Amazon Kindle Fire HDX Release: Blue Display Tint Due To Design Decision, Not Manufacturing Defect

Amazon.com Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) newest line of tablets -- the Kindle Fire HDX -- has some customers feeling blue. They report that when they read books on white backgrounds, and view websites, the Kindle Fire HDX has a blue or purple tint around the edge of the display.

Amazon has updated the tablet’s product description in response. The Seattle-based company says the Kindle Fire HDX has a pale, blue haze around the tablet’s edges due to a design decision. It is not a manufacturing defect, they say: “To achieve the perfect color accuracy on Kindle Fire HDX 7" at the lowest possible battery consumption and device weight, we used blue, not white, LEDs.”

The blue LEDs used around the edge of the Kindle Fire HDX’s screen draw less power to light the display, allowing for longer battery life and a 20 percent “improvement in power efficiency,” Amazon says. The Kindle Fire HDX’s blue LEDs also allow for a more “accurate” and “rich representation of color.” The company points to several professional reviews, all of which praise the newest Kindle for its screen in the pop-up notification. It loads after users click on a “Learn more” link in the Kindle Fire HDX’s product description.

“As a result of using these blue LEDs, you may notice a very narrow, faint blue tint around the edge of the device when looking at items with a white background, such as books or web pages. All displays have some level of light emission around the edges, and the light on the Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch is blue due to the technology used to render perfect color accuracy.”

The company added the notification following a string of complaints in the “customer reviews” section of the site. Some customers called it a “HORRIBLE (sic) VERY OBVIOUS blue/purple line” while several others complained, describing it as a purple or “blue haze.” Amazon only updated the description for the 7-inch version of the Kindle Fire HDX, while the 8.9-inch version is unchanged. The company has not responded to a request for comment on whether the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HDX uses the same blue LEDs, and will be subject to the same issues when it is released on Nov. 7.

Here is the full text of Amazon’s statement:

We want you to know...

Kindle Fire HDX features the best display we have ever built on a 7" device, with unsurpassed pixel density (323 ppi) and perfect color accuracy (100% sRGB). The difference is noticeable:

"The new HDX display is one of the most gorgeous screens I have seen in a long time" —GigaOM

"The screen is the real draw on the HDX. At 1920×1200 pixels, images pop, movies look great, and text looks completely solid without a jaggie or pixellation in site" —TechCrunch

"The Kindle Fire HDX 7's crowning glory is undoubtedly its display" —SlashGear

To achieve the perfect color accuracy on Kindle Fire HDX 7" at the lowest possible battery consumption and device weight, we used blue, not white, LEDs. Blue LEDs allow for a much more accurate and rich representation of color and result in an up to 20% improvement in power efficiency.

As a result of using these blue LEDs, you may notice a very narrow, faint blue tint around the edge of the device when looking at items with a white background, such as books or web pages. All displays have some level of light emission around the edges, and the light on the Kindle Fire HDX 7" is blue due to the technology used to render perfect color accuracy.

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