Verge Report - Amazon Rep comment on Colorsoft Issue

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by Hollow Man

It's interesting that there may be another firmware out there. At this point, however, I'm skeptical that is going to solve the color issue (but we can hope!). As near as I can tell, this issue affects all devices. Some people just don't see it; you have to know what to look for (it helps to turn it upside down).

If I think about it, I don't understand how Amazon is going to get new hardware in people's hands by the end of the month. They're going to get this fixed, tested, manufactured, sent over from China, and to customers, by then?

The firmware obviously exists since mine is running it; of course it has not shown up for download, and there may be yet another version by the time it does. I cannot say whether it fixed anything because it's the only version my Colorsoft effectively has had. I did not notice any color issue during setup prior to the update FWIW.

I guess we will see how this plays out.

[Hollow Man]

The whole thing with people claiming on Reddit that the issue wasn't there before the update is a red herring. I can see in their pictures the issue is there. It just can be tricky to see on lower lighting conditions (plus their room lighting!), plus based on what the warmth is set to.

For people doing video reviews? Because of all those factors and then some, in some shots of their video I can't see it, then 5 mins later in the video, I can see it. I can say, via my own photos I've taken, cameras do a very good job of hiding the problem.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I agree. Not many people would have an account on Amazon US who live outside the US.

Everyone whose country has no Amazon store of their own has an account at Amazon US (that is, if they buy Kindle books, of course).

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by Hollow Man

The whole thing with people claiming on Reddit that the issue wasn't there before the update is a red herring. I can see in their pictures the issue is there. It just can be tricky to see on lower lighting conditions (plus their room lighting!), plus based on what the warmth is set to.

For people doing video reviews? Because of all those factors and then some, in some shots of their video I can't see it, then 5 mins later in the video, I can see it. I can say, via my own photos I've taken, cameras do a very good job of hiding the problem.

I have never placed much credence in how it looks in videos/photos. And given how complex and varied 'normal' human vision is, one cannot put a lot of trust in that either. Surely I can trust my own eyes, though? maybe...

[Hollow Man]

I cannot speak for you, but there are videos I've seen online from people who say they don't have the issue, and it's there.

Right now, as I look at my own device, under my office's fluorescent lights, it's very difficult to see. But at home under warmer lights...much easier.

[Hollow Man]

Here's an example of a guy on YouTube who says he doesn't have the issue, but if you take a close look at the bottom of his screen, it's there. I suspect all the external lights he needs to use to get a good exposure on the video are making it harder to see the problem.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by Hollow Man

Here's an example of a guy on YouTube who says he doesn't have the issue, but if you take a close look at the bottom of his screen, it's there. I suspect all the external lights he needs to use to get a good exposure on the video are making it harder to see the problem.

If the guy in the video cannot see it, the display is perfect.

At least with my monitors and ambient lighting, the region in your posted image appears as light grey and I don't see a transition.

I had to load it into Photoshop to confirm there's a sharp transition, primarily due to a downward shift of B, so towards yellow hue. But the value range remains small, and total of R+G+B doesn't change much either. It seems my brain is doing something reasonable, or at least not doing anything that would reduce my chances of survival and passing on my DNA, if I were to engage in reproductive activity.

Evidently your color perception is more sensitive, for better or worse. I am not color blind, at least with the usual color tests.

I will try to capture a good camera image of my Colorsoft and see what Photoshop reveals.

There is also something called OLED PWM/Flicker (Pulse Width Modulation) sensitivity, which causes eye fatigue in some people. I'm glad I don't have that issue! OLED screens are perfect!

[Hollow Man]

As I said, in my office, due to the overhead lighting differences, the issue is reduced vs my home. There are a lot of variables that affect the image at any given point and time. Taking a screenshot of a YouTube video, and then posting it here, is going to inject all kinds of additional artifacts.

But the issue is there, and it is bad enough for Amazon to halt all shipments.

