There was a time when the Kindle range set the example for other e-readers to follow, but looking at Amazon's new 2024 Kindles, I'm pretty sure that time has passed. Now it looks like Amazon is doing it fair enough to keep up with Kobo and that's particularly true for the new Kindle Colorsoft.
The first color Kindle won't arrive in Australia (where I live) until 2025 (date and price TBA), so I haven't even seen it yet, but I'm going by what my colleagues in the US have said about it. buy it, I'm not convinced it should cost as much as $279.99/£269.99 (around AU$420).
By comparison, Kobo's two 2024 color e-readers, the Libra Color and Clara Color, are more affordable, with the former offering much better value for money. Oh, and they're both repairable too, something that, as far as I know, neither of the new Kindles are.
Show me the features
There were rumors (via Good eReader) that Amazon's first color Kindle would have stylus support and could adopt the new E Ink Gallery 3 display technology, which promised better saturation than the current E Ink Kaleido 3 displays used on other e-readers, including the Kobo Libra. Color and Clear Color.
None of those things, as we now know, are true. The Kindle Colorsoft uses the Kaleido 3 panel and there are no writing functions. While it shares the same screen size as the Libra Color (7 inches) and the same amount of internal storage (32GB), it loses the ergonomic construction of its Kobo counterpart, as well as stylus compatibility. Both also offer Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, but the Kindle Colorsoft gives you wireless charging.
However, given how complicated it was to use wireless charging on the 2021 Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, I'm not too sure this feature alone should explain the higher price than the $219.99 / £199.99 / AU $359.95 for the Libra Color.
I'm still not convinced
Without the asymmetrical thickness and page turn buttons, Colorsoft appears to compete directly with the Kobo Clara Color, which sells for $149.99 / £139.99 / AU$259.95. This price, however, is for a 6-inch ereader that uses the same screen technology and with only 16GB of built-in storage.
Despite the color screen, the Clara Color is cheaper than the Kindle Paperwhite 2024 ($159.99 / £159.99 / AU$299) which, however, now has a 7-inch E Ink Carta 1300 screen . I'm looking forward to seeing this display in action on the new Paperwhite, as I loved it on the Kobo Clara BW. Not only did it prove to have faster page turns, but I said it was the best screen on any monochrome e-reader to date in my Kobo Clara BW review. If Amazon has managed to optimize it well for its new 7-inch ereader, it could justify purchasing the Paperwhite 2024, but I'm struggling with Colorsoft in context with the competition.
While the entire Kindle range (apart from the Scribe) really needed a facelift, I'm not entirely sold on the new releases. That said, I haven't seen (or tried) any of them in person yet and will happily correct me when I've done the usual in-depth testing I do with e-readers. Until then, if you need me to recommend e-readers, I would probably recommend a Kobo.
Also, Amazon, where the hell is an updated Kindle Oasis? It was too nice an e-reader to have killed!
