The Colorsoft’s software is almost identical to other Kindle devices. There’s a Kindle search bar at the top of the page for browsing your Kindle library or searching the Kindle store, followed by a menu button (four dots) that brings up settings for Your Lists, Goodreads, Amazon Kids, Web Browser, Household Sharing, and Settings. You can also create a collection from this menu. The search bar and four-dot menu remain at the top of the screen whether you are in the Home tab, which shows some of your personal book collection and recommendations from Amazon, or the Library tab, which displays all of your books. 

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

Reading settings are also the same. Tapping on the Aa button brings up Themes, Font, and Layout tabs, where you can adjust the font size, line spacing, margins, and more. You have fewer options when reading a comic, as just the Page Refresh, About This Book, and Page Turn animation toggles are available. Swiping down from the top of the screen brings up the Quick Settings menu, where you can switch the page color from white to black as well as control the brightness and warmth of the light. The Quick Settings menu also lets you tap into Airplane Mode, Bluetooth, Sync, and all Settings.

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

You can purchase books directly from the Kindle Store on the device or from your phone or computer. You can also send your own documents to the Colorsoft through Amazon’s Send-to-Kindle service. You can send library books to your Kindle through the Libby app by tapping Send to Kindle during checkout. Amazon uses its Whispersync technology to sync your content across all of your devices and the company offers free cloud storage for your book and audiobook purchases.

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

The Colorsoft doesn’t have ads on the lock screen, which typically costs $20 to remove from standard Kinlde moves. To customize the lock screen, you can choose between the book cover of your current read or Amazon’s generic wallpapers.

The company offers four years of security software for the device but doesn’t specify whether it will receive full OS updates.

While Amazon’s software focuses on simplicity, Onyx Boox puts its emphasis on customization. You can adjust every aspect of your reading experience, from changing the E Ink refresh rate to refining the space between every character in your text and everything in between. You’ll also have full access to all of the apps on the Google Play Store, which means you’ll be able to read all of your books from third-party apps, like Amazon, on your Boox device—albeit without the full reading customization options you get from Boox’s own NeoReader app.