Amazon’s Kindle Colorsoft is now the corporate’s most costly e-reader (aside from the Kindle Scribe, though that’s extra of an e-note than an e-reader), however that doesn’t routinely make it the most effective Kindle cash should buy. Let’s say you have got the money to burn and wish the most effective studying expertise Amazon provides: In the event you solely learn novels, and even black-and-white comics like manga, you would possibly truly be higher off saving your cash and getting the Kindle Paperwhite as a substitute. Shelling out additional received’t provide you with an upgraded expertise—it may actively make your books worse.
What’s a colour e-reader?
At its core, the Kindle Colorsoft is actually a Kindle Paperwhite, however with one key distinction. It’s bought the identical lighting choices, weighs nearly the identical, seems precisely like a Paperwhite, and has the identical measurement display screen. The defining issue is that the Colorsoft has a colour filter in its show, which permits content material that passes by way of it to supply as much as 4,096 colours.
Credit score: Michelle Ehrhardt
It could possibly nonetheless show black-and-white content material, however if you learn one thing like a comic book guide on it, it cuts the decision in half from 300 ppi to 150 ppi, then cleverly arranges the pixels so that they shine by way of the precise proper spots to supply the wanted colours.
There’s a bit extra to it than that—Amazon additionally has some proprietary supplies in play that permits it to realize higher colour accuracy and fewer artifacts than competing units—however that’s the gist. It’s fairly intelligent, even when the core idea isn’t distinctive to the Kindle Colorsoft. It doesn’t simply work on comics, both, but additionally on issues like guide covers or color-collated highlighting.
Sounds fairly cool. Even in the event you don’t use it on a regular basis, it’s a pleasant bonus, proper? You will get colour if you want it, at the price of some decision, however you can even show black-and-white works on the identical decision because the Kindle Paperwhite. Sadly, the truth’s not so reduce and dry.
The rainbow impact
Whereas the Kindle’s software program can acknowledge when it’s displaying you black-and-white content material and when it’s displaying colour, the {hardware} can’t. Even in one thing like a novel, the bodily colour filter continues to be there. And whereas its particular person colour dots are too small to make out, your eyes can nonetheless discover the colour layer as complete.
Enter the rainbow impact. At its finest, it’ll put a lightweight shimmer in your display screen, giving it a considerably grainy texture that may decrease the distinction. At its worst, it’ll present full on spectrums of colour on content material that must be monochrome.
Take this web page from Dune, which exhibits a reasonably delicate rainbow impact.
“Dune” on the Kindle Colorsoft (left) vs. Kindle Paperwhite (proper).
Credit score: Michelle Ehrhardt
And this web page from Berserk, which exhibits a extra aggressive rainbow sample.
“Berserk” proven on the Kindle Colorsoft (left) vs. Kindle Paperwhite (proper).
Credit score: Michelle Ehrhardt
It’s unavoidable. It doesn’t matter what you learn on the system, it’ll present up to some extent. The query is the way you’ll react to it.
Are you able to repair the rainbow impact?
As a result of the rainbow impact is a {hardware} concern, there’s no approach to eliminate it utterly. The competitors has slight fixes for it, with essentially the most notable being Kobo’s “cut back rainbow impact” toggle, which barely blurs the picture to attempt to line it up in a approach that the colour filter isn’t as noticeable. Amazon, sadly, has not opted to incorporate such an answer on its system.
What do you suppose to this point?
That stated, the Kindle Colorsoft does ship with two colour modes, normal and vivid. These received’t have an effect on black-and-white content material, however it’s price noting that the best way the colour filter works within the Colorsoft can typically trigger artifacting in colour content material as properly. In the event you discover this, altering colour modes may enable you out. The Kindle is much less susceptible to artifacting than I’ve seen on different units, however its Vivid mode doesn’t use the total vary of 4,096 colours, as a substitute compressing it to spice up saturation. Many of the fellow Colorsoft customers I’ve spoken with favor to swap over to Vivid and depart it on for the whole lot, however the decrease vary of colours may cause pixelation, so in the event you discover that, it’s price making an attempt out Commonplace mode once more. Certain, this isn’t precisely the identical because the rainbow impact, however it’s an identical sufficient concern, and factors out that even colour customers aren’t free from issues on this system.
Is coping with the rainbow impact price it?
How a lot the rainbow impact will hassle you is dependent upon what you learn and the way pristine you want your pages to look. To my husband, who reads all of his black-and-white books on a colour e-reader, it doesn’t hassle him a lot. He truly form of likes the shimmering, saying it form of seems just like the grain you would possibly get on actual paper.
However to me, I can’t stand it. It’s vivid and distracting, and in the event you spend most of your time in your Kindle studying conventional books, shopping for a Colorsoft will imply you’ll be paying additional simply to must take care of that. I suppose that is perhaps price it if you wish to see your guide covers in colour when scrolling by way of your library, or in the event you spotlight quite a bit. It does look good, for the few seconds covers or highlights are in your display screen. However for many of your time truly studying, you’re not going to be utilizing the colour, and you’ll be seeing the rainbow impact.
The information solely will get worse in the event you learn black-and-white illustrated works, like manga. To comply with together with a guide, all you need to do is make out the phrases— however with manga, the art work will likely be actively worsened. Strains would possibly look fuzzier, or facial expressions would possibly give off a wholly totally different vibe beneath all of the shimmering. However worst of all, you would possibly get these unintended splotches of colour, like I bought in Berserk. To me, that’s not price it.
The Kindle Colorsoft is just for individuals who learn colour content material
It would sound apparent, however the Kindle Colorsoft is just for individuals who learn colour content material often, like comedian books—and even then, I do not advocate it.
This isn’t just like the ‘90s, when the Sport Boy Shade may play sure video games in colour, however may additionally play black-and-white video games the identical as an unique Sport Boy. The Kindle Colorsoft isn’t just a daily Kindle with non-compulsory colour that readers with deep pockets can depend on as an occasional added bonus, however as one thing they will in any other case ignore. As an alternative, utilizing it’s a wholly totally different expertise.
