New "top of the line Kindle" details coming next week

[beninma]

This thing is definitely ugly but it's still intriguing. Personally I don't find the Voyage particularly comfortable to hold as the weight is pretty evenly distributed and there isn't much room to place your fingers on the side without hitting the buttons. Having it be thick on one side with plenty of bezel to hold onto and super light on the other side should make it really comfortable to hold and much more balanced than the Voyage.

But it doesn't really look like a compelling upgrade just for that.. and I just got a new iPad anyway so the timing is not good. They should have announced these before the new iPads. The screen on the new iPad is so good it might have eliminated my desire to use the Kindle anyway as it goes much darker than before and NightShift makes it even more comfortable to use. Can't tell yet though as I'm reading a paper book anyway, the paper book is more annoying to use than any of these devices!

The other thing with the Oasis is it looks like the cover can't be used as a kickstand like the Voyage. I use the Origami cover on the Voyage as a kickstand almost daily to read while eating or any other time I have the kindle out on a Desk, table, etc..

[tubemonkey]

Lack of a flexible substrate and waterproofing will be a deal breaker for me. Price is also a consideration, but not an automatic deal breaker like the previous two features.

[Conan46]

Weight and battery were not even close to being on my radar, fairly happy with both on my Paperwhite 3. A bigger screen would have gotten my attention, even an inch bump up in size would have been nice.

[Steve H]

When I first viewed the leaked photos of the probable Kindle Oasis I was underwhelmed...asymmetrical, 6" and Eink. But this e-reader looks to improve on a really well made device, the Voyage. Owning both a Paperwhite 3 and a Voyage I can appreciate the Voyage's screen improvements. IMO the Paperwhite 3 is good-the Voyage is better and with the Oasis's possible addition of 4 more LEDs this screen could really be a step up. These additional LEDs will probably make the screen look more white outdoors, with the light cranked up, than the Voyage. As it is, because I tend to keep my screen brightness high I BURN through the Paperwhite 3 and Voyage battery life. Battery improvements I will take.

Page turn buttons that I anticipate Amazon has nailed. I doubt they will be the click-clack buttons that the Kindle Keyboard and Kindle DX had. My guess- silent, easily to use and reliable buttons.

Weight- While in one sense as a big guy weight does not matter -a lighter device can help the device take a backseat to the reading material. It's not just a weight improvement- that angled, chiseled back and weight distribution toward the palm should make holding it a joy.

There are things I still want and will directly request them from Jeff Bezos and the Kindle Team:
Larger form factor
Font and formatting advanced control
More storage/removable storage

...but for now I think I am going to buy

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by ApK

[..]but as solar cells are getting better and cheaper, it's more a matter of "why NOT have solar?"

Originally Posted by latepaul

There's also the fact that it's free energy and it is seen as greener. (whether it actually is or not...)

Unless something drastically happened with solar cells, they are far from being eco friendly. Sure, once built they create "green" energy. If it wasn't for wasting more energy during production than they can ever hope to recover throughout their useable lifetime. It is great when away from other power sources, but I wouldn't call it "green", not even if the production facility used green renewable energy themselves when making the solar cells. It is still a huge waste of energy no matter how you look at it.

Solar power is very very energy efficient, e.g. when using it to warm up water during the day and storing it for later. When it comes to producing electricity, not so much.

[Scarpad]

thing is butt ugly, I want a slightly larger eink screen I'd bite on an updated PW or Voyage with an 8inch higher rez screen

[lkmiller]

Originally Posted by latepaul

I love the way everyone assumes their needs/wants/preferences/usage is typical and that anything that doesn't meet them is an abject failure!

A lot of people do make that assumption. I've discovered my own preferences are unique or at least uncommon enough times that I've learned not to anymore.

In this case, I'm just kind of stunned by how thoroughly this doesn't appeal to me. It's like they set out to make sure I wouldn't want one. I was hoping to be excited about it, and I'm happy for anybody who still is.

[Jason90]

Steve H it only has battery improvements with the added case thus negating the new design and weight benefits.

Your either getting a device with potentially better ergonomics whilst taking a hit to the battery life or a thicker and heavier device than the voyage for the sake of longer battery life.

