Amazon.com Inc. is rolling out a refreshed set of Kindles, including the first model capable of displaying colors since the company began making the e-reader 17 years ago.
The Kindle Colorsoft starts at $280 and will ship at the end of the month, the e-commerce company said in a statement on Wednesday. The model will let s see book covers and images in color 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 color. 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 s 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.
- Matt Day and Mark Gurman for Bloomberg