thank you to everyone for their helpful comments and sharing of their experiences. i appreciated hearing them all. i got my Oasis 1 yesterday, and in short, i'm disappointed although i guess it matches much of what is discussed above...
based on my typical usage patterns (backlight 7-12 range)
- there is definitely a color gradient. it's more prevalent than what i had on my Oasis 2. probably ignorable, but that will take some mental gymnastics to overcome noticing it.
- i have two areas on the screen where i see distinct light cones that to me are probably more distracting than the gradient. it's something my attention is drawn to and what led me to exchange several paperwhites previously.
- comfort: this is the biggy: it's definitely much lighter than the Oasis 2 which is a big plus for it, but i still find myself struggling to find a comfortable way to hold it. i am guessing its designed to be held some one's thumb is near the page changing buttons. if i somehow end up keeping it, it may be something i just have to get used to. it's strange, maybe it's habit of using a Paperwhite for 3 years, but what i thought was an unorthodox uncomfortable holding method (forming an L with my pointer finger and thumb as a ledge to hold the device) turns out to be more comfortable than either of my short term experiences of grasping the Oasis 1/2 to access the turn buttons. my L method does sort of work ok with the Oasis 1 (since it's so light, but because it is tapered, it doesn't balance as well, surprisingly as my PW3 does)
what i think is most disappointing (this, the color gradient, and cones may be symptoms of just trying to get a good deal on a refurbished unit which passed Amazon lack QC standards) is the the page turn buttons are not super reliable. it seems that sometimes (1 in 8 tries), the button just doesn't work or there is a huge lag in page turning.
so...i'm being the ultimate OCD consumer here: i now have Voyage on the way so i can hopefully pick one unit and just move on from this huge time sink of trying all these devices out. what i thought was going to be a fun upgrade to a Oasis 2 has turned into a pot-hole filled journey (the reason this started in the first place is my PW3 backlight "switch" seems to be faulty and i can't always get the backlight to come on).
i'm hoping that maybe, just maybe, the Voyage will be the best compromise -- getting a pristine screen, and something slightly lighter than the PW3 that i can continue to hold using my awkward but effective grip i've developed over the past 3+ years of using a PW2 and PW3. (PW2 is now used by my wife)
i know for certain the Oasis 2 is going back (just need to drop it off to UPS). there's a small chance of me keeping the Oasis 1, but it really doesn't feel like an improved reading experience over my PW3 (except that it's backlight is unreliable)... (my wife thinks that i should just get another PW given what i've experienced thus far and spend the extra money on more books
thanks again for your feedback and sharing. this is an awesome community!