Amazon unveils new Kindle lineup, including a first in colour
For all the Kindle lovers out there, Amazon has some good news – the e-commerce behemoth has now expanded its Kindle lineup with four new devices, including one that finally gets colour display.
“There’s never been a better time to pick up a Kindle. Amazon is introducing an entirely new lineup of Kindle devices, including the first-ever color Kindle, a reimagined Kindle Scribe, the fastest Kindle Paperwhite ever, and a new entry Kindle in a fun, new Matcha color,” the company noted in an official statement. The launch comes on the same day when Apple announced a fresh iteration of its iPad mini line-up.
For users who are unwilling to empty their pockets, Amazon offers an entry-level device, which sports “premium Kindle features.” These include a front light that is now 25% brighter, improved page-turn speeds, 16GB storage, a higher contrast display, and improved page-turn speeds. There is also a new colour option – Matcha Green – and is priced at $109.99.
Known as the Kindle ColorSoft Signature Edition, Amazon’s offering into the color e-reader market provides richer visuals, high contrast, faster page turns, as well as two modes — standard and vibrant color. These modes allow users to highlight text in various colors instead of the typical grayscale. The Kindle also comes with wireless charging and is waterproof. Interested users can get their hands on it from October 30 (pre-orders begin today) and the device is priced at $279.99.
“Everything about Kindle Colorsoft was meticulously designed to deliver rich, paper-like color. It uses an oxide backplane with custom waveforms for fast performance and a higher contrast on both color and black-and-white content. Its custom Colorsoft display includes a new light-guide with nitride LEDs that, when combined with our custom algorithms, enhances color and increases brightness, all without washing out details. You can zoom in on images without worrying about pixelation, and you can choose between standard or vibrant color styles,” Amazon noted.
Next comes the Kindle Scribe, which sports a 300 ppi screen. Among the new devices, this one offers a realistic writing experience. The device also comes with the Premium Pen (which feels like you are using an actual pen to jot down notes directly on book pages or use a side panel, which they can hide or display at their discretion. One of the more interesting features of Kindle Scribe is the new Active Canvas, which lets readers annotate pages without disrupting the text flow itself. To add to this, Amazon also brings AI into the Scribe’s notebook feature, which can summarize pages of handwritten notes into concise bullet points. The device will be priced at $399.99, and pre-orders are available now. Users will have to wait for a while to get their hands on it, though, since shipping starts from December 4.
Next comes the Kindle Paperwhite, which Amazon describes as the “fastest Kindle ever.” Coming with a larger display – 7 inches – the Kindle Paperwhite comes with an improved battery lifetime (lasting up to three months on a single charge) as well as 16 GB of storage. the device will come in a thinner design and Raspberry, Jade, and Black colors, while its improved internals promise 25% faster page-turn speeds. This version starts at $159.99, while the Signature version is priced at $199.99. The pricier model offers 32GB of storage, amongst other features.