Not sure why amazon couldn't improve battery and refine the voyage design but there you go.

[latepaul]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Unless something drastically happened with solar cells, they are far from being eco friendly. Sure, once built they create "green" energy. If it wasn't for wasting more energy during production than they can ever hope to recover throughout their useable lifetime. It is great when away from other power sources, but I wouldn't call it "green", not even if the production facility used green renewable energy themselves when making the solar cells. It is still a huge waste of energy no matter how you look at it.

Sure, which is why I said "whether it actually is...".

But my point was there were other reasons to want a solar-charged device than simply, "it'll last longer when not near a wall socket". And to be a reason to want the thing it only has to be perceived to be greener, not actually be.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Jason90

Steve H it only has battery improvements with the added case thus negating the new design and weight benefits.

Nope. Not if (like someone else has already mentioned) you only use the case for storage/transport. Read naked, store/charge in the easily removeable case. I only ever used a case to make a device easier to hold one-handed in the first place. If the magnets make it easy/quick to get in and out of the case, I'll read without the case and still realize all benefits.

If I buy it, of course.

[howyoudoin]

Originally Posted by emellaich

As a continuation of your thought... and anyone who wants to use it differently from them is an idiot.

I think what needs to be kept in mind here is that there's choice.

Some people wanted real page turn buttons, some people like the ergonomics of the wedge shape. They now have the added choice.

Those who don't like these features - things haven't changed at all for them. The previous models are still available for purchase. Competing companies still sell ereaders. The current ereaders these people own still exist and function for the purpose they bought them. Companies aren't obliged to put out ereaders with features they did not promise explicitly, and which for now exist solely in wishful thinking threads as we have seen in the weeks leading up to now.

[lkmiller]

Originally Posted by Shane R

Don't study the size and shape of your eyes or feet, then. Or the length of your arms. The lengths of your digits...the size and shape of...well, let's just say asymmetry abounds in nature.

Come on...those are variances, not intentional asymmetry. There's nothing wrong with the back of the Kobo Aura HD, but holding that thing is incredibly distracting for me. This Kindle would drive me bonkers. I said I knew I was weird about this.

[sun surfer]

Originally Posted by emellaich

So, as I think about this. I believe its designed to be used 'naked' with the cover being used to store it.

My take is that the asymmetrical design will prove to be ergonomically excellent. With the weight in the palm of your hand and a wider grip, plus the notch to tuck your fingers over, it will be more comfortable to hold.

The problems is that the cover takes a lot of that away. The cover hides the notch, evens out the weight so that is not in your palm and removes the thinness of the protruding edge.

The key is that one of the Chinese leak translations referred to the fact that the magnets made the cover easy to put on and easy to remove. This is only an advantage if you are going to be frequently removing the cover.

I like this concept, but I have two concerns. 1) I hope the screen is extra durable (flexible, but scratch resistant?) in case I drop it cover-free; and 2) When I am mobile I won't have anywhere to set the cover down, so I hope it still works as an attached cover even if its not the ideal scenario.

If this device is real, the easily removable cover is what may be most appealing to me alongside the bulk of weight being situated to one hand. Ereaders have become lighter and lighter so it's less noticeable now even with the cover always on my current reader, but still after prolonged reading my hands and wrists tend to tire a bit. But a reader that's lighter than my current one, and I can easily remove the cover before using, and the weight cradles into the hand I'm holding it with? That sounds like a major weight improvement taken altogether.

I'm not a fan of page turn buttons though at all (I like the haptic sensors on the Voyage and before that preferred swiping or tapping) and this leaked Oasis design doesn't seem all that aesthetically appealing at first glance - specifically, the wider edge seems wider than it needs to be - so I'm not sure if I'd want one of these over my Voyage. The question that comes to me is - Is this really supposed to be more premium than the Voyage? So far I just don't see it besides the weight. I could see it being the mid-range premium below the Voyage but if they're going to charge more for this than the Voyage it just seems odd at first glance.

[AkiraReader]

After losing their shirt over the Kindle DX, you can bet Amazon is not increasing the size of the Kindle any time soon. IMHO of course.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by latepaul

I love the way everyone assumes their needs/wants/preferences/usage is typical and that anything that doesn't meet them is an abject failure!

obviously.