Kindle Oasis Buyer's Thread

[Sydney's Mom]

Anyone know what the battery life is with the kindle out of the case? In case I want to read caseless. At least it will be easier to get the kindle out of the case!

[HarryT]

They say 2 weeks (the usual 30m a day with medium light and WiFi off). Ie about 7h reading time. So probably as much as most people would want to read in a day.

[Sydney's Mom]

Thanks. It sounds like it would be great, but given the price, and given that my Fire 5 has blueshade and TTS, I can't justify it. But I will think of some reason. The battery life on the Fire 5 is terrible (okay for a tablet, and it is not marketed as an ereader), and I have to take it out of the case to charge it (the charging port is too loose), which is a pain. But, as I say to my daughter, who says everything I do is annoying, if annoyed is the worst thing, she is pretty lucky.

[howyoudoin]

Originally Posted by detayls

Unlike almost everyone that has whinged about the high price, I actually believe that Amazon probably started with an even higher price and that this price is quite tight for them.

The price of the Voyage is $200. The price of the Amazon leather cover is $60. So the bundle is $260.

From what I can tell the hardware of the Oasis is an improvement in almost every way so it should probably have been at least $220 on its own. The addition to the case of the larger internal battery is likely to have caused the initial pricing to have been higher for a separate case, say $90. So the bundle is $310 initially.

Someone at Amazon then had a worry about a HUGE howl from purchasers who decided to save money by not buying the case. The internal battery of the Oasis is very small so it has a short battery life. This clearly was forced by the hardware design/build teams. So why not bundle the two and ONLY sell them as a bundle.

This solves one problem but causes another. The price. So initial pricing for the bundle was probably set at $310, which would have been easy to justify.

Someone then had the idea to remove the separate charging port on the cover and light sensor to reduce cost. Bingo the bundle can now be $290.

Of course, I ordered one! It's actually very well priced. People are so funny.

A truly revolutionary post. On first glance appears to present a radical new thought approach to the pricing criticism, but upon further reading turns out to be a rehash of the arguments already made over the past week.

[badgoodDeb]

It *might* explain why one reviewer explicitly said there was a charging port on the cover, when the videos we can find, in no way show one. "detayls" has a very interesting take on how the pricing may have come about! And, so, maybe there was a charging port, on even the late trial-run models. Guess we'll know real soon now.

[Steve H]

I am getting one. Wifi for now -may upgrade to 3G before delivery...Pricey but highly used gadget!

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by Steve H

I am getting one. Wifi for now -may upgrade to 3G before delivery...Pricey but highly used gadget!

I think the wait list for 3G is not as long...just saying.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

It *might* explain why one reviewer explicitly said there was a charging port on the cover, when the videos we can find, in no way show one. "detayls" has a very interesting take on how the pricing may have come about! And, so, maybe there was a charging port, on even the late trial-run models. Guess we'll know real soon now.

It's only one person that reported this AFAICT, and it's probably a mis-statement. There is plenty of negative evidence in the form of other 'first look' reviews, photos, videos, and the user guide itself.

And if you think about it, it would not be of much help to charge the cover independently. It would not allow you to extend your 'detached' and ergonomic reading session, you'd have to attach it to continue and thereby sacrifice some comfort. Much better would be to have a (relatively inexpensive) portable USB charging device, at least then you'd only have a wire hanging off the top/bottom while you continue to read.

Obviously at some point you need to plug everything into the electrical grid and recharge, but between the storage capacity of the cover and supplemental portable sources you might have had the foresight to have, you can meet any off-grid challenge in comfort.

[NullNix]

Originally Posted by tomsem

And if you think about it, it would not be of much help to charge the cover independently. It would not allow you to extend your 'detached' and ergonomic reading session, you'd have to attach it to continue and thereby sacrifice some comfort.

You'd have to attach it to the cover, but not tie yourself to the wall.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by NullNix

You'd have to attach it to the cover, but not tie yourself to the wall.

I've been known to do the latter.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by NullNix

You'd have to attach it to the cover, but not tie yourself to the wall.

You don't tie people to walls. You duct tape them to the wall.

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

You don't tie people to walls. You duct tape them to the wall.

And here talks an expert...

[emellaich]

Originally Posted by detayls

The price of the Voyage is $200. The price of the Amazon leather cover is $60. So the bundle is $260.

Actually, the price comparison may be closer than that. The voyage has two leather covers. A leather cover for $60 and a premium leather cover for $85. The premium leather features: a ruggedly smooth finish that will patina naturally with use. In the video that I watched the Oasis leather seemed to look like the more premium type.

So the comparable Voyage + Cover price may be $285.

[howyoudoin]

Originally Posted by emellaich

The premium leather features: a ruggedly smooth finish that will patina naturally with use.

I love the optimism of the companies here. Devices are built with obsolescence (planned or unplanned, that's a whole another debate) and chances are the cover will outlast the device by a long margin, only that it'll be useless patina without the device.

[emellaich]

Originally Posted by howyoudoin

I love the optimism of the companies here. Devices are built with obsolescence (planned or unplanned, that's a whole another debate) and chances are the cover will outlast the device by a long margin, only that it'll be useless patina without the device.

Yeah, plus its funny how they successfully play with the minds of the consumers.

You've got this smooth (plastic, metal, glass) electronic gizmo. Logically the best match would be a cover that carries on that look/finish. However, the extra 'luxe cover is the one with 'natural' leather that has natural imperfections and a patina. Kind of like buying new jeans with artificial rips and tears.