People have started receiving orders for amazon's first color e-reader, the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition, and many say they are disappointed to find a faded, yellow stripe at the bottom of the screen. Complaints about the $279.99 e-reader's screen have spread online and lowered its star rating on amazon, and some reports, customer service representatives say a fix is on the way.
The discoloration may be fixed with a software update, as one responder said posted a screenshot in which a customer service agent appeared to confirm that amazon is working to fix it. Several people said in another thread that the problem did not appear until after an initial software update, so there may be something to that. We've reached out to amazon for comment.
It's not immediately clear how widespread the problem is. On the amazon website, where amazon.com/All-New-amazon-Kindle-Colorsoft-Signature-Edition/dp/B0CN3XR57P/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3DXQ1HY2X6N04&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.odyIKo3I8_5ZD5hIH8NlCP88dFW7Y3QgWhVpmjjGQjTHGm05OFZ6CpiDTr7vk6_V5X2uF3anUWrMk7wzmUkbrC8ofl1MDHSzEKsbJI0jNRBv3tm0d5506gEfXuE8uj7nYNjLa7HLcvvA2ak32355BgBQ5JUkUTnO9-7LDsfnJA5yk5jVUtNp7TWtxkQ35F12Yv2xDWK2H51Z6AZ7qBmaOhUmuKvm9dM3bInqx8aGpMo.YgGFqirhjgL2fIK4l103yiDLt807Rv5YIOSnxolDe8c&dib_tag=se&keywords=color+e-reader&qid=1730575047&sprefix=color+e-reade%2Caps%2C124&sr=8-4&tag=theverge02-20″>Kindle Colorsoft has an average rating of 2.6 stars at the time of writing, a large portion of amazon.com/product-reviews/B0CN3XR57P/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_viewopt_sr?ie=UTF8&filterByStar=positive&reviewerType=all_reviews&pageNumber=1&filterByKeyword=yellow&tag=theverge02-20″>both good and amazon.com/product-reviews/B0CN3XR57P/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_viewopt_sr?ie=UTF8&filterByStar=positive&reviewerType=all_reviews&pageNumber=1&filterByKeyword=yellow&tag=theverge02-20″>bad reviews Point out the discoloration. Some say the yellow bar is barely noticeable, while others say it's too distracting to keep.
Our own review unit of the new e-reader falls into the first category: The edgeAndrew Liszewski, who is testing the device now, said the discoloration is more obvious in pictures than in real life, and he wouldn't have noticed it if it weren't for complaints from others. You can see for yourself in the images below.
