When it was first released, the Amazon Kindle Colorsoft had significant issues. There were persistent yellow bars or bands at the bottom of the screen. This was even more noticeable when the front-lit display was turned on, as the screen’s brightness made the issue even more pronounced. This caused Amazon to suspend the sales of Colorsoft for a month or two, and they seemed to have fixed the problem with the new batch that is currently on sale.
The Amazon Kindle Colorsoft has a seven-inch screen that uses E Ink Kaleido 3 technology. Amazon customized the technology to improve the screen’s contrast, brightness, and speed. The Colorsoft has a custom display stack with an oxide backplane, nitride LEDs, and custom coatings. The oxide backplane uses 24 driving volts to move pigments around more quickly and improve contrast. The custom coatings enhance optical performance, minimize glare, and focus light through each pigment. The custom display stack helps make the page turn quicker and reduces the noticeable screen refreshing when you go from one color page to another.
In the simplest of terms, Amazon used all-new screen tech that hadn’t been used before on a color e-reader. This created issues with the screen that were difficult to isolate and fix. Amazon did a few things to make the fixes with the new Colorsoft e-readers. They issued another firmware update and fixed the screens with a rush order from Foxconn.
Customers who order a Colorsoft on the Amazon website will receive the latest model with a fixed screen. Customers who had the yellow bars and are awaiting a replacement will also receive one from the newest batch. However, placing an order with another retail partner, such as Best Buy, is not guaranteed.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
