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Amazon Reveals its First Color Kindle E-reader after Years of Development

Amazon's Kindle e-book app is seen on an iPhone in an illustration taken April 11, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Amazon's Kindle e-book app is seen on an iPhone in an illustration taken April 11, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Amazon Reveals its First Color Kindle E-reader after Years of Development

Amazon's Kindle e-book app is seen on an iPhone in an illustration taken April 11, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Amazon's Kindle e-book app is seen on an iPhone in an illustration taken April 11, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Amazon on Wednesday announced its first color Kindle e-reader following years of effort to bring the more immersive device to market.

The 'Kindle Colorsoft' carries a $280 price tag that compares with similar devices from other manufacturers available on Amazon in the range of $149 to $330. The Colorsoft relies on LEDs and other technologies to achieve the color display, according to a company statement.

Amazon had tried in prior years to develop color e-readers using eInk -- the technology available in its standard Kindles that requires minimal battery power. The Colorsoft will have a roughly eight-week battery life, compared with up to three months for its latest generation Paperwhite e-reader, Reuters reported.

The Seattle retailer also unveiled a new Paperwhite with a 7-inch screen, measured diagonally, two-tenths of an inch larger than the most recent generation's. It also revealed an updated Kindle Scribe e-reader, which allows users to jot onto the screen with a stylus and convert that into more legible text.

Users' in-book notations can be summarized by artificial intelligence software that can convert pages of notes into bullet points, the company said.

Amazon is still the market leader in e-readers, commanding more than three quarters of the market, by some measures. The devices are built to last for years and the company has said it sells them for close to cost, making money when people purchase books or other reading materials.

The COVID-19 pandemic fueled a surge in e-reader use, as many libraries stayed closed to enforce shelter-in-place policies but still offered wireless downloads of e-books.

Kindles are often put on sale during discount events, such as Prime Day. The Colorsoft will ship to customers on Oct. 30 and the new Scribe will ship on Dec. 4.

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Impostor Uses AI to Impersonate Rubio and Contact Foreign and US Officials

Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a signing ceremony for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the State Department, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a signing ceremony for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the State Department, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
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Impostor Uses AI to Impersonate Rubio and Contact Foreign and US Officials

Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a signing ceremony for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the State Department, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a signing ceremony for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the State Department, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

The State Department is warning US diplomats of attempts to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio and possibly other officials using technology driven by artificial intelligence, according to two senior officials and a cable sent last week to all embassies and consulates.

The warning came after the department discovered that an impostor posing as Rubio had attempted to reach out to at least three foreign ministers, a US senator and a governor, according to the July 3 cable, which was first reported by The Washington Post.

The recipients of the scam messages, which were sent by text, Signal and voice mail, were not identified in the cable, a copy of which was shared with The Associated Press.

“The State Department is aware of this incident and is currently investigating the matter,” it said. “The department takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information and continuously takes steps to improve the department’s cybersecurity posture to prevent future incidents.”

It declined to comment further due to “security reasons” and the ongoing investigation.

One of the officials said the hoaxes had been unsuccessful and “not very sophisticated.” Nonetheless, the second official said the department deemed it “prudent” to advise all employees and foreign governments, particularly as efforts by foreign actors to compromise information security increase.

The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“There is no direct cyber threat to the department from this campaign, but information shared with a third party could be exposed if targeted individuals are compromised,” the cable said.

The FBI warned in a public service announcement this past spring of a “malicious text and voice messaging campaign” in which unidentified “malicious actors” have been impersonating senior US government officials.

The scheme, according to the FBI, has relied on text messages and AI-generated voice messages that purport to come from a senior US official and that aim to dupe other government officials as well as the victim’s associates and contacts.

It is the second high-level Trump administration official to face such AI-driven impersonation.

The government was investigating after elected officials, business executives and other prominent figures received messages from someone impersonating President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles. Text messages and phone calls went out from someone who seemed to have gained access to the contacts in Wiles’ personal cellphone, The Wall Street Journal reported in May.

Some of those who received calls heard a voice that sounded like Wiles, which may have been generated by artificial intelligence, according to the newspaper. The messages and calls were not coming from Wiles’ number, the report said.