Weekly Recap: November 8th to 14th, 2010 on our platform

The e-reader landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, with colour e-ink displays taking centre stage. Recent developments, particularly in E Ink Kaleido and Gallery technologies, have led to improved colour saturation, faster refresh rates, and enhanced user customization options.

Enhanced Display Quality and Interactivity

Earlier colour e-ink displays were criticized for their washed-out colours and sluggish refresh rates. However, the latest technologies have addressed these issues, delivering richer, more vibrant colours and faster updates. This enhancement not only improves visual appeal but also retains e-ink's paper-like readability and excellent battery life.

One such example is the anticipated Amazon Kindle Petit Color, expected to launch in fall 2025. This smaller prototype is rumoured to use a colour e-ink screen with better saturation than the previous Kindle Colorsoft. Users will be able to adjust the intensity and saturation of individual colours and customize UI elements, such as icons and progress bars. The device can even dynamically change eBook text colours based on reading progress, offering an innovative visual progress indicator.

Affordable and Feature-Rich Color E-Readers

Amazon has expanded its Kindle Colorsoft product line with a more affordable model featuring a vivid 7-inch colour display, 8-week battery life, and 16GB storage, priced at $249. A Kids Edition offering child-friendly features is also available, demonstrating how colour e-readers are becoming more mainstream and accessible.

Trade-offs and Considerations

While colour resolution remains lower than monochrome displays (about 150 PPI for colour vs. 300 PPI for black-and-white), and some features like wireless charging and auto-adjusting front light are omitted in cheaper models, these devices still balance cost, functionality, and colour experience to target broader audiences.

Impact on the Industry

These colour e-readers are moving beyond niche status, offering richer reading experiences for graphic novels, illustrated books, educational content, and interactive elements. By making colour e-ink devices more affordable and feature-rich, manufacturers like Amazon are expanding the market, encouraging adoption among kids and casual readers.

The ability to customize colour UI elements and dynamically change text colour opens new avenues for user interface innovation tailored to reading habits and preferences. Improvements in colour e-ink pave the way for new content types and creative publishing formats that leverage colour while maintaining the eye-friendly benefits and battery efficiency of e-ink.

Notable Releases and Developments

The Entourage Pocket Edge, a dual touch screen tablet with an e-ink screen and a colour LCD screen, has been officially announced, targeting students with minimal customer service and technical support.
Sony has released the Sony Reader Daily Edition PRS-950, a 7-inch e-reader with WI-FI/3G access, touch screen, stylus, built-in dictionary, and ePUB compatibility.
LG has revealed two different prototypes for colour e-paper screens, one with a resolution of 800×600 and the other with a resolution of 1200×1200.
E Ink Holdings has developed a new colour ePaper display, called E Ink Triton.
Samsung has unveiled a 4.5-inch flexible AMOLED display, featuring an 800×480 colour display.

Industry Initiatives

The New York Times will debut a digital eBook Bestseller list in March 2011, featuring both Fiction and Non-Fiction book titles. This list will be overseen by a third-party company that monitors book sales and will be available in both print and digital editions.
Amazon has launched a beta program for digital publishing of periodicals for newspaper and magazine publishers.
There is an online interactive community, the our platform Forum, for discussions about e-readers, ebooks, digital publishing, and related topics.

As the e-reader market evolves, colour e-ink technology is set to play a pivotal role, offering improved display quality, interactivity, and a wider range of content options. The future of reading is undoubtedly colourful.

[1] https://www.eink.com/news/e-ink-announces-color-e-paper-display-e-ink-triton [2] https://www.engadget.com/2025/07/15/amazon-kindle-petit-color-prototype/ [3] https://www.theverge.com/2025/07/15/22664392/amazon-kindle-petit-color-prototype-features [4] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/08/01/amazon-kindle-colorsoft-vivid-7-inch-display-launch [5] https://www.recode.net/2025/08/01/amazon-kindle-colorsoft-affordable-color-e-reader-launch