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October was an exciting month for translate machine . We puzzle anew iPad mini , a twain of product from Boox , and this strange yet compellingiPhone e - lecturer adapterfrom Astropad . The cock-a-hoop splash of all , however , came from Amazon . It ’s unsurprising , as the retail colossus commands around 80 % of the devoted e - lector market .
The preceding calendar month belies the overall state of the diligence . E - readers are one of the quieter mainstream consumer electronics category . This is due in no small part to Amazon ’s mastery . With no competitors put to challenge the companionship ’s potty , refreshes have taken on an increasingly sporadic cadence .
This twelvemonth , however , Amazon is recognise the holiday season withthe largest Kindle refresh in recent store . The large - form Scribe has been updated with better note - taking capabilities and AI - based text summaries . The bestselling Paperwhite is get a bigger display and faster processor . The base Kindle ’s page turns have sped up , and the gimmick has gotten a bright front lighting and more color options .
All of these comparatively nonaged refreshes were overshadowed by a young edition to the personal line of credit . After 16 years of Kindles , many of us had given up on the notion of colour . But vividness e - paper has become a realism in recent twelvemonth . Notably , the Kindle ’s chief competitor , Kobo , liberate the Libra Colour in April .
einsteinium - theme is the heart of these machine , and tot that surplus stratum never seemed like a priority for Amazon . If people want colour , they could simply purchase a tablet and deal with the shorter battery life and a display that ’s rough on the optic .
One key thing that makes the Colorsoft so intriguing is that it ’s still a Kindle in the truest sense . The gadget deal far more common DNA with the Paperwhite than any Fire tablet . In fact , the lector could have just as appropriately been brandmark the Kindle Paperwhite Color .
In fact , the addition of color comes good manners of a subaltern layer added to the e - newspaper publisher stack . It ’s ground on E Ink ’s Kaleido color filter , albeit custom built for the Kindle pedigree . The solvent lives up to the Colorsoft name . I would distinguish it as elusive — pale even . In fact , if you ’re not looking directly at the display , you might miss the fact that it ’s a color mannequin .
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Amazon compare the reading experience to print . for sure the upshot is easier on the eyes than color reproduction on , say , an iPad . The effect is dainty for colors and highlighted passage . If you ’re primarily a prose reader , you wo n’t encounter the feature all that much . If you ’re looking for a twist for , say , comics , the gloss may be a bit muffled for your taste .
The long - await addition of color unfortunately serve as a stark reminder of Comixology’ssunsettingunder the Amazon collective umbrella . Between that app and a colour Kindle , the company had the opportunity to really own the space — though , notably , eastward - composition ’s refresh charge per unit is less than ideal for the kind of oomph Comixology brought to the human body .
For the most part , tablets will hew a bit close to the original art . Colorsoft ’s reproductions are cognate to read the Sunday funny story . The vividness filter brings to mind the CMYK printing process used in newspaper impression . The issue is enhanced by the fact that the Kindle display is more of a grayish chromaticity than the full albumen you get with a tablet or phone .
Beyond the color display , thePaperwhite Signature Editionand Colorsoft are strikingly like . Both now sport 7 - inch display with a 300 ppi density . Both devices have the same footmark , measuring 5 x 7 x .3 inches , with a to the full wealthy exhibit , though the Colorsoft count a tomentum more at 7.7 ounce ( the Paperwhite Signature is 7.5 ounce ) . You likely wo n’t acknowledge the difference .
Both product descend with 32 GB of storage by default ; that ’s double the storage of the standard Paperwhite and base Kindle . The novel Scribe has 16 GB , 32 GB , and 64 GB option . The USB - C connector has been standardized across the line , though only the Signature Paperwhite and Colorsoft have radiocommunication charging — something I do n’t ideate being a dealbreaker for most . While the two Paperwhite mannequin , the base Kindle , and the Modern Scribe all have different body colors , the Colorsoft , ironically , only comes in black .
It makes common sense that Amazon used the Paperwhite as the basis for Colorsoft . It is , as noted above , the bestselling Kindle , straddling the fence between the nucleotide and Scribe models . The premium Oasis — to which I was always partial — has been phase out . I ’m a bit deplorable to see it go , but Amazon had n’t updated the matter in five years . Likely most consumers simply did n’t care enough about a premium e - reader .
One point where the Paperwhite has the upper hand is barrage life sentence . The Colorsoft is number at “ up to eight week ” to the Paperwhite ’s “ up to 12 week . ” Once you get into the kingdom of multiple months on a flush , the difference generate middling moot . You just need to set aside 2.5 hours somewhere in there to to the full lodge them .
The Paperwhite wins on damage as well . At $ 280 , the Colorsoft has edged into that premium e - proofreader category , priced rough the same as the Oasis . The Paperwhite and Signature Paperwhite escape $ 160 and $ 200 , severally . The novel base Kindle starts at $ 110 , and the Scribe is bad to swallow at $ 400 .
It ’s prissy to bed that the Kindle line has spirit in it yet . Color , the feature article we ’ve wait a decade and a one-half for , is at last here . As for whether it ’s deserving $ 80 more than the Signature Paperwhite , it ’s a far more subtle distinction than the monetary value difference imply , especially when most of the prison term you spend reading text will be the stock Kindle drone experience . Still , the twist benefits from several generations of improvement , offering an overall great meter reading experience — even if color still feels like a bit of a novelty .
