It was solely a matter of time earlier than Amazon revealed its first shade e-ink Kindle. In any case, shade e-ink know-how has been within the works for years, with shade e-readers from smaller producers hitting the market since 2021. In actual fact, earlier this 12 months, Kobo, one of many main gamers within the e-reader house, jumped on the bandwagon with its shade e-ink lineup, together with the Kobo Clara and Kobo Libra Color.
Amazon is late to the colour e-ink get together, however the Kindle Colorsoft leaves a lot to be desired.
As a self-proclaimed Kindle fanatic who owns each era of Amazon’s flagship e-readers, I’ve been eagerly ready for the day Amazon would unveil its imaginative and prescient for the way forward for e-readers. However now that it’s right here with the launch of the Kindle Colorsoft, I’m not speeding to improve. Right here’s why.
Lack of helpful options
One of many largest attracts of a Kindle has all the time been its single-minded deal with studying. Regardless of proudly owning a number of iPads and Android tablets, I’ve all the time appreciated the Kindle’s distraction-free, “just-works” expertise. A shade e-ink reader presents the potential to broaden these experiences, however Amazon hasn’t demonstrated any compelling cause to take action.
There is not any compelling characteristic addition to the Kindle Colorsoft. No, fairly wallpapers do not justify the extra price.
Whereas I haven’t had hands-on expertise with the Colorsoft but, early impressions recommend its shade capabilities are restricted to a full-color e-book library, wallpapers, and color-coded highlights. That’s not almost sufficient to make me improve from my beloved Kindle Oasis. Options like a digital pocket book or a color-coded digital post-it system for organizing notes from books would have been game-changers — options already accessible on alternate options just like the Kobo Libra Colour and Kobo Clara Colour. However, that’s not right here but.
Low-resolution shade show
One of many important promoting factors of shade e-readers is the power to take pleasure in full-color comedian books the way in which they’re meant to be seen. Nevertheless, there’s a trade-off with the present crop of Kaleido 3 screens: the show decision drops in half when displaying shade. A decision of 150 ppi isn’t excellent for studying textual content comfortably. Belief me, I’ve tried studying manga on a 300 ppi monochrome e-reader, and even that requires frequent zooming. I can’t think about a fantastic comic-reading expertise on the Colorsoft.
The 150ppi decision in shade mode is not fairly sufficient to take pleasure in comedian books or magazines.
Moreover, as somebody who’s intently adopted the evolution of e-ink, I’m conscious of constant complaints from customers of different shade e-ink readers, significantly concerning the display screen’s graininess as a result of shade filter layer. Whereas this texture won’t trouble everybody, anybody used to the sharp show of high-end readers just like the Kindle Oasis would probably discover the distinction. And whereas Amazon could have mitigated this difficulty, shade e-ink additionally tends to have slower refresh charges. A full-color web page requires a full refresh, which frequently leads to the display screen blinking or lagging — interrupting the immersive studying expertise. The mixture of decrease decision and sluggish efficiency makes this a no-go for me.
Lack of note-taking performance
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
Whereas studying comedian books is one use case for a shade e-ink reader, I see these gadgets as excellent digital journaling instruments. Options like color-coded notes, highlights, or digital post-its would add to the Kindle’s out of doors readability and lengthy battery life, making it the perfect on-the-go journal. Amazon already has all of the groundwork in place because of the Kindle Scribe, and bringing that very same inking expertise to the Colorsoft would have dramatically upped the enchantment.
The Kindle Colorsoft was the right alternative to make a comparatively pocketable, smaller Kindle Scribe. Nevertheless, Amazon selected to not.
That’s why it baffles me that Amazon didn’t give the Colorsoft the identical note-taking skills because the Kindle Scribe. Positive, the smaller 7-inch display screen of the Colorsoft won’t be as appropriate for annotating giant PDFs, however for customers like me, its pocket-friendly kind issue would outweigh the necessity for these superior capabilities. Much more perplexing is that the Kobo Libra Colour, a direct competitor, presents journaling and pen enter — making Amazon’s omission all of the extra shocking.
No bodily web page flip buttons
Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
Right here’s one more reason I’m hesitant to improve, and it’s not even concerning the fancy new options. Together with the Kindle Colorsoft reveal got here the announcement that Amazon is discontinuing the Kindle Oasis. The Oasis, my fixed studying companion, has the right kind issue for each left- and right-handed customers and — most significantly — bodily page-turn buttons. In case you’ve ever tried studying in mattress, you understand how irritating unintentional faucets on a contact display screen will be.
Whereas I perceive the absence of bodily buttons on entry-level fashions, Amazon’s resolution to take away them from its now top-tier e-reader feels utterly out of contact with its major viewers.
Value
Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority
Lastly, there’s the worth. At $279, it’s an $80 improve over the usual Paperwhite. Now, which may not seem to be a lot for many who love being on the reducing fringe of tech. Nevertheless, on condition that Amazon hasn’t added any substantial new options, the extra price feels laborious to justify for the typical consumer. That price ticket hurts much more once you see that the equal Kobo Clara Colour is priced at simply $149. In the meantime, the $220 Kobo Libra Colour presents an analogous e-ink show whereas including options like stylus-based textual content enter, digital note-taking, and bodily page-turn buttons.
The $80 premium over the Paperwhite is tough to justify given the shortage of further options, and opponents providing the identical expertise for a complete lot much less.
Positive, full-color covers are good, however I’d a lot slightly have the additional month of battery life supplied by the Paperwhite and save a bit of cash if I’m invested within the Kindle e-book ecosystem or begin different choices. In actual fact, for many customers, I’d suggest sticking with the Paperwhite and investing the financial savings in a high-quality case as an alternative. Whereas Amazon’s e-readers have all the time felt like good worth, and even the Oasis justified its extreme price ticket because of the premium construct, I fail to notice that right here. The Colorsoft’s $280 value level comes throughout as Amazon capitalizing on its monopoly within the e-reader house as an alternative of justifying its worth.
The Kindle Colorsoft barely retains up with the alternate options
Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority
I do know I haven’t had the prospect to strive the Kindle Colorsoft but, and a few of these opinions may come throughout as me being a bit jaded. Nevertheless it doesn’t change the truth that Amazon performed it extraordinarily protected with the launch of the Colorsoft and has delivered a barebones expertise. When smaller opponents like Kobo and Boox are pushing the boundaries by way of performance, you count on the main e-reader producer to a minimum of match, if not exceed, its choices.
I am going to maintain a watch out on the way forward for Kindle Colorsoft, however, for not, it simply does not add sufficient worth to justify an improve.
Whereas I’m nonetheless thinking about the way forward for shade e-ink, I’ll be sitting this one out for now. I’ll keep watch over what Amazon does with future generations of the Kindle Colorsoft, however within the meantime, I’m sticking with my trusty Kindle Oasis.
Will you purchase the Kindle Colorsoft?
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