Amazon adds colour to Kindle for first time in e-reader's history

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Amazon.com Inc. is rolling out a refreshed set of Kindles, including the first model capable of displaying colours since the company began making the e-reader 17 years ago.

The Kindle Colorsoft starts at $280 (C$385) and will ship at the end of the month, the e-commerce company said in a statement on Wednesday. The model will let users see book covers and images in colour and make it easier for people to highlight content, Amazon said.

Amazon has long made the bestselling e-reader, which now faces competition from devices like the Barnes & Noble Nook, Rakuten Kobo and Onyx Boox that already offer colour. The new entry could help keep consumers from defecting to rival models.

Amazon also announced a new version of the Kindle Scribe, a $400 model lets users write notes with a pen-like stylus, and an updated entry-level model for $110. There’s also a refreshed version of the device aimed at young readers.

The company says battery life on the new models ranges from weeks to three months — a selling point compared with tablets or phones, which often need to be charged nightly.

The Kindle, first released in 2007, was Amazon’s first consumer electronics device. It launched at a time when books were essential to the online retailer’s business. More recently, the e-reader has been overshadowed by the company’s march into other corners of consumer electronics, including the Alexa digital assistant, Ring video doorbells, and Fire-branded tablets and TV streaming devices.

Amazon has said that its Kindle business is profitable, largely thanks to book and subscription revenue. Sales last year hit their highest level in a decade, with most purchases coming from first-time owners, the Seattle-based company said.