Amazon
My older kids each have a Kindle they use to read each night before bed, and it’s the perfect e-reader for young readers thanks to strong parental controls and easy user interface. Now, Amazon is adding color to the Kindle Kids lineup with a new Kindle Colorsoft created exclusively for children.
The first-ever color Kindle for kids is a 16GB Kindle Colorsoft built to provide young readers a more enriching experience. The device brings a color E Ink display to the Amazon Kids+ and Kindle experience, which offers children a distraction-free reading environment free from notifications, ads, social media, or messaging.
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My eight-year-old loves reading novels on her Kindle and, just last week, averaged about two hours of reading per day, which is great for summer break. My six-year-old just learned to read a year ago and she still prefers graphic novels and picture books, so she often prefers physical books over her Kindle when she wants to, as she puts it, “see pictures with color.”
A Kindle Colorsoft Kids is perfect not only for this type of young reader, but also for older kids who simply prefer graphic novels and comic books over traditional novels.
One of the few drawbacks to my six-year-old preferring physical books over her Kindle is that, if she brings a picture book with her when we go out, she’s out of luck when she’s done reading, where a Kindle lets you immediately download the next book. Of course, there’s also the fact that a backlit Kindle is much easier to read in the dark before bed, and doesn’t require a reading light.
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The Kindle Colorsoft Kids is now available for $250, and is available with a choice of two covers, Fantasy River and Starlight Reading. It has 16GB of storage and includes one year of an Amazon Kids+ subscription, which includes thousands of books and audiobooks. It also has a two-year worry-free guarantee that ensures Amazon replaces your Kindle if the screen breaks or you have other issues with it.
Amazon/ZDNET
Kids can also use Bluetooth headphones to listen to audiobooks on their Kindle Colorsoft Kids, and readers with dyslexia can also use it with the OpenDyslexic font.
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The Signature Edition Kindle Colorsoft launched last fall as the first Kindle in color for readers. At $280, it was met with mixed reception from initial users, but reviews have since leveled to the positive side. As a color E Ink tablet, you shouldn’t expect the smooth colors and crisp images you see in a full color display. You’ll also see some texture if you look closely at your Kindle Colorosoft, similar to comic book texture, which is another unexpected effect that initially garnered negative feedback.
Instead, the Kindle Colorsoft offers a richer but slightly muted colorful experience to expand what you enjoy about an E Ink tablet.
