I can't wait for full colour ereaders

PUMP ME FULL OF E-INK

There’s a war going down. Fans of digital books and physical ones are engaged in an endless battle, each side adamant of their superiority and refusing to back down.

But, just like some sort of fiction-obsessed Jesus, I’m here to heal this divide: both are great.

Here’s a simple checklist: Are you reading? And having fun? Then you’re doing fine.

I do want to lob a small grenade into this peace though. While paper books haven’t really changed much (in a good way), neither have ereaders (in a bad way).

Yeah, ereaders have been getting better — e-ink screens are crisper with higher refresh rates, loading books on devices has become incredibly streamlined, and their general build quality has increased — but these are incremental, rather than geological changes.

It’s a bit disappointing. For now. Because there’s one burgeoning advance I’m rubbing my hands together in glee about: colour ereaders.

One of the major drawbacks of current ereaders is most of them have black-and-white displays. While this has altered in recent years with a trickle of colour e-ink screens hitting the market, most of these models are Just Not Very Good At All.

The technology is improving, but most colour ereaders are from no-name brands that have janky software, poor build quality, and abhorrent user experience. There’s also a weirdly expensive shit cherry on top of that poop pie: many of these devices sell for north of $300.

But! Would! You! Believe! There’s! A! Reason! I’m! Writing! This! Edition! Of! The! Rectangle! Right! Now!

Basically, Kobo — AKA the non-evil ereader maker — has announced two colour models: the Libra Colour and the Clara Colour. These will launch at the end of April for $150 and $220 respectively.

Finally, at long long last, a big brand that makes quality devices is dipping its toes into colour ereaders.

And my god I’m hyped. Why? Well, one word: comics.

I’m a graphic novel devotee, but I’ve never really perfected the best way to read them. Although I love getting physical editions, I’m particular about keeping them in pristine condition, so I won’t take them out or about — and even rarely read them in bed.

Currently, I do most of my comic reading using an iPad, and while this works well, the brightness is irritating at night and it means I have to carry another device around with me.

A colour ereader is the holy grail of solving this puzzle.

Now, there is a caveat. My dreams won’t be realised quite yet.

The colours on Kobo’s new ereaders are quite pastel-y, which means that comics won’t pop the way they do on an iPad. Also, with a small e-ink screen, it’s unlikely comic formatting will be up to scratch.

On an iPad, you can view a whole page of a graphic novel, zooming in and out of specific sections. This won’t be possible on an ereader, so for comics to work properly, you’ll most likely have to view them in multi-panel sections, which will require work from publishers to achieve.

But, one day, this will all arrive — and it’ll be glorious.

Having something the size of a paperback novel in my pocket that holds thousands of books and hundreds of graphic novels is a dream.

So here’s my pitch, if you’re reading this Great God Of Technology, I’m willing to round up a lot of fans of physical books and sacrifice them on an altar to you. Let me know, okay?