Gadget Weekly
Be a part of Namerah Saud Fatmi as she explores the cool, quirky, and generally downright odd world of smartphone equipment, devices, and different nerdy toys each week.
Amazon would not refresh its best-selling Kindle lineup fairly often. Not like Android telephones and tablets, e-readers see up to date fashions as soon as in two to a few years. It in all probability would not make sense to improve such gadgets as typically as telephones as a result of the enhancements could be too minimal.
Each single one in all Amazon’s Kindle e-readers have had black and white shows thus far. It isn’t just like the know-how for colour e-paper would not exist, although. Rivals like Onyx Boox and Pocketbook have lengthy since taken benefit of the E Ink Company’s colour e-paper shows.
Now that colour e-ink shows are a number of generations outdated, it looks as if Amazon may money in.
Earlier this month, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo — who primarily focuses on Apple merchandise and traits — predicted that Amazon is likely to roll out color E Ink devices as early as 2025. Regardless of the excessive price related to colour e-paper screens, Kuo’s predictions counsel that colour Kindles will include the newest Superior Colour ePaper (ACeP) show.
Amazon usually performs it very secure with its e-readers, however Kuo’s perception leans in the direction of a doubtlessly dangerous transfer. See, the price of e-paper screens is the costliest a part of any e-paper gadget. Colour e-ink shows price greater than double the worth of B&W e-ink screens.
Which means that a colour Kindle would in all probability price almost twice as a lot as a daily outdated Amazon e-reader and that spells hassle for the model. One of many main promoting factors of a Kindle is that it’s darn low cost and accessible. Characteristic-wise, it loses out to opponents like Onyx Boox in almost each single class aside from waterproofing.
Amazon limits the potential of its Kindles, filling them with adverts and eradicating entry to the Google Play Retailer. Alternatively, different fashionable e-readers just like the Boox Palma provide you with unfettered entry to the Play Retailer, and you might be free to put in no matter app you need. Then there are different elements like e-ink tablets with styli, audio system, a mic, and microSD card slots.
When such fully-featured e-readers exist, the one purpose why folks purchase Amazon’s restricted paper tablets is clearly cash. And when an costly colour Kindle rolls round with simply as slender a use case as all the remainder of the Kindles, it simply will not make sense to the patron anymore.
If you happen to do not consider me, simply check out the Kindle Scribe, which is available in at round $340 apiece. For a similar amount of cash, you should purchase one thing from Onyx Boox with far superior specs and a stylus that helps higher stress sensitivity ranges with unrestricted entry to the Play Retailer. Add a little bit more cash and you’ll even rating one with a colour display screen.
There was numerous speak about a Kindle with a stylus as much as its launch, however as soon as everybody noticed the worth of the Scribe, they weren’t as anymore. The overall consensus is that the gadget would not ship a lot worth for cash.
Apart from the worth, the one different issue protecting Kindles on the high is the battery life. As we’ve got examined and found time and time once more, colour e-paper tablets do not final anyplace close to so long as monochrome black-and-white ones.
Naturally, you will not be capable to squeeze out weeks upon weeks of battery life from a colour Kindle, not less than not until you might be very miserly along with your utilization or Amazon bumps up the battery capability considerably. Neither of these eventualities is perfect since you both sacrifice efficiency or the worth goes up much more due to the bigger battery.
On the finish of the day, I’m compelled to ask a easy query. Who advantages from a colour Kindle? Is that this even one thing we wish to see? Primarily based alone judgment, I would not say so.
As an alternative, I’d a lot reasonably see a Kindle with the Play Retailer, audio system, extra apps, a microSD slot, or one thing else sensible alongside these strains. Give me quick charging or higher stylus help. I would like a greater Kindle, not the identical outdated factor in colour.