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Meet the all-new Kindle family, including the first color Kindle

Ovek

7Member7
I have problems with the color Kindle. It's too bloody expensive for one and the amount of storage is fine if your just reading normal books but if you start to load comics and graphic novels onto it it's going to fill up pretty fast at the very least they should have had a SD card slot for user expandability.
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
I have problems with the color Kindle. It's too bloody expensive for one and the amount of storage is fine if your just reading normal books but if you start to load comics and graphic novels onto it it's going to fill up pretty fast at the very least they should have had a SD card slot for user expandability.
Better off with a 10" or 13" tablet for comics for now.
 

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
Why does Amazon sell Kindles with 16 GB or even 32 GB of storage when ebooks are incredibly small? I only have a couple of dozen ebooks on my own Kindle. So what's the point of being able to store more than 10,000 books on a Kindle?

You can also download audio books to your Kindle. If you're somebody who wants both audio books and ebooks then the extra storage is needed.
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
You can also download audio books to your Kindle. If you're somebody who wants both audio books and ebooks then the extra storage is needed.
The real issue is...why are you using your KINDLE for audiobooks when you have a phone with like 10x the storage? That was always my thought at least, maybe there are old women with flip phones and crickets that might want that functionality though. I thought amazon would be a pioneer in AI audio book reading but they also own audible so its a bit of a conflict in interest unless notable audiobook narrators agree to sell their voice to AI. The degree to which specific narrators have "fans" is unnerving.
 

IntentionalPun

Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
Why does Amazon sell Kindles with 16 GB or even 32 GB of storage when ebooks are incredibly small? I only have a couple of dozen ebooks on my own Kindle. So what's the point of being able to store more than 10,000 books on a Kindle?
Probably costs like $2 to put 32GB of storage in a device like that. Likely wouldn't even be cheaper to go lower than 16GB, as storage at that point is mostly just charging for value not based on the cost somehow multiplying per GB.
 
I'm gonna get the new Paperwhite Signature Edition. I need that maximum contrast. It sounds like the color tech is still not quite there, and not worth the loss in clarity/contrast.
Update: I am very concerned about the rumors that the new Paperwhite screen is excessively warm/yellow, even with warmth set to 0. Might get the new basic model for something pocketable, or might not upgrade at all.
 

kruis

Exposing the sinister cartel of retailers who allow companies to pay for advertising space.
Never followed Kindles. But reading this thread and googling it, Kindles have been around for 17 years, and they are now just doing a colour version? Wow.

It's because ereaders use a completely different display technology than tablets, phones and monitors: text and images on the screen can be displayed forever without using power unlike regular displays. It only takes power to refresh the screen and show a new book page. That's why ereaders are as comfortable to read as regular books, but flipping pages is much slower than on other devices.

 

NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
Never followed Kindles. But reading this thread and googling it, Kindles have been around for 17 years, and they are now just doing a colour version? Wow.
Read kruis kruis ’s reply for a few details.
Color e-ink has actually been a thing for a few years if I’m not mistaken, but only now the tech is deemed as viable by the big players in the market. And it still comes with caveats - there’s YT videos of people who’ve tried a bunch and they aren’t exactly praising the current results. For most people, color on ebooks is currently an expensive gimmick, and the results with actual full-color content are still way behind what you get with a tablet, or just any device with a screen.

Amazon have also pulled an Apple and priced their Colorsoft model like they’ve invented color readers. The Kobo Libra Colour seems to offer the same and more, for way less money.
 

Ozriel

M$FT
The color kindle is overpriced. And if you’re in it for comics, might as well just buy the entry level iPad.

This close to Black Friday, might be best to hold off on a purchase until we see what the discounts will be.
 

Trilobit

Member
I have problems with the color Kindle. It's too bloody expensive for one and the amount of storage is fine if your just reading normal books but if you start to load comics and graphic novels onto it it's going to fill up pretty fast at the very least they should have had a SD card slot for user expandability.

I much prefer to read comics and graphic novels on my iPad Pro. It's much snappier and easier to zoom in on different boxes. Also the size of the format suits almost perfectly for it. I suppose smaller pocket sized comics can fare better on eReaders. I hope the tech can make some revolutionary steps as I tend to get eye fatigue from digital screens.

Read kruis kruis ’s reply for a few details.
Color e-ink has actually been a thing for a few years if I’m not mistaken, but only now the tech is deemed as viable by the big players in the market. And it still comes with caveats - there’s YT videos of people who’ve tried a bunch and they aren’t exactly praising the current results. For most people, color on ebooks is currently an expensive gimmick, and the results with actual full-color content are still way behind what you get with a tablet, or just any device with a screen.

