Amazon announces Kindle Oasis

[Crowl]

I think they have seriously messed up with the pricing on this new kindle, if it had come in closer to the voyage's launch price then I would have been likely to get one as the ergonomics of that asymetric design would make it ideal for me, but I took one look at the price and will stick with my voyage.

Plenty were critical of the voyage when it launched and this one go beyond that with no major improvements beyond the new shape.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Kolenka

The bigger bezel for the page turn buttons, and the physical buttons should cut down on accidental page turns that I have experienced. The grip should be a bit better ergonomically than the tapered edge as well.
[...]
Not a fan of the price, but it's not outside my means, and I am interested enough in the changes to give it a shot.

I'm curious to get it in my hands as well, but it is outside my means at the moment.

[Shane R]

Originally Posted by ApK

You can take a already shrinking market and make a new entry that fails to invigorate it.

Do you believe the Kindle ecosystem needs to be reinvigorated?

[shanghaichica]

It's not even waterproof. I have zero reasons to buy this. I'll stick with my voyage.

[Jason90]

Gosh the UK pricing is hideous,thought I'd try it out just for the sake of it but at £100 more than the voyage which in itself is fairly high for being an ereader has made this impossible for me to buy,I don't care about how much cases cost for the voyage in comparison ,I don't want to be forced to buy a case with a kindle because it has lackluster battery and seriously only 8 weeks of battery WITH the cover vs 6 for the voyage without is pathetic.

What a terrible idea Amazon.

If people on eBay manage to get ahold of these without cases for say voyage level of prices I might try it.

Thanks for letting us all down Jeff bezos!

[Yolina]

Having a nosey through the user guide...This isn't going to confuse people. At.All...

'Page turn buttons:
To page forward in a book, press the bottom button. To go back in a book, press the top button. To configure the button to match how you hold your Kindle, tap the Quick Actions icon on the toolbar, then select All Settings. On the Settings page, select Reading Options, then Page Turn Buttons. Note that your settings will apply even if you rotate your Kindle.'

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Shane R

Do you believe the Kindle ecosystem needs to be reinvigorated?

I believe the dedicated reading device market needs to be reinvigorated, if we, as enthusiasts, hope to see further advancements in the near future.

The ecosystem itself I'm sure is doing fine, supported by people happy to read on glaring, back-lit screens.

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by ApK

Removing the other choices would certainly damage the market, but that's not the only way to do it. You can take a already shrinking market and make a new entry that fails to invigorate it.

This ^. Exactly.

[gmercator]

Originally Posted by Avwriter

I am disappointed to see (users guide) that there is no way to charge the cover separately from the device. The port is on the device itself. One of the biggest initial attractions that I thought of would have been the ability to plug in the cover in to charge, and then detach the device and continue reading wirelessly. Every once in a while I find myself needing to charge my Voyage while in the middle of a book that I do not wish to stop reading, and the only option is to read with the device plugged in. This is a lost opportunity to get rid of that problem.

You were thinking exactly what I was....

I looked through the PDF and online descriptions....

It would have been super to be able to charge the "battery-cover" separately, and leave it fully charged, so the Oasis itself could be used outside the cover to read, and then "put to bed" at night inside the fully-charged cover to recharge it.... if the reader needed charging desperately while reading, then you could simply put it in the charged cover and continue...

but I could only see one USB charging port on the Oasis reader itself, so any time either the cover and/or the reader needs charging, they must be charged together?, or perhaps you can charge the Oasis itself separately, but why would you want to insert the USB cable to it without the cover on and risk damage to the reader since it is not designed or meant to be placed on a surface since it is canti-levered in shape?

I am probably missing something, but this sure looks like a lost opportunity for a potentially really useful feature...

[mbovenka]

I'll be staying with my Aura H2O. No reason at all for me to get this.

I want 6.8" and more contrast. And I'll take higher resolution if I can get it, but contrast is more important at the current PPI.

[Shane R]

Originally Posted by ApK

I believe the dedicated reading device market needs to be reinvigorated

Is that Amazon's responsibility...to reinvigorate the entire market...or is their responsibility limited to their subset of customers within it?

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Shane R

For those hoping it will be sold without the case...you'll probably be waiting a while:

The concept of the case reminds me of the Sony T3....

[Pjama]

Hi - I've been following this forum for six years, hacked various kindles along the way following the developer's forum, so great to join finally. And thanks for everything.

I finally had to join to say based on this 'new' kindle, I placed an order for a replacement cover for my Voyage.

Basically, nothing has changed here - the spec is the same, apart from some more lighting - woop, and some clunky-looking buttons - double-woop.

So, by ordering a new cover, I get the excitement factor of getting something new, which is kindle-related, and doesn't cost $310.

It seems a retrograde step, tech-wise - no ambient light sensor (not bothered about that, tbh, but it still is a techie thing), no haptic feedback buttons (bothered about that as I use them all the time).

And my cover is a stand.

Why pay $300 for this when it's not even waterproof - which was the least exciting option I was expecting from this update.

I like the months-long battery life, yes, but do I want the clunky-looking cover to get there? I don't think so.

Still, I'll be interested to hear people's opinions about this when they have it in their hands in a couple of weeks.

This will be the first kindle I have passed on. I'm passing (if I stay strong, that is! ) because this is the same tech in a new body. That's all.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by ApK

I believe the dedicated reading device market needs to be reinvigorated, if we, as enthusiasts, hope to see further advancements in the near future.

The ecosystem itself I'm sure is doing fine, supported by people happy to read on glaring, back-lit screens.

I can't see how a prohibitively expensive device invigorates anything, or are you saying enthusiasts need to shell out the cash for these new devices.

[Shane R]

Originally Posted by mbovenka

I'll be staying with my Aura H2O. No reason at all for me to get this.

Wow. That's an interesting device.

Lack of ecosystem (per that review) is a huge, huge con though.