The Kindle Colorsoft: A Disappointing Debut for Amazon’s Color E-Reader
Amazon’s latest e-reader, the Kindle Colorsoft, has finally arrived, and it’s been a bumpy ride. With a delayed launch due to a pesky yellow band issue, I was eager to dive in and see what this color E-Ink reader had to offer. Unfortunately, my experience has left me underwhelmed.
A Colorful but Limited Experience
The Colorsoft’s biggest selling point is its color screen, which can display book covers, highlights, and even comics and PDFs in color. However, this comes at a cost. The 7-inch screen is smaller than typical comic books or graphic novels, making text small and hard to read. The colors, while decent, are muted and not true-to-life, falling short of the “looks a lot like real paper” benchmark that monochrome E-Ink hits.
Performance and Battery Life
Page turns are slower than on the equivalent Paperwhite, and the Colorsoft’s battery life, while good, is not significantly better than its monochrome counterpart. The device’s performance is also affected by the added display layer, which improves contrast and color vividness but also slows down the screen.
Design and Build
The Colorsoft’s design is similar to the Paperwhite, with a 7-inch E-Ink screen, auto-brightness sensor, warmlight, and flush bezel. The back is made of a smooth soft-touch plastic that’s pleasant to hold. However, the device makes compromises to support displaying color, such as slower page turns and a shorter battery life.
Conclusion
The Kindle Colorsoft is a decent e-reader, but it offers too few benefits for too many drawbacks. While it’s nice to have a color screen, the limitations and compromises made to achieve this feature make it a less desirable option compared to the monochrome Paperwhite. If you’re looking for a color E-Ink reader, you may want to wait for future iterations that address these issues.
Actionable Insights
- If you’re a heavy reader of monochrome text, the Colorsoft may not be the best option for you.
- If you’re looking for a color E-Ink reader, consider waiting for future updates that address the limitations and compromises made in this initial implementation.
- The Colorsoft’s design is similar to the Paperwhite, so if you’re already invested in the Amazon ecosystem, you may not need to upgrade.
Summary
The Kindle Colorsoft is a disappointing debut for Amazon’s color E-Reader. While it offers some benefits, such as a color screen, it also comes with significant drawbacks, including slower performance, shorter battery life, and limited reading experience. If you’re looking for a reliable and enjoyable e-reading experience, you may want to consider other options.