may be) being the most noticeable. For now, users can expect the following message “Due to local restrictions, web browsing is not available for all countries.”
The Kindle is also only available in US dollars, as is the same for the content you might choose to buy. Newspaper subscriptions and ebooks are available in Canada, but only in US dollars. Canadian readers looking to buy the Kindle will pony up about $330 after shipping and handling, the exchange difference, and an import fee of around US$34, which covers the applicable taxes and duties.
The Kindle will be able to hold up to 1,500 books, or you can use the 2gig drive to hold other documents and files, like PDF’s, Word docs, MP3s or podcasts, but it’s the ability to grab new titles wirelessly, (though none of the wireless companies, Telus, Bell, or Rogers, are admitting to providing this component) is the main differentiator between this Kindle and the rest of the e-books on the market.
Just in time for Christmas – are you going to race out and get your Kindle today? Or maybe you’re already reading this post on your Kindle – oops, guess not in Canada.
Written by: Jason Finnerty. www.digitcom.ca. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com by: RSS, Twitter, Identi.ca, or Friendfeed
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Had to happen eventually…
Nice!
Any advice for Canadians regarding getting Kindle content? I heard that we should be registering via a US address as some content that is available to US users is not available to Canadians. What do you know?