Kindle Colorsoft Review: An Upgrade That’s Subtle And Gorgeous

Amazon completely refreshed its Kindle line-up in October. A new entry-level reader, an upgraded Paperwhite, a redesigned Scribe and the product that caught everybody’s eye: Kindle Colorsoft.

It’s the first color-screen ebook reader from Amazon—other brands like Boox and Kobo have color screeners already. Like every other Kindle, it uses epaper, which is screen technology that’s very parsimonious with battery use. It has no backlight pointing at you, so it’s much more relaxing on the eye than a tablet display, for instance. Instead, a frontlight shines across the screen. Ideal, then, for getting lost in a book, perhaps for hours at a time. But this advanced technology comes at a price: $279.99, to be precise, or £269.99 in the U.K.

Here’s all you need to know about Amazon’s latest Kindle.

Kindle Colorsoft: Design

The Kindle Colorsoft is the same size and shape as the newly updated Paperwhite (though the Colorsoft is fractionally heavier). Both have a seven-inch display.

All of which adds up to a device which is comfortable to use, light enough for one hand at 7.7 ounces, the curved back fitting into the shape of the hand well.

Like most other Kindles, the power button is on the bottom edge, which not everybody likes, though in practice it’s rare to touch it accidentally, I find.

And there are no physical buttons here, which means the entire Kindle range now works through the touchscreen only, unless you’re fast enough to snap up a Kindle Oasis as the final stocks sell out.

Kindle Colorsoft: Display

The display has the same resolution, 300 pixels per inch, like all other current Kindles. But there’s a caveat: that resolution is for black-and-white content only. Images and other color elements have a lower resolution: 150ppi. It’s been cleverly executed so that even if black text and a color image share the same page, the 300ppi for the non-color parts still applies.

Kindles have had 300ppi for a while now and text looks superbly sharp and easily legible. Over the years, Amazon has reduced the flickering effect of page turns until now they are almost invisible, for text, that is.

For color images, there’s that familiar flashing as you change what’s on screen. It’s noticeable, but not overly intrusive and you quickly get used to it as you page through a graphic novel, for instance.

Kindle Colorsoft: Color

So, how good is the color? It catches you off guard. The lock screen looks gorgeous with its carefully chosen color patterns, even when the device is turned off.

The home page and library look tremendous with thumbnails of color covers delicately rendered. The reduction of resolution is handled well and the colors are bright without being gaudy. If it looks too subtle in the standard view, going to Settings and Screen and Brightness lets you choose Vivid as the Color style. I’d recommend this as it lifts the colors noticeably, and there’s no effect on battery draw.

Of course, if you’re reading a regular book with black text, the resolution snaps back to 300ppi as soon as you’re not looking at the cover.

Graphic novels look especially good in Vivid mode. And Amazon’s special way of displaying them helps, too. See the entire page, then double-tap on a frame to see it fullscreen and swipe through the page that way. This is better than graphic reading options on many other readers.

Comparing the colors to rival readers, here things look attractive and rich, though they are sometimes darker—in Alan Moore’s The Watchmen, for instance, there is sometimes less variety in color, it seems, though that arguably makes it look more dramatic.

Note that graphic novels in color take a lot longer to download than regular books, and take up more space on board. That said, the Colorsoft comes with 32GB of storage, which is plenty.

Reading text is as enjoyable and straightforward as recent Kindles have made it, and there are faster, slicker page turns that improve navigation further. And when you want to highlight something, the color is excellent here, making it much more attractive than the gray highlight previously seen.

Kindle Colorsoft: Verdict

While there’s no getting away from the fact that this Kindle is expensive—though still cheaper than the monochrome Oasis used to be, with arguably much more going for it—there’s something very special about it.

The color is useful, and very precisely executed, so that your encounter with it varies from a delicate but eye-catching highlight through to gorgeous, understated images in graphic novels, cookery books and travel guides.

And remember that this is a Signature Edition, with 32GB storage. Since the Paperwhite Signature Edition costs $199.99, the price comparison is fairer with that model and the difference shrinks to $70.

If you don’t think it’s for you, the Paperwhite is a credible alternative. But, be warned, once you’ve gone color, it’s hard to go back.

Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition is available from amazon.com and amazon.co.uk.