Kobo WiFi eReader Touch Edition - best in its class, available in Canada

Kobo Touch Review and Comparisons - Kobo WiFi eReader Touch Edition:

"The Kobo Touch is the latest addition to Kobo's line of ebook readers. It replaces the Kobo WiFi but maintains many of the same features while adding some software and hardware upgrades.

The Kobo Touch comes in four color varieties: Lilac, Blue, Silver, and Black. Staying true to Kobo's low-priced approach, it sells for $139 in Canada and a competitive $129 in the United States, $10 less than the Kindle 3 WiFi and new Nook Touch."

If I were going to get an e-ink reader for friend or family I would probably go for the Kobo Touch. Firmware needs to be upgraded a time or two to get the wrinkles out. Some minor, but essential functions are missing, and I don't like how the dictionary only works with Kobo books, but otherwise it looks simple enough for anyone to use but powerful and flexible enough for rooting and fiddling.

Its competitor, the Nook Touch, is not available in Canada (yet) and Kindle doesn't have anything comparable in this price range.

The Kobo e-Reader

If I was going to get an e-ink reader just to see what it is like I'd get the Kobo. At $149 Cdn. its the cheapest e-ink reader out there. According to a very good detailed review at OhGizmo, it is also a very solid, elegantly designed and well-manufactured basic e-reader.

It comes with a 6" e-ink display with 8 levels of gray (compared to 16 for the kindle), and a 1GB SD card (upgradeable). It has no wifi, 3G, or MP3 capability (USB or bluetooth only). The deal breaker for me (besides needing a reading lamp to read in low-light conditions) is that it doesn't have the capability for notes, markup, or bookmarks.