(Credit: Emily Forlini)
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UPDATE 10/17: Amazon says it has updated its Colorsoft FAQ to "clarify" its position. It now says: "The Colorsoft display is distinct from the Paperwhite display, and includes a full optimized display stack to deliver high quality color reading. The black and white resolution (300ppi) is the same across devices."
Original Story:
The latest frontier for ereaders is the introduction of color screens. However, Amazon is telling prospective buyers that its cheaper, black-and-white products might be best for reading books.
Color ereaders like the Kindle Colorsoft and upcoming Kindle Scribe Colorsoft are designed for those looking to read comic books, graphic novels, magazines, and manga, and to annotate documents such as PDF files. If you're just looking to read the latest bestseller, a color device might not be necessary.
As Good e-Reader reports, the FAQs for the Colorsoft note that its display is "distinct" from the display on its E-Ink Paperwhite.
"The Kindle Colorsoft is designed to provide a high-quality reading experience in both color and black and white. You may notice that the texture or brightness of the display looks different than the Kindle Paperwhite display," Amazon says. "That's because of the color filter layer that creates the easy-on-the-eyes color reading experience on Kindle Colorsoft.
"If you are looking for a slightly crisper black and white reading experience, you may want to check out Kindle Paperwhite, which has the fastest page turns and highest contrast ratio of any 2024 Kindle device," Amazon adds.
Similar wording is found on the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft listing under technical details.
We haven't tested the new Colorsofts yet. The new Kindle Scribe and Kindle Scribe Colorsoft are expected later this year in the US, starting at $499.99 and $629.99, respectively.
Last year, we reviewed the Colorsoft Signature Edition and noted that, "Reading in black and white is less enjoyable. The LEDs placed around the front to light the screen create an uneven effect. It's hard to see when reading in color, but it becomes evident when reading grayscale content."
Initially, PCMag's review unit suffered from an issue affecting many Kindle Colorsofts, where a yellow tint appeared along the bottom of the display. The issue resulted in a five- to six-week delay for many orders as Amazon worked on a fix.