There are different points to consider for those Kindle users looking to add to their collection and those who are considering jumping into Kindle or eBooks in general, for the first time. For the person upgrading, the Paperwhite charging cradle works with this. Of course it also charges with the included USB-C cable. I’m not yet seeing much by way of color content for books, except of course for comics. So far, it’s largely just the covers. But once the big fish gets involved, things change. The publishing industry may have a weird love/hate relationship with Amazon, but it’s obvious they certainly can’t ignore this. I’m particularly hoping charts in more technical books will be colored. There is a yellow bar along the bottom of the screen. It’s been discussed online a lot. I’ve heard rumors that Amazon is aware of this and working to fix it, but I haven’t heard if that fix is software or hardware based. Because of that, this feels a little rushed to market to be in time for the holiday season. I mean, the QA team can’t have missed it. But this is the only issue I’ve found. For those who are considering this as their first Kindle, the main competitor to this device in the color eInk market right now is Kobo, and their closest match is the Libra. I’ve put a photo of both side by side to show the size difference. The main advantage, as I see it, of the Libra is the pencil. It’s the best of the Colorsoft and a shrunken down version of the Scribe in one, with notebooks and the ability to write on whatever book you’re reading. I’m definitely hoping Amazon puts out a color Scribe next year. At the time of this writing, the Libra is the cheaper of the two. Both are waterproof with the exact same rating. I wouldn’t take one on a kayak and let it sit in a puddle, but don’t worry if one falls in the tub. I do not understand how people can read print books in the bath. I’d destroy one just by my hands being wet. The wide variety of waterproof eReaders has finally opened that up for me. Both devices offer 32 gig of memory, which is bordering on crazy. I have 5,417 books downloaded, over which almost a thousand are comics, and I have 15 gig left. However, they differ in total addressable memory, that is memory not used by the system. For the Kindle it is 24.21 gig. The Kobo won’t tell me the total amount, but I have 24.7 gig left with a few hundred downloads. Both offer audiobooks via Bluetooth, but only the Kindle is compatible with Audible. Kobo has their own, somewhat more limited, audiobook store. The screen on the Kindle is a newer model, but newer isn’t necessarily better. See New Coke for those old enough to remember that. I find the colors comparable, but I think Kindle is a tad more vibrant and Kobo is a tad more accurate. Kindle tinges things a bit on the blue side. In terms of content, from the public library, Kobo allows you to search for books, put them on hold or check them out directly from the integrated app on the device. Kindle allows you to borrow the book on the library website, go to the website, and choose which device to send it to. The convenience winner depends entirely on your public library situation. I live in Brooklyn and work in Manhattan, which grants me access to both library systems. With Kindle, I can borrow from either one, no problem. With Kobo, I can only link one library card to the device, so only borrow from one. I have seen a handful of books that offer Send to Kindle, but not ePub download. Mostly manga. So the winner depends on your taste and library situation. For sending documents to the device, both support sideloading, but that’s a pain. For Kindle you can use the website or the email address. Easy. For Kobo, you can save your files in a set folder in a DropBox account or Google Drive and then download to the device. That’s two steps, and requiresa separate subscription, but it leaves your documents backed up and easy to access. Again, the winner depends on your situation. Kobo also supports storing documents from Pocket, but I have not gotten that to work. I think that’s more a me problem than a device problem, to be honest. For unlimited subscriptions, both offer their own, but I think Kindle Unlimited has the better selection. If you read comics, there is no contest here. Comixology is the digital king of that domain, and the only eReader that will work on is the Kindle (of course that excludes tablets like the iPad). The colors aren’t as bright, but to me they feel a bit more like a print comic. The Colorsoft does support Guided Reading, where it shows a panel at a time and guides you across the page. This would be perfect, except it does not change orientation as you turn the device. I’m not sure when Kindle lost that, and I have checked setting to see that I didn’t leave it locked. You can turn from portrait to landscape view through the font menu, but that’s a pain when you’re trying to read a comic. This makes some panels, say those that would stretch fully across the page, a bit hard to read, where turning the page and having it go widthwise across the longer edge would have made it easy. For highlighting, the Kobo only highlights in yellow. You