Actually, color ereaders aren't a lost cause yet.
There remains one last hope.
Liquavista.
It's been just long enough time since Amazon bought them to get a first-gen product out the door some time this year. Their dual layer patent suggests they are looking to do a "spot color" reader with high res b&w text and mid-res color regions.
http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/0...-kindle-plans/
Something to keep an eye out for.