 In this Feb. 9, 2009 file photo, the Kindle 2 electronic reader is shown at an Amazon.com news conference in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, file)
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The Kindle is finally coming to Canada, just in time for the Holiday shopping season.
Amazon.com announced Tuesday its popular electronic reading device is available for shipment immediately.
"We know that Canadians are passionate about books and reading, and we're excited to make Kindle available to our customers there," said Ian Freed, vice president of Kindle.
The gadget, which retails for US$259, can wirelessly download books in under a minute.
"Kindle enables customers around the world including Canada to think of a book and start reading it in under 60 seconds," Freed said.
High-resolution pages can then be viewed on a 15-centimetre (6-inch) electronic ink display.
Kindle utilizes the same 3G wireless technology as advanced cell phones such as the iPhone, so users can download new titles on demand without searching for a Wi-Fi zone.
Roughly 300,000 book titles are available to Canadian literature enthusiasts through Amazon's online Kindle book store, most selling for US$11.99 or less.
Lighter than the average paperback, the Kindle can store up to 1,500 books at a time.
Users can also get magazines and daily Canadian newspapers, including the Globe and Mail and the National Post. The entire CanWest chain of local papers is also slated to be made available for one-time or subscription downloads at the Kindle Store.
The Kindle tops Amazon's list for most gifted item and number one selling product south of the border.
