The Amazon Kindle Colorsoft is coming out on October 30th and is the first Kindle e-reader to have a colour screen. This is a massive deal for Amazon since it will enhance every aspect of the Kindle. It will be easier to discover new books since cover art will be vibrantly displayed. Comics, magazines, and picture books will be glorious. This might be the most eagerly anticipated Kindle of all time. The question is, will you buy it?
The Kindle Colorsoft features a 7-inch E Ink Kaleido 3 colour e-paper display with a black and white resolution of 1264×1680 and 300 PPI and a colour resolution of 150. A Kaleido 3 screen is typically able to display over 4,096 different colours. The Kindle is entirely based on a touchscreen, with no physical buttons. It has an auto-adjusting front-lit display to automatically change the brightness of the warm and cool lighting based on your environment. The peak brightness is 94 units and it has 12 White LEDs; 13 Amber LEDs.
The exact processor and RAM have not been disclosed yet, but it likely has a dual-core 1GHZ Mediatek processor and 32GB of internal storage to house your digital content. Bluetooth 5.1 will allow you to pair wireless headphones or an external speaker to listen to Audible audiobooks purchased from Amazon, but Audible only works in select countries. A single charge lasts up to eight (8) weeks, based on a half hour of reading per day with wireless off and the light setting at 13. Battery life may vary depending on use. Audible audiobook streaming over Bluetooth will reduce battery life. A USB C port will transfer and charge digital content to your device. It also supports quick charging for the optional dock.
The Kindle Colorsoft is rated IPX8 and can withstand immersion in up to 2 meters of fresh water for up to 60 minutes and 0.25 meters for 3 minutes in seawater). In addition, we’ve tested your Kindle to withstand exposure to water in many popular places to read. However, your Kindle is not intended for underwater use and may experience temporary effects from exposure to water. Do not intentionally immerse your Kindle in water or expose it to seawater, salt water, chlorinated water, or other liquids (such as beverages). If your Kindle gets accidentally dropped in a bathtub, hot tub, or pool, splashed by the ocean at the beach, or otherwise exposed to water, quickly retrieve it and run it under fresh water for a few minutes.
Not only can you read books and other content in full colour, but if you would like to conduct highlights for particular words and sentences, highlights will be in colour; at launch, there should be six colours. The Kindle is made of Made from 28% recycled materials. The battery is made from 100% recycled cobalt, and the packaging is 100% recycled cardboard.
The Kindle Colorsoft is $279, $120 more than the starting price of the new Kindle Paperwhite and $80 more than the Paperwhite Signature Edition. It is costly. However, will customers look beyond the price for a fully colour e-reader? Will you buy one or give it a miss?
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.