Most people link up an Amazon Kindle with translate Word of God , and for the most part , books consist of words on a page and are , therefore , produced in a single colour : black . Aside from the screen or perhaps some example , multiple colors are n’t that important to the experience of reading a novel , but it is for clip , comics , and book that trust on pic or graphics to get the point across .
The Amazon Kindle Colorsoft brings a color filmdom to the Kindle , bridge the gap between it and a tablet and , in an idealistic world , making have or comport both these devices around redundant . It ’s also doing so while retain its earmark low - tycoon , wanton - on - the - eyes east - ink presentation . I ’ve been reading on the Colorsoft for a few hebdomad to see if it’sAmazon’sWizard of Ozmoment .
Amazon Kindle Colorsoft specs
300ppi ( black and lily-white )
150ppi ( color )
94 nit maximum smartness
Reading on a Kindle is magical
My year - former Kindle Paperwhite ’s battery stopped charging in 2023 , and rather than buying a new one , I used anApple iPadas its replacement . The big , colorful screen is excellent for magazine and comic , but less so for novels . The gadget itself is ungainly to use in bed , and it ’s not very “ friendly , ” with its moth-eaten exterior and hard edges . I read things on it , but I never really relaxed with it .
What a difference the Kindle Colorsoft made when it arrive . I adore the lean , lightweight , soft - to - feeling shell and rounded sides and nook , and it ’s marvellous to use whether you ’re lie in bed , sitting in a cafe , or when you ’ve generate some time to spare while wait for someone to arrive . The size of it and 219 - gm weight make it easily transported in a bag , far more so than a full - size iPad , and the nonreflective screen not only make it useable in different kindling condition , but also so comfortable to take in .
More than that , I treasure the 7 - inch screen ’s super wide take in angle and the way it sits aright up against the front glass , replicating the look of a newspaper Sir Frederick Handley Page very well . It feels warm to the soupcon and makes you sense warm inside when you read on it . The friendliness of a Kindle is tough to describe , but its importance ca n’t be amplify , as it ’s a huge part of the machine ’s appeal . If you ’re an experient Kindler , you likely know what I mean . If you have n’t take on one before , you ’re in for a treat .
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
The friendliness of a Kindle is hard to account .
I happily read a novel in the time I ’ve been testing the Kindle Colorsoft . I localise the cleverness and warmth of the page watch up once and have n’t felt the indigence to change it , slightly altered the font size , and that ’s all . The words are pin - sharp on the sieve , and it ’s fast to respond when wrick pages and navigating the carte .
It ’s all completely customizable , so if you want great text edition , a warmer pure tone , less brightness , or to schedule a time to automatically increase the warmth of the screen , it ’s all a few taps and swipe aside . Using the Kindle Colorsoft cue me of what I ’d been missing during all that time I expend read on my iPad .
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Is the color magical, too?
This is where the hassle with the Colorsoft begins . Almost everything I ’ve allege so far employ to all Kindle manikin , and you may expend a lot less than the damage of the Colorsoft and get all the above benefits . The only genuine reason to buy the Colorsoft over aKindle Paperwhiteora basic Kindleis the coloring material screen , so what ’s it like ?
There is a quality divergence between the black - and - white and color screen , with a 300 pixel - per - column inch ( ppi ) density for the former and 150 ppi for the colour screen . However , color pages still take care acute and filled with detail , even when you surge in by pinching the screen .
This motion do work in funnies , but not in the magazine publisher I tried , where you were forced to view the full Thomas Nelson Page without the pick to look more closely at any images . It may not be the same for every magazine , though . I also cranked the brightness level up and used the Vivid covert setting for anything in color , as in received mode and below a certain brightness level , images can bet black and dingy .
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
arrange for the comics I stress was n’t ideal either . I have been reading through Skybound Entertainment and Daniel Warren Johnson’sTransformersseries , and the distinguishable edge sometimes find down either side of the varlet is n’t very attractive . It is belittle by using the invert Thomas Nelson Page coloring material ( where the background is benighted and the textual matter spark ) , but it ’s still ostensible , depending on what you ’re reading . school text can be really tiny unless you surge in , which is where the Colorsoft ’s dense processing speed and covert refresh pace show up . There are spark and stammer while it rearranges the page and processes the image , which simply does n’t happen on a tablet .
powder store do n’t get along much good . go are the quiet page transitions found in shameful - and - white books , and the stutters that company each projection screen tap are jarring and unpleasant . format again is n’t always ideal , with some Page vacuous away from a single , thumbnail - sized image . As someone who likes to read magazines out of page order , the seafaring is usually confusing and makes “ ruffle through ” impossible . It ’s not utterly dreadful , but it ’s not like reading the print reading of a magazine or even read one digitally on a tablet .
I repeatedly questioned just how much welfare I was sire from the color sieve . strip count knifelike and defined , but the process of turning page and zooming in is deadening and janky , while magazines can be formatted queerly and the image are often too little to be anything more than pageboy dressing .
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
There are flickers and stutters while it rearranges the page and processes the image .
Where the colour screen hail into its own is in the library and shop books in the Kindle Store , where the cover pop off the screen and bring life to the normally grayscale Earth of the Kindle . I like the colour screen savers that show when the Colorsoft is in standby , and many people will appreciate the different color highlighter options too .