can change the color of the pen, but not the highlighter. For Kindle, the default is the exact same shade of yellow, but you can choose between that, pink, blue, and orange just by tapping on it. If you like physical page turn buttons, Kobo has that and Kindle doesn’t, though I will say Kindle put the power button on the side, which seems more intuitive, or at least more of the common practice. Kobo put it in the back, and I keep forgetting it’s there. It will be interesting to see if Nook jumps into this game next. It’s close between the two. I’d say if you want notetaking, go Kobo. If you want comics, go Kindle. If you want the better reading experience with black and white text books, I think the Kindle is a bit crisper and faster to refresh, so that would be my favorite. If the question is one of do you want to jump to ebooks at all, there are a few points to keep in mind. One, there is some research that says ebook readers retain a bit less than print counterparts, not in terms of comprehension but in terms of chronology. So if a character goes home and stops off at the hardware store, the grocery store, and the post office, a print reader will be able to recall the order more precisely. An ebook reader will only recall that the character went to the three places so long as there is no plot concern around which came first (the person at the hardware store sent regard to the postal clerk for example). I will point out this has only been done with people new to eReaders, using tightly timed experiments, and the eBook readers use part of that limited time to go through how to use the devices. So if it’s 25 minutes, print readers get 25 minutes to read, eBook readers get 10 minutes to learn to use the device and 15 minutes to read. It’s not as bad a methodology as when they were using iPads only with notifications turn on, but it’s still not a pure apples to apples comparison in my book. I suspect this is what also leads to the conclusion that ebook readers read faster. I would love to see the results of equal time and then check the participants’ memories a week later. Two, retrieving information is much faster on an eBook. You can’t text search print. Having made the switch it drives me crazy when a character repeats something someone said offhandedly a hundred or so pages ago and I can’t find it again. In ebooks, that takes seconds. For nonfiction, this is especially important. Three, unlimited libraries are great. A few years back I helped an old lady move into assisted living and she lost almost her entire library. There just wasn’t room for it. Most of mine fits in my purse. Four, the ecological impact of eReaders is shrinking. If you go by the product listing, Kindle creates roughly 42 kg of CO2 in its lifecycle. A single print book creates 7.46 kg in manufacture and transport. This does not include the impact of cutting down trees for paper. So, if you read a minimum of 6 different books on the device though its lifetime that you would otherwise purchase in print, you will have a smaller footprint with this. Here, to me the decision is easy. I’ve gone eBook and I’m not going back.

Buckle up cause this one is going to be a VERY lengthy review. Not even just because of the defaulty product I received with the dreaded yellow half screen, major ghosting/bleeding text which was even worse in dark mode not to mention all the dead pixels. That's just the start. Stupid me thought customer service would treat me like an actual paying customer and help with with a replacement. I still wanted the item I payed for just a working better version. I understand the colorsoft wouldn't be perfect, but figured if I could get a replacement with no ghosting and at least less yellow hopefully. Not once was a replacement offered to me for the first 3 calls. And that's just the start. 1st representative I spoke to didn't even attempt or try a replacement and rudely hung up on me. 2nd representative wouldn't let me get a word in edge wise without interrupting me so I had to hang up. 3rd one was just as rude and unhelpful as the 1st one and wouldn't even attempt a replacement which was all I wanted this whole time, come to find out he does a return/refund WITHOUT my permission. I did not tell him to do that and that's not what I wanted. I didn't even find out he did that till he hung up on me mid transfer to someone. Called back got someone higher up either supervisor or kindle support and that's when I found out there was no replacement option cause the 3rd guy screwed up and did a return without my permission so they didn't have the option to replace it since he did that. So this person I talked to tries to be nice and says even PROMISES me that I could keep it due to the inconvenience and the fact that these issues keep happening with this kindle and I'll be fully refunded. Now I used affirm cause I didn't want to drop that hefty price on an item all at once. He assures me it would go back to them in a few says and I don't have to return the item. Now here's where the problem snowballs from worse to downright horrendous/stressful. Mind you this is now day 2 I have now spent HOURS of my day on the phone