Amazon have also pulled an Apple and priced their Colorsoft model like they’ve invented color readers. The Kobo Libra Colour seems to offer the same and more, for way less money.

The Kobo Libra Colour that launched this year and was their first color eReader has problems with something called the screen-door effect:
rlHeViV.jpeg

The diagonal lines aren't there on b/w Kobos, but seems to be because of how color e-ink tech works. I haven't read about the same problems with the color Kindle though, so might be an issue with Kobo. Not all are bothered by it, but some say it also has problems with washed out blacks on certain light levels.
 
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I much prefer to read comics and graphic novels on my iPad Pro. It's much snappier and easier to zoom in on different boxes. Also the size of the format suits almost perfectly for it. I suppose smaller pocket sized comics can fare better on eReaders. I hope the tech can make some revolutionary steps as I tend to get eye fatigue from digital screens.



The Kobo Libra Colour that launched this year and was their first color eReader has problems with something called the screen-door effect:
rlHeViV.jpeg

The diagonal lines aren't there on b/w Kobos, but seems to be because of how color e-ink tech works. I haven't read about the same problems with the color Kindle though, so might be an issue with Kobo. Not all are bothered by it, but some say it also has problems with washed out blacks on certain light levels.

The Kindle Colorsoft seems to be using the same basic Kaleido 3 color tech as the Kobo. It essentially has a color filter layer over the b&w e-ink screen. The color filter has only a 150 ppi resolution, negatively affects contrast and causes this screen door effect. (There are true color e-ink screens which use color in the e-ink layer, but they have even more serious problems at this stage.)

Now, Amazon is claiming they improved other aspects of the display to help improve contrast:

Those include custom formulated coatings between the display layers to enhance the color, a light guide with micro-deflectors to minimize stray light, and an ultra-thin coating in the display stack to improve optical performance. We built the display on an oxide backplane for sharper contrast, faster page turns, and better image quality.

If that's not marketing bullshit, then the contrast on the Kindle Colorsoft may be better than on the color Kobos. But it still won't be as good as the new Paperwhites, because it will still be dragged down by the color filter layer.
 

Trilobit

Member
The Kindle Colorsoft seems to be using the same basic Kaleido 3 color tech as the Kobo. It essentially has a color filter layer over the b&w e-ink screen. The color filter has only a 150 ppi resolution, negatively affects contrast and causes this screen door effect. (There are true color e-ink screens which use color in the e-ink layer, but they have even more serious problems at this stage.)

Now, Amazon is claiming they improved other aspects of the display to help improve contrast:



If that's not marketing bullshit, then the contrast on the Kindle Colorsoft may be better than on the color Kobos. But it still won't be as good as the new Paperwhites, because it will still be dragged down by the color filter layer.

Very interesting. I guess I thought all e-ink readers used Gallery 3 tech, which to my understanding would mean that the e-ink pixels were rgb ycm too and not just b/w(Edit: Apparently it doesn't even have black). Is that what you mean by "true color e-ink screens"? What serious problems to they have except that they seem much more expensive to manufacture?

I looked at a comparison at different techs and G3 was very superior.



I suppose Kaleido will be the standard for a long time due to its simpler color production that only uses a filter.

Edit: Some edits.
 
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Very interesting. I guess I thought all e-ink readers used Gallery 3 tech, which to my understanding would mean that the e-ink pixels were rgb ycm too and not just b/w(Edit: Apparently it doesn't even have black). Is that what you mean by "true color e-ink screens"? What serious problems to they have except that they seem much more expensive to manufacture?

I looked at a comparison at different techs and G3 was very superior.



I suppose Kaleido will be the standard for a long time due to its simpler color production that only uses a filter.

Edit: Some edits.

I don't actually know lol. I was mostly just parroting other people. I believe that the only devices to use Gallery 3 have not been popular, and it is supposedly slow. Maybe it can be made faster but is just cost-prohibitive for a device that has traditionally been pretty cheap. I dunno.
My paperwhite is out for delivery! Yey

Posted my old one away this morning.

edit: it's delivered! I have set it up. it is noticeably faster! loading and turning pages is much snappier. nice upgrade.
How is the contrast? Better than last gen?

And how is the color? Is it noticeably yellow-tinted even with warmth set to 0?
 

Tams

Member
This is Amazon catching up to the competition, but as market leader they have that luxury.

It's good that they sell dedicated reading devices, but that they can take away any of your books at their will puts me off entirely.

For those getting the ColorSoft, unless Amazon has grabbed themselves an exclusivity contract, they'll be using the same panel everyone else is using. It has colour, which is a huge boon, but the contrast suffers (blacks stand out less, and most notably whites are more grey).
 

