Tag Archives: Kindle

Amazon Won’t Build This Kindle Remote, So BOOX Did It for $26

Posted on by

E Ink readers have steadily become better at mimicking the feel of paper, but getting through a book with one still requires the same thing it always has: tapping the screen to flip a page. It’s a minor interruption that adds up over a long reading session, and while third-party ring-style page-turners have tried to address it, they haven’t exactly been the most reliable solution.

BOOX, the brand behind a well-regarded lineup of E Ink readers and tablets, now has its own take on the problem. The Tappy is a compact two-button Bluetooth remote that lets you control your device without touching the screen. It’s the kind of accessory that BOOX fans have quietly wanted, and one that Kindle users have been asking Amazon to make for years.

Designer: BOOX

The Tappy’s appearance takes some cues from a miniature typewriter, with two large, round keys on a compact body that fits comfortably in one hand. A small indicator light on the left side doesn’t leave you guessing about pairing status, mode changes, or battery level, while a level-style power switch keeps accidental presses from being a nuisance. Two spare keycaps are also included in the box.

Those two buttons do quite a lot, actually. The Tappy operates in three distinct modes, each built for a different type of content. Reading Mode handles page-by-page navigation, Browsing Mode lets the buttons scroll vertically through web content or documents, and Multimedia Mode turns them into playback controls for audio. You won’t need more than a five-second hold of both buttons to switch between them.

Picture settling in for a late-night read with your e-reader propped on a stand, flipping through pages without reaching out. Or standing in the kitchen with your hands full, scrolling through a recipe without getting the screen dirty. The Tappy adapts naturally to these situations, and it doesn’t break the immersion of the moment by demanding you reach over and interact with the screen.

Multimedia Mode adds another layer to what the Tappy can do. An audiobook listener lying back can skip chapters or pause playback without sitting up. A commuter with a bag in one hand and coffee in the other can get through content without fumbling. The same two buttons handle all of it, which is part of why the Tappy doesn’t feel like a niche gadget.

A 95mAh rechargeable battery keeps the Tappy running for weeks before it needs a charge, and there’s a USB-C port for fast charging when that time comes. The Bluetooth connection reaches up to 33 feet, well beyond what most reading setups require. That extra range, however, means it can double as a basic media remote for a smartphone, laptop, or even a sound system.

The Tappy pairs with any Bluetooth-enabled device, not just BOOX hardware, which makes the $26 price feel reasonable for what it delivers. It’s a focused little tool that doesn’t try to be more than it needs to be. For anyone who reads regularly on an E Ink device, it quietly removes one of the last remaining physical interruptions that keeps the experience from feeling truly seamless.

The post Amazon Won’t Build This Kindle Remote, So BOOX Did It for $26 first appeared on Yanko Design.

Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition finally catches up with the eReader trend

Posted on by

The eBook reader, a.k.a. eReader, market has grown considerably since the very first Kindles, now encompassing a more varied range of devices and capabilities. There are plenty that are really Android tablets in disguise, and some have gone beyond the blacks and grays of conventional E Ink devices. Despite all these advancements, Amazon’s devices are still the household name in this market, but the Kindle seems to have fallen behind its rivals in features. It wasn’t until late 2022, for example, that Amazon launched its first pen-enabled Kindle, the Scribe, and now it’s making another step forward with its first-ever Color E Ink device, the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition.

Designer: Amazon

Color E Ink isn’t a new technology, but Amazon has been very slow to embrace it. On the one hand, its core audience and the bulk of its library are centered around plain text eBooks anyway so it might not have been a high priority. But with more electronic documents embracing color and eReaders offering functions beyond just basic reading, it was definitely high time for a Kindle to follow suit.

The Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition brings Amazon’s eReader family up to snuff, slapping a 7-inch E Ink Kaleido screen on a very familiar design. Of course, it also comes with a few Kindle innovations, like custom-formulated coatings between display layers to enhance the typically dull colors of Color E Ink, micro-deflectors to minimize stray light, and an oxide backplane for better image quality and faster page turns. There’s also 32GB of storage on board and support for wireless charging, the latter a rarity in this device category.

With a $279.99 price tag, the Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition is quite pricey compared to other Color E Ink devices, such as the BOOX Go Color 7 and Bigme B751C, both of which have a more open Android operating system. In this regard, the Kindle Colorsoft probably only makes sense for people already hooked or locked into Amazon’s ecosystem, which includes comics and other colored documents.

Amazon also launched new editions of its existing Kindle devices, upgrading the pen-enabled Kindle Scribe with the ability to make in-book annotations using the stylus. The new Kindle Paperwhite also promises even faster page turns with a larger 7-inch display that still manages to be its thinnest Paperwhite. On the flip side, Amazon has officially discontinued the Kindle Oasis, the last of its kind in the Kindle family to have physical page-turn buttons.

The post Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition finally catches up with the eReader trend first appeared on Yanko Design.