An almost-perfect Kindle? Why the Colorsoft left me torn

The Kindle Colorsoft hasn’t had the best launch. Final 12 months, Amazon made headlines when it introduced its first colour E Ink pill, with early seems to be on the system promising vibrant colour for graphic novel readers, all inside that acquainted Kindle interface that we’ve grown to love.

Nonetheless, upon launch, issues shortly went haywire, with reviews surfacing that many items had a noticeable yellow strip on the backside that would not go away irrespective of what number of occasions the system was refreshed or reset. After pulling the system from their web site and providing an untold variety of refunds and apologies, Amazon quietly fixed the issue, which was reportedly brought on by glue, and really subtly re-launched the Colorsoft, hoping that this preliminary blunder would quickly be forgotten.

After a number of months, I lastly obtained my palms on the Kindle Colorsoft, and now that the yellow strip concern is properly and actually gone, this e-reader is a straightforward advice for comedian and graphic novel fanatics. For everybody else although, there is a bit extra to think about from the colourful Colorsoft.

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Kindle Colorsoft

Amazon’s first-ever Kindle e-reader with a 7-inch colour E Ink show, good for studying magazines, comedian books or graphic novels.

Professionals & Cons

• Vibrant colour E Ink show is straightforward to learn
• Auto-adjusting entrance mild sensor works properly
• Superb battery life, even with colour

• Costly
• Does not include a wi-fi charger
• Slower web page turns

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Value, availability and specs

The Kindle Colorsoft is undoubtedly the brand new “ultra-premium” Kindle mannequin, changing the fan-favorite Oasis because the mannequin above the Paperwhite. And the worth definitely displays this standing, as it’s at present the costliest (non-Scribe) Kindle, costing an eye-watering $280, nearly double the worth of the usual Kindle Paperwhite.

After all, the important thing improve customers get for this value is the colour E Ink display, however the Kindle Colorsoft additionally boasts a barely larger body housing the identical 7-inch display, in addition to a battery able to eight weeks of life (primarily based on half-hour of day by day utilization) which Amazon says is similar irrespective of whether or not the colour perform is getting used or not.

All Colorsoft items include 32GB of onboard storage (sufficient for a number of hundred books) and are additionally ad-free by default, that means customers do not should pay further to take away Amazon’s lock display “solutions,” and customers can take pleasure in colour guide covers, or considered one of Amazon’s premium colour screensavers when not actively studying.

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What I appreciated concerning the Kindle Colorsoft

A vibrant world of colour

As somebody who incessantly reads manga, graphic novels, and comics, I used to be fairly excited when the Kindle Colorsoft was introduced. Although there are a number of different E Ink colour e-readers on the market, I used to be curious to see how Kindle, which has develop into roughly synonymous with e-reading within the US, would deal with this new characteristic.

I downloaded Moon Knight within the Night time (2014) and Hellboy Wake the Satan (1994), two comics that I truly personal laborious copies of, to check out the colour perform. And although the E Ink does not precisely mirror the pages of the books completely, it is vibrant and includes a very excessive distinction that helps to seize the temper and tone of those two, very darkish volumes.

This was helped by the Colorsoft’s vivid colour mode, which will increase the depth of colours in less-saturated imagery. In keeping with Amazon, this mode does not produce any extra pressure on battery life, so I discovered myself simply leaving it on because it made no matter I used to be studying look higher, immediately.

Web page turns have been fast, although speedy comics readers might want to get used to a small pause whereas the display does a full refresh throughout every flip. Customers additionally may also discover a bit of pause in the event that they use the zoom and pan features to see sure panels up shut, because the show switches to a decrease decision whereas adjusting the picture, after which will reload the picture in its highest decision as soon as completed. The impact is fairly fast, and although it would really feel annoying the primary few occasions a person turns the web page, I discovered myself quickly getting used to it as I paged by way of acquainted volumes, at the same time as I zoomed and swiped by way of completely different panels.

Once I converted from comics to studying a daily text-based guide, I discovered the expertise to be just about the identical as studying on a Kindle Paperwhite, with speedy web page activates the unit’s vivid, 7-inch display. The auto-adjusting entrance sensor (which will also be discovered on the Paperwhite) makes studying nearly anyplace really feel easy, and I discovered the Colorsoft duplicated this expertise precisely. The one actual enchancment that the Colorsoft brings to the desk over the Paperwhite is the power to focus on in colour, which is nifty, however wasn’t a characteristic I used a lot in follow.

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What I did not like concerning the Kindle Colorsoft

The premium value could also be laborious to justify

As talked about beforehand, the Kindle Colorsoft is not low cost. At $280 it’s the costliest Kindle for studying solely, and for a value that’s practically double that of the Paperwhite, customers aren’t truly getting that many new options, apart from the power to see comics and graphic novels in colour. And sadly, due to its colour E Ink display, the Colorsoft truly loses the darkish mode characteristic, which is a little bit of a bummer.

It could have been good for the Colorsoft to incorporate some further options to assist justify its premium value level. A number of Reddit customers on the unofficial Kindle Subreddit have bemoaned the lack of bodily page-turning buttons (like those who have been included within the erstwhile Oasis mannequin) or the addition of a wi-fi charger in order that customers may reap the benefits of the Colorsoft’s wi-fi charging characteristic out of the field.

Such inclusions may need helped this unit really feel extra like a premium-level Kindle as a substitute of simply an costly Kindle with colour, and will even have made this a extra interesting selection for readers who do not essentially learn graphic novels or comics.

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Must you purchase the Kindle Colorsoft?

All of it depends upon what you learn

Let’s get this out of the best way. If you happen to solely learn text-based books, the Kindle Colorsoft is an pointless improve. Although seeing colour covers is neat, it isn’t price nearly double the worth of the Kindle Paperwhite, which itself gives a premium-feeling studying expertise. The excessive value is a giant issue for these contemplating an improve to this latest member of the Kindle household, and should you do not learn comics or graphic novels, you merely don’t want this unit.

Nonetheless, if you’re a graphic novel fanatic, and even only a informal comedian reader, the Kindle Colorsoft is unquestionably price a glance. The premium really feel of the unit and the vivid colour E Ink show make studying on this unit a breeze and switching between image-based media and common novels makes this a fantastic all-in-one system for the fixed reader.

Really helpful

Kindle Colorsoft

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