with representatives being told different things, lied to and being made empty promises. I see on on my account UPS is scheduled to still pick up the item after what was promised to me the night before (mind you i have no problem returning a defaulty item, I just don't think it's right to make promises you can't keep) so I call and speak to another supervisor/kindle representative to make sure what was promised to me the night before was correct or if I need to box this item up and have it prepared to return. She says no we have to honor that promise matter of fact I'm going to send out the refund to affirm immediately so they have it and no worries there is no need for UPS to pick it up and you will not be charged. I'll send an email confirmation confirming this call. I said okay great. I wait over an hour I see the refund posted but no email confirmation and it still says UPS is still scheduled to pick this return up. Once again I call back. I say hey this is what was promised to me from the last 2 representatives, do I actually get to keep it like they said or do I need to box this up and wait for UPS to pick it up for the return. This representative says I was misinformed and what the last 2 told me wasn't correct since I was refunded and it was posted I need to return this item. I say okay no problem and box it up preparing for UPS to pick it up. She says they'll pick it up that day (Sunday) so I stay home all morning waiting for them. Nothing. I call back and speak to another person, oh come to find out their closed on Sundays they'll be their to pick it up first thing Monday. At this point I'm beyound frustrated, irritated and beyound upset and mad cause I have spoken to MULTIPLE representatives and each of them tell me or promise me something different. But find I keep it boxed up ready for it to be picked up the next day. That day is today. I cannot even begin to tell you the amount of representatives and supervisors I have spoken to about this issue and the mental anguish they have put me through from 7am my time till 1:30 pm my time when I FINALLY get a supervisor who cares enough to listen and do something. This morning starts out with me calling to confirm that the pickup for the return was still happening, out of curiosity I ask this person why I've been made false promises and lied to multiple times and why no one could seem to be on the same page with this. He says since I was promised that by 2 kindle representatives he's gonna speak to his lead and make it right. He gets back to me and says he's canceled the return and what those 2 reps promised me is true I can keep it and the refund stays. Mind you, I didn't care about that I was fully prepared for it to be returned it was boxed up and ready to go. I didn't even ask this rep to cancel it or do that and even asked more than once are you sure this is okay cause I don't want it to come back and I be charged I have no problem returning it. He says yes I was promised that and they have to honor it. So I think okay then I'll open it up, turn it on, take some pictures of it and see if anyone I know would want it if I'm allowed to keep it and this is true. Tried to log into it, and can't. So once again I call and speak to another representative. They said I can't log in because it's locked and it will stay that way till it's returned since I was already refunded. To which at this point I'm livid cause I already had it packaged up prepared for it to be returned this morning but YOUR representative canceled it WITHOUT my permission cause he says that promise had to be honored and it was okay. To which this rep transfers me to a supervisor who says it's not okay and it needs returned and I say you know what that's fine I was already prepared to do that today. So I box it up again and ask her if this could be expedited today (cause at this point it's almost 11am they could still get it) especially since it was SUPPOSED to have already been picked up that day but YOUR representative CANCELED it and once again I was LIED to and made promises that weren't kept. She claims she made a ticket for it to expedited and I could call a number she gave me for UPS to see if it could be today. I call, they have no clue what I'm talking about cause this supervisor LIED and NEVER MADE THE RETURN TICKET! This point I'm furious, I'm in tears, I'm mentally and emotionally stressed and exhausted from every single person lying to me and promising me things they can't deliever. But most of all for making a return I never asked for in the first place (cause mind you I originally called the first day to see if i could get a replacement and the 3rd rep started a return without my permission) and then this rep i called this morning to confirm my pickup for the retur. I just asked out of curiosity why i was made promises and told different things along the way to which he took it upon himself to cancel the return and speak to his lead, I never asked him to do that I was just wanting to know why no one I talked to was on the same page and what was happening. So now I have to call and speak to another supervisor AGAIN so I can actually get a return started