[Frogm4n]

Originally Posted by Hollow Man

They had refurb ones this week, but in my opinion, it's way too expensive for a used device that's around 5 years old, and who knows when they'll stop pushing out updates.

2028: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custo...3LDHSB5YM9BYF7

[Hollow Man]

It's nice that it's that far out. I admit that I still couldn't pay the price they ask for a used, old unit. It's too bad they didn't refresh the line this or last year.

[jackm8]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Everyone whose country has no Amazon store of their own has an account at Amazon US (that is, if they buy Kindle books, of course).

I've an account on amazon.de, amazon.co.uk, but not on amazon.com.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by jackm8

I've an account on amazon.de, amazon.co.uk, but not on amazon.com.

Where do you buy your Kindle books?

From KDP Ebook Distribution Rights page:

If you don't hold worldwide rights to sell and distribute your title, choose Individual territories. Then, indicate the territories in which you hold rights. This will limit sales of your publication to the selected territories only. Below is a list of territories included in each Kindle Store:

US Kindle Store: United States
UK Kindle Store: United Kingdom (including Guernsey, Isle of Man, Ireland, Gibraltar, and Jersey)
DE Kindle Store: Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Switzerland
FR Kindle Store: France, Monaco, Belgium, Switzerland, and Luxembourg
ES Kindle Store: Andorra, Spain
IT Kindle Store: Italy, San Marino, Vatican City, and Switzerland
JP Kindle Store: Japan
NL Kindle Store: Netherlands
BR Kindle Store: Brazil
MX Kindle Store: Mexico
CA Kindle Store: Canada
IN Kindle Store: India
AU Kindle Store: Australia, New Zealand

Customers located in the available territories not listed here can purchase your book from the US Kindle Store, or Amazon.com

[Hollow Man]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Why is it Amazon US will ship a Colorsoft in a few days yet Amazon UK will take a few months.

From the UK: FREE delivery 10 February - 17 April for Prime members

The ship date for USA has now slipped to end of December.

It will be very interesting to see if they will still, as they promise on their site, honor a replacement outside of the return window.

[Quoth]

Many non-Kindle products can be bought in ANY marketplace and you MUST buy a gift voucher on the marketplace where it is to be spent, irrespective of marketplace of buyer or redeeming person.

Irish customers can use UK or USA for Kindle content, but not at the same time (you swap) and it applies to ALL kindles on the same account. The availability and price used to be USA, but now seems to be Ireland and simply Dollar equivalent of UK£ (but Ireland uses Euro).
KDP doesn't differentiate UK & Ireland for availability and Euro prices only apply to Marketplaces that use Euro. But big publishers can exclude Ireland from UK prices.

Also Amazon seems to do "personalised" pricing now! The same title can be 78p or £1 for two users in the same Irish city.

it's a mess!

Irish people might often buy from Amazon DE rather than UK because even with "free" shipping on UK (min £35 now) the DE price including shipping can be cheaper and no exchange rate shennanigans. DE offers English. Due to Brexit some UK items don't ship to Ireland now.

There is an Amazon warehouse in Ireland but no Market place. Their system (and ebay) is broken. There should ONE site where you separately pick country, currency and language and then search should only return what ships.

I can search and buy many items on USA, UK and DE. Sometimes it says on the web page it doesn't ship, sometimes only at the checkout.

Also why no shopping basket option on ebooks?

The Publishers are also "broken" in their unofficial carve up of the world especially in English content.

I've bought actual Kindles on USA market place and UK marketplace for Ireland. It's unpredictable what they offer where.

I've bought UK publisher paper books from USA Marketplace mysteriously unavailable or not even listed on UK. This is apart from the stupidity of USA & UK often using a different title for the exact same edition, or a USA version of UK book having USA spelling and grammar (never done in reverse to USA titles).

[Quoth]

I only needed to create a new account for Japan on Amazon.
Both eBay and Amazon the same login details seem to work on any site.