Prototype color Kindle spotted in the wild — smaller, cheaper and a better display?

Kindle Colorsoft
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Amazon may be testing out a new smaller Kindle with a color display. Recently, a post appeared on the Kindle subreddit (spotted by The Verge) that showed off a device labeled as a prototype Kindle.

The Redditor, Successful_Bear4855 writing in Portuguese, shared a couple of images, one of which showed the device with the name Kindle Petit Color in the corner of the screen. The poster does claim that the name hasn’t been finalized by Amazon yet.

They went on to say that the device will launch in November of this year. The Kindle ColorSoft is among the best Kindle e-readers, but has been hard to recommend because of its much higher price.

The display on Petit Color is supposed to be much better than the one on the Kindle Colorsoft, with a greater density of color and the ability to adjust the intensity and saturation of individual colors. The poster also said in a comment that you can change the colors of the icons, like the battery, wifi, and shopping cart.

The text of an ebook you're reading can also be colored and will transition from say black through four different colors as you progress. Alongside the status bar, this would be an additional visual clue telling you how much of an ebook you’ve read.

At first glance, the prototype appears to be similarly sized to the basic black-and-white Kindle, though the poster says it will be smaller than the 11th-generation version of the Kindle. Successful_Bear added that the prototype does not feature a screen light, but the final edition will have one.

Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition
Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition: $279 at Amazon

The Kindle Colorsoft has all the benefits of a Kindle, but now with a great color display. Perfect for reading graphic novels or seeing your book covers in color. It is on the more expensive side compared to other Kindles, but it delivers on adding color to the Kindle experience.

For skeptical readers, this post is a bit vindictive on the part of the Redditor. Using Google Translate, the title of the post reads, “Amazon broke their part of the contract, so I came to break mine.”

All of these details are unconfirmed, so take them with a grain of salt. In response to a comment saying the poster was about to lose their job, they said that they had cut ties with Amazon but still had plenty of information to leak, including marketing materials and future Kindle models. We’ll be keeping an eye on this in case they have more to share.

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Scott Younker
West Coast Reporter

Scott Younker is the West Coast Reporter at Tom’s Guide. He covers all the lastest tech news. He’s been involved in tech since 2011 at various outlets and is on an ongoing hunt to build the easiest to use home media system. When not writing about the latest devices, you are more than welcome to discuss board games or disc golf with him. He also handles all the Connections coverage on Tom's Guide and has been playing the addictive NYT game since it released.

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