The Amazon Kindle has been the go-to e-reader since the first version in 2007, and that dominance could be set to continue as Amazon today announced a big overhaul to the entire Kindle line-up with the introduction of four new models, including the first with a colour display.
The Kindle Colorsoft – yes, us Brits will have to deal with the American spelling – is the pick of the bunch with a 7-inch colour screen that can display colour images at 150 pixels per inch (ppi) but still show black and white text at a sharper 300ppi, just like the rival Kobo Libra Colour.
Colour in e-readers is fairly new, and Amazon claims the Colorsoft’s hues are more vibrant and less washed out than competitors’. It’s got a claimed eight weeks of battery life and optional wireless charging via a dock you’ll have to buy.
A slight sting in the tale is the Colorsoft’s £269.99 price tag, which is £70 more than the aforementioned Kobo, and the Kobo has pen stylus input compatibility that the Kindle lacks. Express.co.uk went hands-on with the Colorsoft at its launch event, which you can read about here.
If you want to write or draw on your Kindle, you’ll have to go for the most expensive new model, the £379.99 Kindle Scribe. This 10.2-inch second-generation Scribe has a monochrome screen but a sleeker design than the original, plus updated software that finally makes note-taking on Kindle books less clunky. You can now write or draw directly onto the pages of ebooks or expand the margins to make more detailed scribbles.
On the old Scribe you could only place virtual sticky notes on sections of text, though Amazon says the new function is coming to the first-gen model in a software update soon.
It’s a lot to pay for an e-reader, but the large screened device is also designed to act as your daily digital notebook, with full software setup to build multiple notepads for personal or work use.
At the cheaper end of the pricing scale is the new £94.99 12th-generation Kindle, the base model in the lineup. It’s available in an eye-catching new Matcha (green) colour as well as subtler tones and has enough features to please most readers with a brighter and larger 7-inch hi-res 300ppi screen, plus Amazon says the page turns are faster than ever. It’s the lightest and smallest Kindle but cuts some design corners with its recessed screen, which is still frontlit.
Meanwhile the new Kindle Paperwhite sits in the middle of the range with a more premium feel and flush 7-inch screen, though at £159.99 some may find the extra spend hard to justify when the base Kindle has a backlight and USB-C charging, just like all the pricier models.
These four new Kindles dash the hopes of fans holding out for a new version of the Kindle Oasis. Last updated in 2019, the svelte but expensive Kindle was the only model with physical page turn buttons. If you want buttons on an e-reader, you need to buy a Kobo.
The Kindle, as well as a new Kindle Kids model, are available from today for £94.99 and £114.99 respectively. The £159.99 Kindle Paperwhite is also on sale today, with the pricier Signature Edition £189.99 and including wireless charging. The Kindle Colosoft Signature Edition (to give it its full name) ships on 30 October for £269.99, while the £379.99 Scribe isn’t available until 4 December.
