Amazon released a new Kindle last week, and it seems to have gone largely unnoticed. New Kindles getting released used to be a pretty big deal, but nobody seems to care about the new Kindle Scribe without a frontlight.
The Kindle brand alone used to carry enough weight to get people’s attention, and there was a time when Amazon had trouble keeping new Kindles in stock after they got released. But now the Kindle Scribe without a frontlight has come along and it’s currently ranked the #27 on Amazon’s best-selling Kindles list. That’s current best selling Kindles, not an all-time list.
On the product page for the new Kindle Scribe without a light, it says they’ve only sold 50+ during the past month. Who knows if that’s counting pre-orders or not, but even if it’s only counting one week, based on Amazon’s own sales system they’ve sold less than 100 Kindle Scribes without a frontlight since it was released.
Think about that for a moment. Given Amazon’s reach and the long history and popularity of Kindles, that number is shockingly low for a new Kindle release.
The frontlit Kindle Scribe isn’t exactly selling well either. The 32GB version currently sits at 500+ units sold during the past month, and the 64GB version is at 400+.
The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is the more popular model. It’s currently at #8 on the Kindle best sellers list. Both 64GB versions are at 1k+ sold during the past month, and the 32GB version is at 500+.
At the current pace, if pre-orders weren’t counted, the Scribe without a frontlight will hit 200+ after a month, maybe 300+. They could sell a bunch more if the put it on sale for Prime Day, but I don’t think they will.
At this point I think frontlights are so ingrained into Kindles and ereaders and eNotes in general, most people would have a hard time giving that up.
There are some advantages to not having a frontlight. The E Ink screen can appear clearer and the text darker without the light layer (but flush layers and added textures can minimize the benefit), and the ink is closer to the stylus tip when writing notes and drawing, giving it a more immediate feel.
The funny thing is if Amazon released a mini Kindle without a frontlight, similar to the Xteink X4, I bet a bunch of people would be into it. The folks at Amazon have lost touch with what people actually want. A $429 Kindle Scribe without a frontlight isn’t it. Maybe someday it’ll end up on the island of misfit Kindles.
It would be a great help for potential buyers of the Kindle Scribe without a frontlight, if there were any useful reviews of the device, but I haven’t found any. I would be interested in knowing how it compares not only to the Kindle Scribe with a frontlight, but also to the new reMarkable Paper Pure.