New Amazon Kindles-Including Color; YouTube Rolling Out New Miniplayer & Updates; Threads Option-Shows When You Are Online; Taiwan Semiconductor to Build More Chip Plants in Europe

Amazon has announced new Kindles, including a first…a new color model. Theverge.com reports that the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition…which is a lot like the updated Paperwhite with a color screen…is priced at $279.99 and you can preorder now. It ships on October 30th. It is still based on E Ink’s Kaleidoscope tech, but uses an entirely new display stack as compared to other Kindles. The new tech also allows for faster page turns. Kevin Keith, who runs Kindle products for Amazon said “All the things you think about with Kindle — high resolution, long battery life, fast page turns, good fluidity — we weren’t willing to sacrifice those.”  The goal was to offer a color screen that still looked just as good as the Paperwhite in black and white, and he’s convinced Amazon got there. Amazon also freshened the Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite. The Paperwhite gets a bigger screen that is totally flush with the bezels, and the entry level model gets a pop of color and speed improvements. The standard Paperwhite is increased in price by 10 bucks and is now $159.99. the Signature Edition is $199.99, and is identical to the entry level model, but has 32 gigs of storage, optional wireless charging, and an auto-adjusting front light. The entry level Kindle has a new dark mode and is 25% brighter with improved contrast. It starts at $109.99, up $10 from the previous model.

The YouTube app on both Android and iOS is getting a new MiniPlayer. According to 9to5google.com, instead of a second bar above the bottom bar with a tight rectangular crop, play/pause, and an x, the new player looks like a picture-in-picture window. The video appears above with a close button in the corner, and a strip at the bottom with controls. You can resize the window if you like. YouTube also rolled out some playlist updates, and the ability to create custom thumbnails using your own images or with AI. 

Threads has added an ‘activity status’ now, to let you choose to let people know when you are online…as well as see when accounts you follow are online if they choose to disclose that. Theverge.com says the feature is being pitched as a  “way to help you find others to engage with in real-time.” At least that is what Threads head Adam Mosseri is pitching. The activity status will show up next to your profile picture in the feed and on your profile. It is off by default, by the way.

We have followed the progress of new chip plants from TSMC…Taiwan Semiconductor….here in the US. Now, thenextweb.com notes that they are planning to expand further in to Europe, too. TSMC broke ground in August on a plant in Dresden, Germany. The German government will kick in half the funding with 5 billion Euros in aid. Right now, Europe makes about 10% of the world’s supply of semiconductors, but most are older school…not the advanced ones made in Taiwan or even here in the US. Most of what will be made in the German plant will be for automotive and industrial use. TSMC didn’t comment on where other facilities may go, saying they wanted to get the ones being built up and running first. This one should be producing by 2029.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.