Amazon announces Kindle Oasis

[Conan46]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

That's the stupidest reason for leaving out a feature that a lot of people want. 3g adds weight. So don't offer 3g and make it waterproof.

It seems it would have been incredibly simple to waterproof this new Kindle. Have charging port in the cover, and completely seal the actual Kindle. At that high price I think it is hard to justify It Not Being Waterproof

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Bob B

Best one yet.

I thank you

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Conan46

It seems it would have been incredibly simple to waterproof this new Kindle. Have charging port in the cover, and completely seal the actual Kindle. At that high price I think it is hard to justify It Not Being Waterproof

Unfortunately, Jeff has succumbed to Jobs' Cult of the Thin. The thinner it is, the less it'll weigh. Amazon says waterproofing adds weight and we can't have that.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

That's the stupidest reason for leaving out a feature that a lot of people want. 3g adds weight. So don't offer 3g and make it waterproof.

Yep, very flawed reasoning. They could've offered waterproofing as an option for those who want it and don't mind the extra weight. After all, they offer 3G as an option and that adds weight to the device.

[Avwriter]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Did someone mention that the light level is NOT automatic? If so, that's one of the things I really love about my Voyage - not having to fiddle around with that aspect at all.

I just checked the comparison chart on Amazon, and you are absolutely right. Only the Voyage has the adaptive light. I did not notice it before, and am a little surprised that not many other people seem to have noticed it either.

After the initial learning curve to figure our how to get the Voyage trained to my liking, I am totally addicted to the adaptable light. It has become one of my favorite features. Thus the Oasis would feel like a step down to me. I'm definitely sticking with my Voyage.

[Conan46]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Unfortunately, Jeff has succumbed to Jobs' Cult of the Thin. The thinner it is, the less it'll weigh. Amazon says waterproofing adds weight and we can't have that.

Yeah, I'm not buying the 'added weight' argument. Especially as Kobo could do it without making their device into a 'brick'

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Conan46

Yeah, I'm not buying the 'added weight' argument. Especially as Kobo could do it without making their device into a 'brick'

Kobo must be cheating. The Jeff can't be wrong

[Yolina]

I'd love to know exactly how much extra weight waterproofing adds

[issybird]

Originally Posted by NullNix

Well, no, it doesn't. However, UK prices are, by law, quoted inclusive of VAT, 20% in this case: so the ex-VAT price that goes to Amazon (from my receipt) is £228.32: factor in the likely cost of a case of this quality, using the Voyage and PW figures (~£50 + £10 VAT) gets you ~£170 as the ex-VAT cost of the device itself.

US prices are generally quoted ex sales taxes, making direct comparisons without adjusting for this invidious.

No sales tax in my state. Not so invidious as all that.

[emellaich]

Originally Posted by Conan46

Yeah, I'm not buying the 'added weight' argument. Especially as Kobo could do it without making their device into a 'brick'

My opinion (don't know the facts, just my opinion)

You can't do something special by trying to do everything. Not saying right or wrong, but if your one design goal is to make the reader disappear then you focus on that and saying no to everything else.

Waterproofing would not make much difference. Neither would TTS. You could put in just a bit more battery. Make it just a bit larger screen. The problem is that all of them together add up. It might still end up being a great ereader, but not one that feels weightless in your hand.

Note: I'm not saying I agree with their decision. I would have given up weight to see TTS. I am just saying that their decision was to do everything to build a weightless ergonomic device and to leave out things that detracted from that.

Only the market will tell us whether this goal was as important to premium consumers as waterproofing is to you or TTS to me.

[tubemonkey]

I just priced a fully loaded Oasis at $512.96 before taxes. Such a bargain.

• $289.99 -- Oasis
• $70.00 --- Wi-Fi plus 3G
• $20.00 --- wo/ Special Offers
• $99.99 --- three-year protection plan
• $19.99 --- official 5W charger
• $12.99 --- NuPro screen protector

[emellaich]

Originally Posted by Buran

Walnut cover release date is now May 4 -- my order has been delayed accordingly. That's strange as the black Kindle still ships on the original date.

Why would the ship date for an entire cover be pushed back after the announcement has already happened and customers have ordered with ship dates promised?

This likely means that walnut is the most popular choice or at least the one that they ran out of first. Early purchasers still have an April 27 date for walnut.

[Shane R]

Originally Posted by emellaich

You can't do something special by trying to do everything.

That's really deep.

[Shane R]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I just priced a fully loaded Oasis at $512.96 before taxes. Such a bargain.

• $289.99 -- Oasis
• $70.00 --- Wi-Fi plus 3G
• $20.00 --- wo/ Special Offers
• $99.99 --- three-year protection plan
• $19.99 --- official 5W charger
• $12.99 --- NuPro screen protector

You said you never purchase protection plans.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Shane R

You said you never purchase protection plans.

I don't, and I wouldn't purchase the other options either. I was merely totaling up what Amazon offered to see how hard a hit one would take.