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
The real issue is...why are you using your KINDLE for audiobooks when you have a phone with like 10x the storage? That was always my thought at least, maybe there are old women with flip phones and crickets that might want that functionality though. I thought amazon would be a pioneer in AI audio book reading but they also own audible so its a bit of a conflict in interest unless notable audiobook narrators agree to sell their voice to AI. The degree to which specific narrators have "fans" is unnerving.

It's just an option so you can have both on one device.

There are also people who consume a lot of books. I read at least one book a week. Sometimes two depending on their size. If someone is reading just on a kindle then not having to worry about storage is a blessing. Even more so for those who like to mix up ebooks and audio books.

Regarding your point about AI audio book reading, I can't answer that as I don't listen to audio books. For some reason I've never connected with them.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
It's because ereaders use a completely different display technology than tablets, phones and monitors: text and images on the screen can be displayed forever without using power unlike regular displays. It only takes power to refresh the screen and show a new book page. That's why ereaders are as comfortable to read as regular books, but flipping pages is much slower than on other devices.


Read kruis kruis ’s reply for a few details.
Color e-ink has actually been a thing for a few years if I’m not mistaken, but only now the tech is deemed as viable by the big players in the market. And it still comes with caveats - there’s YT videos of people who’ve tried a bunch and they aren’t exactly praising the current results. For most people, color on ebooks is currently an expensive gimmick, and the results with actual full-color content are still way behind what you get with a tablet, or just any device with a screen.

Amazon have also pulled an Apple and priced their Colorsoft model like they’ve invented color readers. The Kobo Libra Colour seems to offer the same and more, for way less money.
Interesting. I never knew that.

I thought Kindle kind of stuff were just super small and cheap monochrome tablets meant just for books.
 
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jason10mm

Gold Member
Interesting. I never knew that.

I thought Kindle kind of stuff were just super small and cheap monochrome tablets meant just for books.
Those do exist, but the eink screen, if you've never seen it, is a WONDER. Much easier on the eyes than LCD, no glare, and even the backlit models have a glow that feels more natural than any active screen.

FWIW the kindle revolutionized my reading. I was able to dump TONS of physical books, particularly fiction that I'd only read once and weren't filled with maps, photos, or diagrams. I still feel that non-fiction, particularly graphics heavy stuff (like good military history books and probably lots of academic texts) are better in physical form because its easier to flip back and forth, or look at footnotes, etc.

But my physical book collection thinned out dramatically to more premium editions of known classics/beloved books or stuff the author has signed.

Another advantage is that is very easy to use a kindle one handed, trying to read a real book while eating or travelling is a big chore to me now, though I do still enjoy a nice hardback book with quality paper when at home with a pipe and tumbler of whisky. And I must admit that with age the ability to change font or brighten the screen has made it easy for the eyes. These devices have a loooong battery life as well, so you can go a week of heavy reading without needing to charge. They are also usually waterproof and fairly sand resistant, so for the beach they are perfect. Minor risk of theft but now they are often cheap enough I'm not stressing out too much. And its harder to see what you are reading, which can be a good thing or bad one depending :p
 

moxing

Neo Member
I rely on my old kindle a great deal- it cost me like 60 bucks and I've had it for most of a decade at this point. Love how it holds a charge for like a month. If the Colorsoft can give me a readable resolution, I'd definitely see about getting hold of one so i can conveniently get through my backlog of all of the IDW Transformers comics. I'd really want to see it in action- using my own files or files like mine- before I made the purchase though.
 

near

Gold Member
Anyone here order the Kindle Colorsoft? Apparently quality control has been poor, and a lot of customers have received bad batches. There seems to be a yellow tint on the bottom half of the screen, and not evenly lit.
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
Anyone here order the Kindle Colorsoft? Apparently quality control has been poor, and a lot of customers have received bad batches. There seems to be a yellow tint on the bottom half of the screen, and not evenly lit.
Never buy the first model year!

That sucks, wonder if response was larger than they expected, the release was rushed for some reason, or what happened at the factory.
 

near

Gold Member
Never buy the first model year!

That sucks, wonder if response was larger than they expected, the release was rushed for some reason, or what happened at the factory.
Glad I held off. I contemplated trading in my Paperwhite for a discount and pre-ordering it.

I was browsing through the Kindle reddit page, it seems like its happened to a fair few people. Some don't really notice it, but I can see it even through the photos. Hopefully they address it quickly for those impacted. But yeah, like you say, I'll wait for the second year model or something.
 

Drake

Member
The colorsoft actually looks really nice. I still do 99% of my reading on my Kindle Fire HD 7" from 2013. IDK why, but I love how ebooks look on that thing even though its a tablet style screen. It's impossible to read it outside because of the glare, but I have a kindle paperwhite for that. Also, the Kindle Fire HD is super easy to navigate. I find the paper white has clunky navigation especially when you have a ton of books on it.
 

