Amazon reveals its first color Kindle e-reader after years of development

By Greg Bensinger

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Amazon (NASDAQ:) on Wednesday announced its first color Kindle e-reader following years of effort to bring the more immersive device to market.

The ‘Kindle Colorsoft’ carries a $280 price tag that compares with similar devices from other manufacturers available on Amazon in the range of $149 to $330. The Colorsoft relies on LEDs and other technologies to achieve the color display, according to a company statement.

Amazon had tried in prior years to develop color e-readers using eInk — the technology available in its standard Kindles that requires minimal battery power. The Colorsoft will have a roughly eight-week battery life, compared with up to three months for its latest generation Paperwhite e-reader.

The Seattle retailer also unveiled a new Paperwhite with a 7-inch screen, measured diagonally, two-tenths of an inch larger than the most recent generation’s. It also revealed an updated Kindle Scribe e-reader, which allows users to jot onto the screen with a stylus and convert that into more legible text.

Users’ in-book notations can be summarized by artificial intelligence software that can convert pages of notes into bullet points, the company said.

Amazon is still the market leader in e-readers, commanding more than three quarters of the market, by some measures. The devices are built to last for years and the company has said it sells them for close to cost, making money when people purchase books or other reading materials.

The COVID-19 pandemic fueled a surge in e-reader use, as many libraries stayed closed to enforce shelter-in-place policies but still offered wireless downloads of e-books.

Kindles are often put on sale during discount events, such as Prime Day. The Colorsoft will ship to customers on Oct. 30 and the new Scribe will ship on Dec. 4.