Seattle, Washington – Amazon’s latest E-Ink book reader, the $280 Kindle Colorsoft, encountered a rough start due to the appearance of a faint yellow band on the screen. The company had to delay shipments briefly to address this issue, which seems to have been resolved in the current versions of the device. While Amazon has not provided specific details about the adjustments made, they claim to have taken necessary actions to fix the problem.
Initially, the Colorsoft was not sent out for review likely due to the early issues faced by reviewers. However, after receiving the device a few weeks ago and using it extensively, it is evident that the Colorsoft does not necessarily offer a solution to the problems users may have experienced with the monochrome Kindle Paperwhite. Additionally, it does not effectively address the challenges associated with color E-Ink technology. In fact, reading regular text on the Colorsoft may even be slightly compromised, which is a significant aspect of Kindle usage for many individuals.
Despite the limitations, the Colorsoft does introduce color elements into the reading experience. Features such as setup and sleep screens, book covers, and highlight options are now displayed in color. The device also supports four different highlight colors – yellow, pink, blue, and orange, similar to the Kindle mobile and desktop apps. Furthermore, comics, PDFs, webpages, and other color content can now be viewed in color on the Colorsoft, albeit with some limitations in rendering accuracy due to the E-Ink technology’s limitation of 4,096 colors.
While the Colorsoft may not entirely revolutionize the reading experience for Kindle users, it does offer a subtle touch of color in certain aspects of the device. The future iterations of the device may potentially address some of the current limitations and provide a more seamless integration of color into the reading experience. However, for now, the Colorsoft stands as an initial attempt at incorporating color into E-Ink technology, leaving room for improvement and innovation in the future.