ResurrectedContrarian

Suffers with mild autism
would love color e-ink done properly one day, even if this one is limited

that said, the thing I find to be a massive pain when reading most academic PDFs etc is that the zooming and panning so incredibly awful to use due to lag. I spend about half my time just trying to get the zoom to the right spot or pan around without messing it up. I wish they'd come up with another solution for that.
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
would love color e-ink done properly one day, even if this one is limited

that said, the thing I find to be a massive pain when reading most academic PDFs etc is that the zooming and panning so incredibly awful to use due to lag. I spend about half my time just trying to get the zoom to the right spot or pan around without messing it up. I wish they'd come up with another solution for that.
Welcome to the club :p

XnvU3Q8.jpeg
 

Miyazaki’s Slave

Gold Member
I want the new Scribe and they are offing 20% off on new kindle purchases(~$89 off) and $85 bucks for the trade in.

My device is immaculate and if anyone would like to buy the last model 64 gb with case for around $180 USD let me know and I will pop it on the marketplace page.
 
Might sound weird, but I’d like a faster cpu in the device. Browsing the store on any of my old kindles is sluggish as hell.

Color? Not that interesti g as I am not into comics. Then again, might read articles, but why not just buy an ordinary tablet then.
 
I'm kinda bummed they didn't have a premium Kindle anymore. I have an Oasis and would love an updated one. Hell, I would be happy if it just updated to usb-c instead of the micro-usb charger.
 

Arimer

Member
That one second from left looks great. I own a kobo because i didn't want to support amazon but I may have to bite the bullet and go back.
 

Little Mac

Member
Is the e-ink display of these kindles significantly better for eye health compared to say an iPad. I already have an old iPad but thinking about grabbing a kindle paper white to read an hour or so before bed. Does it emit blue light that fucks with your sleep like an iPad?
 
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TDiddyLive

Member
Is the e-ink display of these kindles significantly better for eye health compared to say an iPad. I already have an old iPad but thinking about grabbing a kindle paper white to read an hour or so before bed. Does it emit blue light that fucks with your sleep like an iPad?
I don’t know anything about the kindles, but you do know Apple products have a night shift mode specifically for that reason, right?
 

E-Cat

Member
Then they'd be throwing away money.

If my family doesn't want them then they can be donated to a library, school etc.

There is value in physical books. With a kindle, I'm just renting text files from Amazon.
A book is just a non-interactive text file.
 

Little Mac

Member
I don’t know anything about the kindles, but you do know Apple products have a night shift mode specifically for that reason, right?

Evidently Night Shift is not as effective as people believe it to be and screen brightness needs to be significantly reduced in conjunction with a shift to warmer colors for there to be less of an harmful effect on melatonin production.


“Results showed that all three lighting interventions significantly suppressed melatonin over the two hours of each study night. More importantly, there was no significant difference between the effectiveness of the two Night Shift settings. The study’s main takeaway is that changing screen color alone is insufficient for limiting the impact of PEDs on melatonin levels in the evening, and that screen brightness should also be reduced.”


Still researching but evidently iPads have backlights whereas Kindles have front lights. This difference in display technology supposively is important and allow kindles to be used before bed without such a negative effect on sleep quality. Not sure. Might just buy a book.
 
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jason10mm

Gold Member
Is the e-ink display of these kindles significantly better for eye health compared to say an iPad. I already have an old iPad but thinking about grabbing a kindle paper white to read an hour or so before bed. Does it emit blue light that fucks with your sleep like an iPad?
The paperwhite at least can be set to a very low "warm" yellow color that allows me to read at night without bothering my wife or getting that "bright screen in your face" stimulation. Basically, the screen glows just enough to read.
 

E-Cat

Member
And when I'm gone those text files on my Kindle are worthless. When I'm gone so are they. My books can be passed on to others for enjoyment/research, or sold for money.
But can a book receive DLC? Huh? Huh??
 

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
But can a book receive DLC? Huh? Huh??

lol.

Thankfully not. When I buy a book I'm getting the complete package. That's also the same for digital books.....................................for now.
 

Blade2.0

Member
I rely on my old kindle a great deal- it cost me like 60 bucks and I've had it for most of a decade at this point. Love how it holds a charge for like a month. If the Colorsoft can give me a readable resolution, I'd definitely see about getting hold of one so i can conveniently get through my backlog of all of the IDW Transformers comics. I'd really want to see it in action- using my own files or files like mine- before I made the purchase though.
They do have a return policy. If you hate it, send it back.
 
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