Getting the basics right
The vividness covert does bring a touch of social class and contemporaneity to the Kindle , but I do n’t think it enhances the bit of reading on one . Amazon ’s Kindles are at their best when things are observe simple , and a neat object lesson is the software experience outside of books . There ’s a Home Screen and a Library covert , a swipe - down page wherecommonly used setting live , and a single dab in the top of a page in an open Word allow you quickly return to your subroutine library . It ’s equally as easy to bound into the Kindle Store , chance a book , and directly buy and download it — something you ca n’t do through the iPad ’s Kindle app .
Even setup is simple , with the Colorsoft guiding me through get it ready using the Kindle app on my speech sound . It was up and running in less than 10 minutes , and the Wi - Fi connection has been faultless . There ’s 32 GB of internal computer memory , and whileit supports a mountain range of unlike formats , using anything other than the Kindle Store is a routine of a pain due to item-by-item DRM restrictions . For personal file , there are various option to transmit them over , including through the Kindle app on your phone or connect it physically to a figurer .
Charging is through a USB - C port on the bottom of the Kindle , and the battery will last for up to eight weeks according to Amazon . I ’ve used the Colorsoft Signature Edition every daylight for the last three weeks , reading different material for up to an hour , and the assault and battery is at 70 % , so I expect it to well reach this estimate . Recharging is slow , though , and a full change is expected to take two - and - a - one-half minute using the maximal 9 watts of exponent .
The Colorsoft ’s silver screen has a maximal luminance of 94 nits , plus the gadget has an IPX8 water opposition evaluation for read at the beach or in the bath . I have intercourse the Kindle Colorsoft ’s overall simplicity , but alas , Amazon decide to only offer it in inkiness . For a equipment that ’s presumably going to be deal on the fact that it has a colouring screen , it ’s a shame the eggshell does n’t make out in different colors too , as the flashgun of reflective color in the Amazon logotype on the back just is n’t enough .
What’s not so good about the Colorsoft
There are a few thing about the Colorsoft that have rag me a little , and they deserve particular mention here . The Kindle has an motorcar - luminousness setting that adjust the silver screen ’s brightness according to the condition . It consistently fix the brightness level too scummy for my personal predilection , especially as comic strip and other color subject matter really require a high - level of brightness to appreciate . I turn it off and set the brightness manually when needed .
I ’m certain there are manufacturing reason why the index push button is on the bottom of the Colorsoft , but it ’s not the most ergonomic location . I ’ve circumstantially pressed it when take a breather the Kindle on my chest , and would have choose it on the top of the gimmick . Also , it ’s inauspicious that the Colorsoft does not have the full dark mode found on other Kindle model . Considering the price , the Colorsoft should haveallthe feature , but full dark manner may make it through a software package update in the futurity .
The last matter to name is if you check Amazon ’s page for the Colorsoft , you ’ll note the low revaluation rating . This is mostly due to some early emptor of the Kindle Colorsoftseeing a lily-livered tinton the low part of the screen door , but my review model does not seem to be touch . Amazon is aware of the problemand is offering a repayment or exchange to anyone with an affected gimmick .
Amazon Kindle Colorsoft price and availability
The Amazon Kindle Colorsoft is available to purchase now , it comes in only one color and one storage distance option , and cost $ 280 . Aside from theKindle Scribe , it ’s the most expensive Kindle you could get . If you want to just translate books , the baseKindle ( 2024)costs $ 110 . It ’s quite the preservation , and the very worthy Kindle Paperwhite is just a little more at $ 160 . You call for to bevery sureyou want the color screen to endue in the Colorsoft . Because of the Colorsoft ’s high price , anyone who wants some vividness in their life sentence also has a selection of very temptin , g-force but technically dissimilar option .
I ’ve fuck my time with the Kindle Colorsoft .
TheAmazon Fire Max 11with its keyboard comes into play as it regularly hovers around $ 330 for the whole package , and a 64GB10.9 - column inch Apple iPadcosts $ 350 . If you require to read magazines , strip , and image - heavy books , they ’re better at it than the Kindle Colorsoft , and are n’t that much more money . When you look at everything else you may do with a pad of paper , they are a unspoilt note value , too .
last , if you are n’t married to Amazon and the Kindle book shop and need a slightly more off - the - wall option , the $ 250Onyx Boox Go Color 7does a caboodle of what makes the Colorsoft special , with greater versatility through its Google Android operating system .
Should you buy the Kindle Colorsoft?
At first , the subject for buying the Kindle Colorsoft bet quite complicated , but when you break it down and amply understand the color screen , it ’s far easier to make a determination than you may think . As a Kindle tocopherol - reader for books , it ’s excellent , just like the other models . The color blind primarily makes it more mod and adds visual punch to the storehouse and your library , and also makes comics and magazine more readable . It really does provide more recital opportunities and a touch of playfulness to the Kindle , and I would miss it if I went back to a grayscale screen . For these reason , I ’ve loved my time with it .
Much as I ’ve have it away indication books on the Kindle Colorsoft , I know I ’d love reading them on a Paperwhite , too ; plus , reading comics and magazines is a more ponderous experience than it is on a tablet . Even with my relatively down comic and magazine economic consumption , the colour screen ’s ability to contain my tending is extend , and if Ionlyread strip and magazine publisher , it would quickly become frustrating , and I ’d reach for my iPad .
The Kindle Colorsoft is brilliant , and it ’s a commend steal , but mostly because it ’s a Kindle and not really because it has a color filmdom . Colorizing the Kindle has made it more modern and will definitely intend it will reach newfangled eyeball , but likeNight of the Living DeadandThe Mist , sometimes black - and - white is just good .
