Amazon announces Kindle Oasis

I'm totally unimpressed and unmoved by this poorly designed ergonomic nightmare. The price is utterly ridiculous. The screen brings nothing to the innovative table other than a few more LEDs (whoopity-doo-dah he says sarcastically), and a bit more resolution. Amazon basically put lipstick on a pig and upped the price!

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by just_jeepin

Nice but too expensive. I would pay $179 for it tops! At $289 it should have also been waterproof!

...plus plastic substrate, solar charger, and card slot.

[Barty]

If this costs $289, what would the speculative liquivista, Alexa / TTS enabled have cost? Lol

I think the reader would cost more than $200 if sold alone. The bundled cover is masking the actual price of the reader.

I'm sure once they get over the sticker shock, plenty of people will buy it. I'm only disappointed that two years after the voyage, Amazon is not pushing tech features forward. But then, they don't have any real competition, do they? (By real competition, I mean something like Android vs iOS, not Windows vs Mac / linux.)

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

...plus plastic substrate, solar charger, and card slot.

Don't forget tuna flavouring.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by Rbneader

Wow. The ergonomics look great, it really seems designed for my use case for ereaders. It's a gorgeous and functional piece of tech. If this had an SD card slot I'd preorder one.

But it doesn't.

So, guess I'm looking at a Kobo for my next ereader. When does Kobo usually announce new tech? Mayish, right?

You do realize that the last released Kobo didn't have an SD slot, don't you?

Shari

[Jason90]

Originally Posted by Rbneader

Wow. The ergonomics look great, it really seems designed for my use case for ereaders. It's a gorgeous and functional piece of tech. If this had an SD card slot I'd preorder one.

But it doesn't.

So, guess I'm looking at a Kobo for my next ereader. When does Kobo usually announce new tech? Mayish, right?

Think natethegreat would have a better idea but yes they have released before in May so could be possible.

Even the current H2O looks appealing to me right now but might as well wait a bit longer to see if an updated model comes soon,i need to replace my damaged PW3 and certainly not doing it with amazon now.

HEAR US KOBO GIVE US WHAT WE WANT AND TAKE OUR MONIESSS!!

[LovesMacs]

I don't think I'll buy this because it doesn't offer me significantly more than what I already have, at a price I'm willing to pay.

[Cinisajoy]

Ok, pretending to be your typical ereader customer.
Yes, it will sell.
Here are the reasons.
Ergonomic. That will lure in many people.
Cover. Means people won't have to spend more money to get a cover. (Yes, I know but the average consumer will think the cover is free.)
Charging cover: even better. Now no worries about carrying cords around. (Yes, I know you still need a cord to charge the cover, but then we are talking average consumer.)
Oh and more lights.
I forgot these three words will sell many: Extended Battery Life.


So yes, the bundle + ergonomic will sell this thing.
Average consumers are being taught that bundles are better.

So Ergonomic, charging cover, extended battery life, more LEDs will sell it.
Typical consumer won't read the details.

[emellaich]

I like it and will quite possibly get one.

To see the ergonomics / shape in action look at the video on the oasis product page. It is the last 'image' in the set of product images and represents a focus group reaction. In the hand the lopsided shape disappears because your thumb covers up the bevel.

It is interesting that the buttons are configurable. I think I would make the top button the page-forward button so I could grip it fully along the side instead of holding it by the bottom corner.

The price is a bump over the Voyage, but not huge because it includes the cover.

However, I am still disappointed. It doesn't include TTS which is the primary missing feature for me.

Another issue is the battery life. The reviews all mention 'about two weeks' without the cover. In Amazon-speak that equals seven hours with wireless turned off. If you forget to turn off wireless, and turn pages frequently (I read fast and use larger fonts) it will drop further (five? hours).

As noted, with the case it is lighter than the comparable Voyage plus case: AVwriter quoted 8.4 ounces for Oasis/case versus 11.1 for Voyage/case, but in this configuration you lose the ergonomic advantage. One interesting note from the specs is that :"Actual size and weight may vary by configuration and manufacturing process". I understand the 3g weight difference, but the manufacturing process might change the weight?

Another loss for me is the lack of an origami case.

Also, in response to discussions earlier about the warranty. AFAIK most credit cards extend the manufacturers warranty. The issue here is with damage not with defects. The $70 square trade warranty includes accidents, specifically: drops, water, and pet damage (it might taste like tuna, after all). I usually don't pay for extended warranties, but this is a situation where it seems to be needed.

So, I like the shape and design and I think it will be much more comfortable to hold and use. However, there are definite compromises in price, battery life and features (no TTS).

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by MikeB1972

Don't forget tuna flavouring.

[Rbneader]

Originally Posted by shalym

You do realize that the last released Kobo didn't have an SD slot, don't you?

Shari

But most of them do. So your point is?

[Yolina]

Originally Posted by MikeB1972

Don't forget tuna flavouring.

The tuna flavouring would really be an issue for those of us with cats though I have enough problems as it is with the furball turning pages randomly for me (she also did with the page turn buttons back in the days of the K3)

[rogerinnyc]

I must admit to being underwhelmed by this new Amazon offering. I own both a Voyage and an H2O, but I tend to use the Voyage more because of its lighter weight, slightly faster response time, the XRay feature and Whispersync with my Android Kindle app. However, I love that the H20 is waterproof and gives you multiple customization options on font size and weight, margins, line spacing, using headers or not (if tweaked). With the added size, it feels and looks more like I'm reading a book. Also, although my Voyage is jailbroken, it will probably be a long time for that to happen to the Oasis, so you'll be stuck with the Amazon screensavers or special offers. The H20 gives you the book cover as your screensaver automatically if you want.

I hope Kobo comes out with a lighter and thinner H2O. I'd be all in.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by shalym

You do realize that the last released Kobo didn't have an SD slot, don't you?

Originally Posted by Rbneader

But most of them do. So your point is?

Of their three current models only one (the oldest) has a card slot, the other two don't. Not that it necessarily means anything for future devices.

[Rbneader]

Originally Posted by Jason90

Think natethegreat would have a better idea but yes they have released before in May so could be possible.

Even the current H2O looks appealing to me right now but might as well wait a bit longer to see if an updated model comes soon,i need to replace my damaged PW3 and certainly not doing it with amazon now.

HEAR US KOBO GIVE US WHAT WE WANT AND TAKE OUR MONIESSS!!

Yes, I'm probably looking at an H2O or one of the Android readers. I'll probably go for the H2O: better software, better support where I live, and the slightly larger screen will make reading technical PDFs and manga/comics easier. There's basically no downsides to getting an H2O now that it's clear Amazon has no intention of making an ereader with an SD slot.