judgment : Amazon ’s Kindle Colorsoft is now on sale , and it ’s the biggest shakeup of the eastward - reader in a decade .
Announced alongside new versions of the Scribe , Paperwhiteand the basic , entry - level Kindle , the Colorsoft – as the name suggests – is the firstKindle e - readerwith a colour display .
It ’s not like one of the brand ’s Fire tablets though , or an iPad – this Colorsoft is still designed principally for distraction - free reading , with a screen more akin to newspaper than an OLED or LCD .
I have so far spent 24 hours with the Colorsoft , nowhere near enough time to generate a full finding of fact – but enough to have thought . And I have lots of thoughts .
I be intimate Kindles . I have used just about all of them in the yesteryear , whether it ’s in a professional content or , before I started reviewing technical school , a personal one . I ’ve used a2017 Kindle Oasis(still the ultimate Kindle , in my thought ) since it launch .
After reviewing theKobo Libra Colourearlier in the year , I have been hoping Amazon would set in motion a competitor and here it is .
The colour is subtle, but it makes a difference
When I first booted up the Colorsoft , I was take aback . I am so used to the black and white UI of the Kindle Oasis and Paperwhite that determine the same things , but injected with color was almost like using a Kindle for the first time .
Your eye will instantly alternate to the colourful al-Qur’an cover as these are the most obvious initial benefits of the new exhibit .
They look great , and get that extra soda water really adds something over the distinctive black and white . In some suit , I was seem at book back in their true form for the very first time .
Do n’t total to the Colorsoft expectingOLEDor LCD levels of color . This is n’t a pad and Amazon , thankfully , is n’t trying to turn it into one .
The colours are easygoing and pernicious , more like a watercolour painting than a printed picture . There ’s enough pop and saturation to get the problem done ( and a Vivid mode if you need more oomph ) although I assume this is one area that ’ll ameliorate as the technical school supercharge over the next five years .
You can tell the colour layer is there
Like vividness reader from Kobo , the screen alters solving depending on the content . When colour is display , the resolution sit at 150PPI – move over the standard black and white Scripture and it climb up up to the same 300PPI as the Kindle Paperwhite . you could certainly discover the drop in settlement , especially with textbook bubbles in graphic novels , although everything is still very readable .
seem nearly at the projection screen and you could spot the layer over the E - Ink display that provides the colour . It ’s subtle , but it is there . Granted , you do need to lookreallyclosely to see it – far closer than a natural reading locating – although once I had spotted it , it took a while for my brain to reckon past it .
This is all down to personal preference though , and I assume most wo n’t really be that mother about some minuscule dots sit behind the text .
Pop the Colorosoft next to the Paperwhite , or the Oasis , and I do cogitate the latter two looking at a little practiced . The latest Paperwhite has better demarcation , giving more of a papery spirit , while the elderly Oasis is , to my optic , crisper . I am splitting hairs here , and all the current Kindles presentation text precipitous enough to well interpret without comment distinct pixels .
Sticking with the Paperwhite design is an interesting choice
The Colorsoft is a bighearted young release for Amazon , kickstarting a whole young line of Kindle readers .
begin at $ 269/£269 , it ’s notably more expensive than both the standard and Signature Editions of the Paperwhite , and not far off three clock time the price of the basic Kindle . It ’s cheaper than the Scribe , although that ’s a far more realised machine in many respects .
It ’s slightly unpaired then that , screen aside , the Colorsoft is very much just a Paperwhite in many way .
The intent is the same , with a single blackened people of color option available . The back has a subdued touch finish and , if like premature Paperwhite models , is prostrate to getting a petty careworn down and gross over the yr . The mogul button isstillin the most incense place on the bottom , a spot that makes circumstantially knocking it so promiscuous .
The concealment is the same size of it as the Paperwhite 2024 at 7 in , the battery life is a few week less owing to the colour blind and the overall performance is supposedly on par . You do get all the SIgnature Edition features , like an robotlike light and wireless charging although neither of these leap out out to me as important .
To me , it feel strange that Amazon is n’t launching the Colorsoft with a new design – one that extend a little more luxury .
With the Kindle Oasis gone , there ’s a gap in the Kindle range of mountains for a equipment that focuses more on conception and offers extra feature like page - turning buttons . I ’d have opine the first colour reviewer from Amazon would be this , but that ’s not the case .
What sort of reader is this for?
I ca n’t deny the color screen can be wonderful . Book cover seem great , single-valued function soda inside travel template and graphics novel are wads better than they ’ve ever been on a Kindle . Would I still rather study the latter two on a tablet screen , like the dinkyiPad Mini 7 ? I believably would . Just look at the persona below – graphic novels still bet better on a tablet screen .
As with any first - gen ware , the Colorsoft is n’t going to be for everyone . The high terms , early screen tech and repress design hint towards a ware that wo n’t really hit the mainstream for a few geezerhood yet . I am still glad it ’s here though , even if I am not completely convinced by it – yet .
