The Kindle Colorsoft got off to a rocky start with all the negative reviews about the uneven frontlight and the various drawbacks with color E Ink screens in general, but a surprising number of people are still interested in Amazon’s first color Kindle ereader.
In fact, the Kindle Colorsoft is currently outselling Amazon’s Fire Max 11 tablet by a good margin (8k vs 5k units sold over the past month), despite costing $50 more and offering far fewer features and having lower-end specs across the board. How is that possible? Have we entered the twilight zone and nobody told us?
The battle between ereaders and tablets started over a decade ago, but now that color E Ink screens are starting to become more mainstream, there’s more of a crossover between the two different types of devices now than ever.
You can make the argument that black and white E Ink screens are superior to LCD screens when it comes to displaying basic text. But you can’t make the argument that color E Ink screens are better than LCD screens when it comes to displaying various forms of color content.
Color E Ink still can’t come close to matching the color quality of LCD screens. Color E Ink also has a fuzzier appearance because of the color filter layer, and the refresh rate is much slower than LCD and afterimage effects are common, and yet some people are totally fine with that. Some are even willing to pay more for a color ereader than a fairly nice tablet.
Amazon’s lower end Fire tablets are pretty weak, but the Fire Max 11 is their nicest and most expensive model, and the 64GB version is $50 cheaper than the Kindle Colorsoft.
The price difference makes even less sense when you compare the overall specs and features. The Fire Max 11 has a larger screen with higher resolution for color content (not to mention much better color quality), it has double the storage space, it adds a memory card slot, it has dual speakers and mics, there are front and rear cameras, it adds a fingerprint sensor, it supports newer WiFi and Bluetooth standards, it adds stylus support, and it supports more accessibility features, among other things.
The Kindle Colorsoft only has a few advantages, including longer battery life, waterproofing, wireless charging, and outdoor readability thanks to the E Ink screen. Yet it costs $50 more.
E Ink screens have always been the main reason why ereaders cost so much, and apparently that’s never going to change as long as E Ink continues to run unopposed in the epaper market.
It’s crazy how these two devices are competing against each other, and how the overall specs and features are so wildly in favor of the Fire Max 11, and yet more people are buying the Colorsoft instead.
Kindle Colorsoft – Key Specs
- 7″ Kaleido 3 Color E Ink screen.
- 150 ppi color; 300 ppi BW.
- Frontlight.
- 32GB internal storage.
- Wireless charging (charger sold separately).
- Auto-brightness sensor.
- Waterproof: IPX8 rated.
- WiFi: Supports 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz networks.
- Bluetooth for audiobooks and VoiceView screen reader.
- USB-C port.
- Battery Life Estimate: up to 8 weeks.
- Weight: 219 grams.
- Price: $279 at Amazon
Fire Max 11 – Key Specs
- 11″ TÜV Rheinland LCD screen.
- 213 ppi.
- Octa-core CPU.
- 4GB RAM.
- 64GB internal storage.
- MicroSD card slot for cards up to 1TB.
- Dual speakers and dual microphones.
- Fingerprint sensor.
- Rotation sensor.
- Light sensor.
- 8MP front and rear cameras.
- WiFi 6 support.
- Bluetooth 5.3.
- USB-C port.
- Includes wall charger, unlike Kindles.
- Battery Life Estimate: up to 14 hours.
- Print documents via WiFi.
- USI 2.0 stylus support.
- Weight: 490 grams.
- Price: $229 at Amazon
I was under the impression that the Fire tablets, although Android based, were restricted and did not allow the freedom to download and use app like a normal tablet. Maybe it isn’t a competition between the colorsoft ad the fire tablet. Maybe the fire tablets are just not selling that well regardless of the colorsoft.
They don’t support Google Play for apps, but it’s pretty easy to install it using workarounds.
The 213 ppi would be the deal breaker for me. I mean, two decades ago, I couldn’t use a tablet at that resolution because I’d see yellow haloes around all the text. It was only when the Nexus 7 2013 came out that I was able to get an Android tablet that I could use. My eyes haven’t gotten younger!
That said, I doubt my eyes would be terribly comfy with color e-ink either. I’ll stick with my Oasis until it goes south, then see what’s available.
Speaking of which, the mentioned Nexus 7 tablet is still is alive and working! Good little piece of gear to last all this time.
To me the overall quality of the display means more than ppi. Color E Ink screens with 300 ppi for BW just don’t look as good with the added filter layer. I’ve seen the Fire Max 11’s screen in person and it looks great. I wouldn’t have any problem reading on it, and I think I’d probably prefer it over the Colorsoft if I could only choose one. Color E Ink just doesn’t have the same magic as BW E Ink. It surprising how many people are willing to accept the drawbacks while paying considerably more on top of it.
I think I’d have all kinds of trouble with color e-ink, between the screen door effect, and the need for added front light. I still want to TRY a color device at some point, but I’m not kidding myself that it might need to be returned. In no rush though.
I am very spoiled by my Sage’s crisp BW screen. My most recent library read was an illustrated Rita Mae Brown “Mrs. Murphy” series, and so nice to have the illustrations on an 8″ screen! Seven inches seems cramped in comparison.
I hope Kobo keeps the Sage line going, but I have a sneaking feeling the next Sage will be color, which is not what I want.
I have the Sage and also like it. That said, the second generation of colr screens seems to have minimized the screen door effect…I prefer the eReader screen format over the narrower Fire tablet screen shape…3 x 4 has become my preference. In addition being able to add my favorite fonts works on Kobo and Kindle readers, not on fire tablets. My guess is Kobo, and maybe Kindle will possibly some out with an updated, large format reader this fall.
I would have thought that Amazon might try to fuse the Kindle e-Readers with the Fire tablets using matte surface screens, like TCL’s NXTPAPER technology. One device series to rule them all, right? Blend the best of both worlds.
I have the Fire HD8, the latest one, the screen resolution is good. I have installed Google Play store on it. What I am disappointed in is that the Kindle app is broken. What I mean is that grouping series doesn’t work, and it will not download audible books that I have the matching kindle books for. I prefer listening while I follow along reading the text. It use to work, and it was a lot of help for me as I have a severe hearing loss and wear aids and use this process as therapy for better recognition of speech. I have contacted Amazon support and get the run around. Basically saying it is their fault.