AfterDawn: News

Color version of Kindle will come out, eventually

The Amazon Kindle, the most popular e-reader by market share will eventually have a color version, says CEO Jeff Bezos, but that day is not soon.

Speaking at the e-tailer's shareholder meeting this week, Bezos says that while not impossible, adding color to the Kindle's e-ink display is "a difficult technical challenge" and that the device is "still a long way out."



Bezos adds that he has seen some prototypes "in the lab" but none of them are "ready for prime-time production."

The e-reader market continues to get more and more crowded, especially with Apple's introduction of the iPad tablet in April. The iPad has e-reading capabilities on a full color screen and a connection to the growing Apple iBookStore.

While Bezos refuses to disclose the amount of Kindle devices sold since launch, DisplaySearch reported last month that the number is somewhere in the 3.3 million unit range.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 25 May 2010 16:09

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• 5 comments

• blueboy09

  When next Christmas? This should've been out even before the iPad was released, me thinks. The tech has been out there for a little bit, so there's no excuse, really. You would think that they would've realize this, but I guess not. Even a working prototype to show off is better than none at all.
  
  

  Life is about walking on thin ice, if you make too much drama, youll crack under pressure. - BLUEBOY

  25.5.2010 20:17 #1

• KillerBug

  They still have not perfected the black&white e-ink; the kindle's screen is extremely fragile; I would assume the problem with the color screen is that it is even more fragile.
  
  Anyway, who cares? It is a book reader; that is all it is designed to do. I realize that some books have color images in them, but most are just text and maybe the occasional b&w sketch. Color might be nice, but I bet that most people would be happier with a bit more battery life, a bit more reliability, or a lower cost.

  26.5.2010 04:22 #2

• oappi

  i agree with KillerBug. Since kindle uses one of those displays that only consumes battery when page is changed, it might be very expensive to replace b&w display with color display. Most ppl would rather see decrease on current prizes with b&w screens than color display.

  27.5.2010 07:35 #3

• Gnawnivek

  KillerBug's "who cares" is right. I enjoyed the Kindle, books are books, i don't see why i need colors. As soon as the damn thing do colors, the battery is going to die a lot faster :( Because once you give people color displays, they want videos next, duh!
  
  Anyhow, color e-inks do have excellent applications. Such as children books, text books (biology books in color, image that) and magazines... However, all of that is not important if the device needs to be constantly charged. IMO, it's embarrassing that a reader needs to charge the device before he/she finishes a book in a week.
  
  Kudos to those can finish a book on the iPad w/o charging... and i don't mean picture books, lol.
  
  

  Peace!

  1.6.2010 13:24 #4

• getanacct

  Let the iPad do it's thing, and let the Kindle be what it is: an e-book reading device.
  
  If I want the bells and whistles, I'd bought an laptop or iPad.

  2.6.2010 20:09 #5