When Amazon released its first color e-reader, the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition, last November, some people balked at its $280 price. We've seen it dip to $225 during Prime Day sales events, but Amazon has now released a new lower-priced $250 Colorsoft model with less storage as well as the "first-ever Kindle in color for kids."
The two new models are, in fact, the same device but the Kindle Colorsoft Kids ($270) includes one year of Amazon Kids Plus, a two-year "worry-free" guarantee (Amazon will replace it if it's damaged, no questions asked) and a "kid-friendly" cover. While the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition is equipped with 32GB of storage and features wireless charging and an auto-adjusting front light and wireless charging, both new models are equipped with 16GB and leave off the auto-adjusting lighting and wireless-charging features. The new models have the same adjustable warm light as the Signature Edition but you have to adjust it manually (it doesn't auto adjust based on your environmental lighting conditions).
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The Kindle Colorsoft Kids is available for $270 with two cover options, including the Fantasy cover shown here and a Starlight cover.
I gave high marks to the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition in my review and preferred it to the latest Kindle Paperwhite, which was released at around the same time as the Colorsoft. However, I did say that the "new, improved Kindle Paperwhite or entry-level Kindle are better options for most folks" due to the Colorsoft's high price.
Not long after the Colorsoft launched, Amazon had to pause shipments after some early users reported an issue with yellow tinging at the bottom of its display. When it resumed shipping the device, Amazon noted on the Colorsoft's product page that a small number of customers had reported a yellow band along the bottom of the display and asked any customers who noticed this to reach out to Amazon's customer service team for a replacement or refund. Amazon said that it had had made "the appropriate adjustments to ensure that new devices will not experience this issue moving forward."
However, several people posted negative reviews of the Colorsoft, making it Amazon's worst-rated Kindle e-reader, according to its users. These are the hazards of releasing a premium product that doesn't quite live up to people's expectations. Some people might have been expecting a similar color experience to that of a tablet with a color LCD. The color E Ink display looks a little washed out by comparison.
Also, it's worth noting that the resolution is cut in half for color elements on the Colorsoft. The color resolution is only 150 pixels per inch for color, while it's 300 ppi for black and white. 150 ppi lacks some crispness, but it's still nice to see e-book covers in color, and having color brings comic books, graphic novels and images more to life. Some people will appreciate that you can also highlight text in different colors like you would with real-world highlighter pens.