Black and white is great for most books, but what if you want to read in colour? The technicolour eBook from Amazon is finally here, only a year later than Kobo.
A gadget that was hinted at last year is now arriving in Australia, as the colour Kindle becomes a local reality.
What launched in the US last year is now tangible in Australia, with the Kindle Coloursoft finally launching in our next of the woods, which this writer is adding the rightful “u” to.
Technically, it’s the Amazon Kindle Colorsoft — because American spelling lacks the “u” with use in Australian (and British) English — but it’s a similar concept to the regular black and white Kindle, except with a colour electronic ink screen.
There are two models, both of which are very similar, save for some minor differences.
In the Kindle Coloursoft, you’ll find a 7 inch colour e-ink screen with up yo eight weeks of battery life, USB-C charging, a front-light you’ll manually control yourself, 16GB of storage, and waterproofing. Meanwhile, the Kindle Coloursoft Signature Edition is the same 7 inch eReader, but with an automatic adjusting front-light, wireless charging, and twice the storage, providing 32GB.
A good $50 separates the two models, so Amazon is clearly trying to tempt with an upgrade, offering the regular colour Kindle model for $399 in Australia, while the Signature Edition Colorsoft is $449 locally.
“We’re delighted to bring Kindle Colorsoft to our customers in Australia,” said Jacqui Corbett, Manager for Amazon Devices Country Manager in Australia and New Zealand.
“This is a significant milestone for Kindle locally, offering readers the perfect blend of our beloved e-reader experience with high-contrast colour capabilities,” she said.
“Whether you’re enjoying travel guides, children’s books, graphic novels, or cookbooks, or simply want to personalise your reading with colourful highlights, Kindle Colorsoft delivers this, giving an enhanced reading experience anywhere, anytime.”
Locally, the Kindle Coloursoft faces competition from the likes of Kobo, which delivered the first and second colour eBook readers in Australia last year, kicking off with the Libra Colour, as well as the slightly less expensive Clara Colour. Both also offer access to Australian libraries using the Overdrive and Libby systems, something Amazon’s Kindle misses out on.
By comparison Kindle devices are largely locked into using Amazon’s book, magazine, comic, and newspaper selling services, which includes an unlimited eBook subscription, as well. However, Kindle does support PDF and ePub files, even if it doesn’t play nicely with local libraries.
The Kindle Coloursoft range has launched in Australia now all the same, starting from $399 and available from Amazon, JB HiFi, and Officeworks.
