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The Amazon Kindle is one of the most popular e-readers you can buy. Sure, Amazon isn’t offering the support it once did — the company is sunsetting support for devices such as the Kindle 4 and Kindle Fire HD 7 – but the Kindle name is still going strong, as demonstrated by the latest versions.
Two of Amazon’s newest Kindle models include the Kindle Scribe 3rd Gen and the Kindle Colorsoft. The former is basically a Kindle with a large screen that provides more room to read and fit text, but it also lets you write. Meanwhile, the latter, as its name suggests, brings color screens to the Kindle ecosystem — a must for anyone who uses the Kindle to read digital comics. But these are only a sample of the device’s capabilities.
The latest versions have added features that weren’t available in prior incarnations, including software integrations and AI functionality. And yes, these are actually useful. Instead of manually summarizing your notes, you can ask AI to do it for you. Moreover, you can now store your notes on a multitude of cloud platforms, including Google Drive and OneDrive. The latest Scribe and Colorsoft also support Dark Mode, which is a lifesaver when reading in the dark. Read on to discover the new features that Amazon has introduced in these latest Kindle products.
Send to Alexa+
Alexa is Amazon’s proprietary virtual assistant, and Amazon recently upgraded it to Alexa+, adding new features and AI tools. In February, Amazon introduced “Send to Alexa+” functionality to the latest Kindle Scribe and Colorsoft. The feature’s name says it all: You can send any notes you write on your Scribe and Colorsoft — as well as any documents — to Alexa+, which makes them available on other devices that are part of your Alexa network. Let’s assume you want to write down a vacation schedule and transcribe it into a Kindle Scribe. Alexa+ can add these plans to your calendar, create reminders, and even offer suggestions.
You can also view your shared documents on a device in the Amazon Fire TV family directly or ask Alexa+ for a summary or insight into them. However, you can only use this specific functionality if you have a Prime membership, which might be worth getting considering it brings a host of other perks.
Cloud integration
Storing your files is easier than ever thanks to cloud technology. Services such as Google Drive back up files for you — sometimes even as you write them. This advancement makes backing up data less of a headache, and the latest Kindles now offer the same peace of mind.
The latest Kindle Scribe supports the ability to upload notes (and notebooks) onto Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Microsoft OneNote. From there, you can access your Kindle’s notes on any device with access to these cloud services. Simply open the document you want to save, tap on the screen to open the toolbox, then select the share icon in the top-right corner. Then open the share menu, choose the drive you want to use, and select “Upload.” If you want to upload an entire notebook, you must first open the notebook, tap on the top of the screen to open the toolbox, and select the share icon. Tap “Share entire notebook.” Then select the cloud service you want to use, choose your preferred format, and finally tap on “Upload.” The format option is crucial because depending on the service, it will either save your handwriting as an image or convert it to text.
While this feature makes it easy to store and share your documents, it has some limitations. First off, Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive will only accept PDF documents, whereas Microsoft OneNote only accepts PNG images or text files.
AI-powered tools
AI is a double-edged sword. Many companies seem to jump the gun and shove AI features into software that works just fine without it. And while AI slop filling your social media feed can be plain annoying, AI generally does a good job taking notes and organizing jumbled thoughts.
The latest Scribe models support two potentially useful AI tools. The first scours your library for specific information. Simply tap the top search bar, type in the keywords you want to search, and hit “Enter.” This feature is perfect for research or if you want to find a specific quote in your books. You can also use AI to narrow its search and only sift through your notebooks to find the data you need – perfect for people with disorganized notes.
The Scribe models also offer generative AI to provide summaries of your notes. Sure, you wrote them, but if they are jumbled stream-of-consciousness-type documents, you can ask an AI to help organize your thoughts. Simply open your notebook, tap the GenAI icon, select “Summarize,” pick whether you want to summarize the current page or the entire notebook, and tap “Start.” You can also use the AI model to refine your work. Instead of selecting “Summarize,” pick “Refine,” and follow the same instructions. Of course, Kindle’s AI model isn’t perfect. Your notes need to include at least 25 words, and the AI can only summarize up to 15 pages and refine up to 10 pages of handwritten notes.
Dark Mode
The Kindle Colorsoft is the Game Boy Advance if the original Kindle was the Game Boy. More processing power, a larger screen, and of course the all-important color display. But a common complaint was how the Colorsoft’s menus and homepages tended to flashbang readers who wanted some good nighttime reading. But then Amazon rolled out an update.
In April of this year, Amazon introduced a Dark Mode for the Kindle Scribe and the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft. This new lighting mode is easier on the eyes than standard modes, and while it normally applies to all of the Kindle’s menus and apps, you can customize the feature to only activate on certain screens.
In order to use Dark Mode, you need to update your Kindle Colorsoft to the latest version. Once your device is running the newest OS, swipe down from the top of the screen to open the Quick Actions menu, then select “Dark Mode.”
Smart Shapes
Drawing takes a ton of practice, and even when you become an expert, drawing straight lines freehand can prove your undoing. That’s where tools come into play, and the latest Kindle Scribes have a built-in feature that helps artists of all stripes sketch the straightest lines and crispest corners every time.
When Amazon rolled out the Dark Mode update, the patch also included the “Smart Shapes” feature for the Kindle Scribe and Kindle Scribe Colorsoft. As its name suggests, Smart Shapes translates sketches in your notes into simple shapes, including arrows, squares, lines, and triangles. Simply draw the shape in one go, and when you’re done, keep the stylus on the screen for a few seconds. The Kindle should transform your sketch into a clean shape. But it gets better. After Smart Shapes is done converting the sketch, you can drag various points on the shape to stretch, squash, and rotate it. Smart Shapes also provides several options to further customize the image, such as thickening the border line. Once you’re done, just tap outside the picture to finalize the figure.
Different shapes have different customization options in Smart Shapes. For instance, you can fill in a shape with color or transform a regular arrow going in one direction to a double-headed arrow. Also, since the feature relies on you to draw the shape first, it might take a few tries to make it recognize what you are trying to sketch. As with Dark Mode, you need to update your Kindle Scribe and Kindle Scribe Colorsoft to the latest version to use Smart Shapes.
