Amazon Kindle finally gets color

It’s a big week in Kindle land. Along with refreshes to the base Kindle, Paperwhite, and Scribe, the company is introducing something many of us never expected in a devoted e-reader: color.

Earlier this year, Amazon’s chief e-reader competitor, Kobo, introduced the $220 Libra Colour, which leverages color e-ink. The technology has thus far received mixed reviews. The new Kindle Colorsoft, on the other hand, takes a whole different approach.

Rather than relying on the e ink technology that powers the Kobo, Amazon opted to build the full stack in house. The company tells TechCrunch that color has been one of the most requested features for its e-readers, but the company had to strike a balance before adopting it. A number of factors come into play here, including battery life, contrast ratio and image ghosting.

Color is created through five filters applied to the display itself, combined with the front light. It’s a change from the standard sort of backlighting we see in tablets, which is both a hit to battery and can impact sleep patterns when reading immediately before bed.

As with monochrome e ink, the technology effectively creates an image that remains static until the page is refreshed. Amazon says the goal was to create colors that are soft on the eyes, akin to print. Battery life does take a hit here, but that’s countered to some degree by the new oxide back pane, along with a larger battery than the one found on the Paperwhite. The oxide tech — also found on the new Paperwhite — helps increase page turn speed.

When not utilizing color for things like comics and page highlights, the page retains the same monochromatic design found on other Kindles.

As with the new Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, the Kindle Colorsoft is waterproof, while featuring wireless charging. According to Amazon, you should get up to eight weeks on a charge, which is still handily beat by the Paperwhite’s stated three-months.

The color Kindle doesn’t come cheap. The device starts at $280, a $90 premium over the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition and a full $170 more than the new base-level Kindle. That said, it’s still $120 cheaper than the new Kindle Scribe, which I suppose puts things into perspective.

The new Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition is available for pre-order starting Wednesday. It will start shipping on October 30.