and this stupid piece of junk out of my house. I tried expressing to her how stressful and upsetting all these false promises and lies were and how I've now wasted THREE DAYS and MULTIPLE hours with this. By this point it's almost noon, I started speaking with people at 7am my time to try and figure this out. She says no one would pick it up for up to 72 hours. I said no that's not acceptable it was originally supposed to be picked up TODAY till YOUR representative took it upon himself to cancel it. That's not right or fair to ask me to stay home for another 3 more days hoping UPS will pick it up so of course I wanted it escalated she did nothing so I hung up. Now I've reboxed this horrid device that's caused me 3 days of dread, stress and depression hoping someone will pick it up tomorrow morning. I start to calm down and think you know this really isn't right how they all treated me, talk to me, lied to me, made false promises to me and even a few who hung up mid sentence. So I calming call wanting to just simply speak to a higher up and talk to them about my complaints and how it's not right to treat customers this way when all I wanted from the beginning was a replacement, then when it got to the return part I had no problem doing so and that I didn't understand why they would treat me this way and waste days and hours of my time like this. She says oh no that's terrible let me honor that (hear we go again) I explain to her don't bother someone else already tried to honor that promise and it's locked it can't be used and I just want to return it and be done all i wanred to know was if someone could be expeditedto pick it up and when can they. She says oh well let's call kindle support see if they can unlock it, cancels the return, and transfers me before I can think of what to say. Now I'm speaking to a kindle rep who I give this whole speal to, he basically ignores everything I said and refused to hear the parts where his reps were in the wrong for lying and making false promises, then gets rude with me and says no you've already been refunded I'm not unlocking it it needs returned or we're recharging you. Like what the heck!!!! I ALREADY PLANNED ON RETURNING IT I DIDNT ASK FOR THIS AND NOW THIS IS THE 3RD TIME THE RETURN HAS BEEN CANCELED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!!!!! Now I'm beyond upset and worried and being told I'm gonna be charged for something I planned on giving back anyways. So yes I'm not proud of it but I broke down crying and lost it on him saying how this is NOT okay to be treating your customers this way!!!! He says he's escalated it and I'll get a call in 24 hours from their team. I DONT WANT A CALL AT ALL. I REFUSE to spend another 6 hours of my day again dealing with this any longer. ALL I WANT IS FOR YOU TO TAKE THE STUPID DEVICE BACK AND STOP CANCELLING MY RETURN. Especially when I never asked anyone too in the first place. You think it's probably done right? Nope not yet. Almost but not quite. I call to speak to another supervisor who i give the whole speak to again and say how this isn't right how I'm being treated and to please just return it. He tries promising me I can keep don't worry I don't care what the kindle rep said you won't be charged. We'll excuse me if I don't believe a single word any of you say at this point so make a return and take it back. He makes the return and I ask him if he seriously thinks all of this terrible treatment is okay to do to a customer. Before either can finish my sentence he says I don't know what else you want me to do we resolved the issue goodbye and hangs up on me. It is now after 1pm going on day 3 of this and i had been dealing with this since 7am. The only silver linging i had was after that I got in contact with my last and final rep/supervisor to confirm this return is actually going to happen this time and what we can do to rush it, he asks what happened I tell him and he seemed to be the only one who actually seemed to have compassion and cared about how awful i was treated. Granted rhere wasnt nuch he could do about it at that point but still. I'm a human being after all and i did not deserve any of this... And this all first started cause I just simply wanted a replacement for the pretty device that I wanted all along. That's it. That's all I wanted. Then some rep screws up and makes it to where that's not possible. So I accept it and plan on returning it no issue. Then it just snowballs from there to this whole mess... all cause I wanted 1 nice thing for myself that I was so excited for and waited all day at work to come home to. Now I just feel completely defeated, miserable, stressed, depressed and now I never want another kindle device ever again. Matter of fact I am going to sell my current kindle basic cause this whole entire experience has ruined me ever wanting to have a kindle let alone ever read off of one again.... shame on you amazon..... I don't even care how many books I had bought off my kindle basic either I'm giving it up completely and just going to accept the loss of all my books I once enjoyed and cancel my account entirely after this. This was beyond unacceptable...