Joining refreshed Paperwhite, Scribe, and entry-level Kindle models, the Colorsoft brings a whole new dimension to Amazon’s lineup of ebook readers. Read on for our first impressions of all four new Kindles.
Amazon is revamping its entire Kindle lineup in one of its biggest overhauls to date. The Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite, and Kindle Scribe are all getting new editions, and they’re joined by the company’s first color ebook reader, the Kindle Colorsoft.
I had the opportunity to try all of the new Kindles ahead of Amazon’s announcement and have some first impressions to share. Kindle Colorsoft: A Whole New Kind of Kindle
The Kindle Colorsoft is obviously the most eye-catching of the new Kindles thanks to its color screen. It shares the exact same build and 7-inch screen size as the new Paperwhite, and both are waterproof.
As is fairly typical for E Ink, the color is pretty muted. The screen is lit by nitride LEDs that Amazon claims improve the visual color performance of the panel. But even at the most vibrant setting, the colors of Ms. Marvel and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics look about as saturated as newsprint. The colors are definitely there and discernible, but nowhere close to a glossy magazine or an LCD. That said, the color seems to be on par with other ereaders we’ve tested, like the ReMarkable Paper Pro and the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C, and comics look much better than they do when shown in grayscale.
The Colorsoft’s screen is very fast. It feels maybe a hair slower than the new Paperwhite when showing monochrome material like text. Color is a little slower than that, but even then, the screen changes rapidly. It flashes on every color page turn to fully reset, something that doesn’t happen with text alone.
The Kindle Colorsoft ships October 30 for $279.
