I would assume the obstacle that prevented an earlier release was Rogers. I assume that Kindle must be a GSM device, and since Rogers is the only GSM provider in Canada, they must have played hardball on fees, etc.
I really wish there was some GSM competition up here. The one candidate that was supposed to be up and running this fall was Globalive, but it was squashed in court (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/globalive-...). Foreign ownership rules in an industry as big as wireless communications is lame.
"Sources say the delay may be due to newly discovered competition. Until recently, the wireless technology used by the Kindle was available only through Rogers. This week, however, Bell and Telus announced a new next-generation network that will go live in November, giving Amazon more options to choose from for their device. The two carriers announced this week that they will use the new network to begin offering Apple's iPhone, previously only available through Rogers."
It works well enough for PDFs to warrant me keeping it. There are a few misses (no real zooming, kinda laggy and no directory structure), but having a largish eInk screen almost makes it worth it.
I really wish there was some GSM competition up here. The one candidate that was supposed to be up and running this fall was Globalive, but it was squashed in court (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/globalive-...). Foreign ownership rules in an industry as big as wireless communications is lame.