Amazon announces Kindle Oasis

[Crhis]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

The Kindle Oasis with cover is 238gms

Ah that's where the 5g number came from then. I'd say that's a little misleading.

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by Barty

Just buy something else, right? The problem is the alternatives are not great. Kobo does not have TTS either. Their software seems buggier. They don't sell in any U.S. stores. (But I'm inching closer to buying a kobo.)

Yup, TTS aside the Aura H20 seems like a good fit for you.

[Josieb1]

The only option for TTS for kindle is to buy the cheap Fire and use whispersync to keep the ebook and TTS in sync. For ePub you can use a tablet in the same way by importing the ePub into Moon Reader for Android or Voice Dream for ios, yes you have to buy the software, and have a suitable tablet, but TTS is just not coming back to ereaders any time soon.

[Erich Zann]

Originally Posted by Crhis

Ah that's where the 5g number came from then. I'd say that's a little misleading.

The whole Oasis concept is misleading. Or to be more accurate ambiguous. The 131g device is very attractive (light, ergonomic…) but has a very small battery life. Start a book with a battery at 100% ; after ~three hours, you may expect a 50% remaining battery life. If you plan to finish the book, you'll probably have to plug the cover or to fear an empty battery before the end of your book. That's for the 131g device.
When people are speaking about a 2 months battery life device, they have to mention the whole Oasis concept: device+cover. And this is a 238g concept.

For people reading from ½ hour to 4 hours (a vast majority I's say) it's not an issue. They will benefit from a 131g device for reading — with a protecting cover ensuring the same battery life than any other e-reader with no effort. The concept is brilliant in my opinion. But in some case (extreme or not depending on the people's habits) the concept won't work due to their reading time.

I would mention another issue people have not figured yet and add that a such small battery, being discharged and charged every day, won't probably last very long (one year? two years?) before serious drop. And I'm not talking about memory effect (which never occurs with Li-Ion battery) but from normal usage. Imagine that after two years the battery life will be the half of what it used to be: the internal battery won't ensure you two hours of reading before a battery alert. That's highly uncomfortable. On the other side, a ½ capacity internal battery from any other reader will still be OK for reading a dozen hours. At last… It's still very confortable for any reader.

[344a]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

The only option for TTS for kindle is to buy the cheap Fire and use whispersync to keep the ebook and TTS in sync. For ePub you can use a tablet in the same way by importing the ePub into Moon Reader for Android or Voice Dream for ios, yes you have to buy the software, and have a suitable tablet, but TTS is just not coming back to ereaders any time soon.

TTS is like a zombie talking, and you can't really enjoy the content of the books.

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

I'd like to see both as well.

Waterproofing shouldn't prove too difficult, but I'm not sure if they can offer a flexible substrate yet. Last I'd seen eInk was only making Mobius screens available in 13.3" for the big Sony device (& now the new Onyx & Netronix ones) and in a small sub 2" size for smart watches and stuff. Until eInk gets their Mobius screen manufacturing to where they're offering 6" screens in that format (& in quantity) it would seem we're stuck with Carta screens. Unless Amazon starts developing their own screens in a tech similar to eInk or moves to a different screen tech I think 300ppi Carta is the best available right now.

What happened to LG's display that the Wexler Flex used 4 years ago? that was 6 inch.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by 344a

TTS is like a zombie talking, and you can't really enjoy the content of the books.

TTS is much better than it used to be, and yes I agree, but most readers like to have the option, including me which I why I have all three options I mentioned.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by JoHunt

Here’s Why Amazon’s New Kindle Oasis Will Be a Dud



http://www.fool.com/investing/genera...-be-a-dud.aspx

The Motley Fool is always trying to stir up controversy so you'll follow their link to see their ads. I don't know how many times they've stoked the Samsung vs Apple debate using similar headlines. I ignore them (and few others like them) now. I absolutely don't take anything they write seriously.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Erich Zann

The whole Oasis concept is misleading. Or to be more accurate ambiguous. The 131g device is very attractive (light, ergonomic…) but has a very small battery life.

It's not that small of a battery life -- a lot of people read with cell phones or tablets now and manage to get by. But it's not like you're not going to carry it in its case anyhow -- which you can also use for charging (or reading). But you may have a point about the constant re-charging of the Oasis' smaller battery.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

The Kindle Oasis with cover is 238gms

And what's a Kobo Aura H20 with cover?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Jason90

The UK price is the reason its borderline criminal,$270 does not equal £270!

Not even apple is that obnoxious

The Oasis isn't $270. It's $289.99. But that's for the Special Offers version which is only available in the US. Without special offers it's $309.99

Today's exchange rate is $1:£0.705400

$309.99 = £218.67

But the US list price is before any sales tax. And in the UK we have VAT included in the list price:

£218.67+20% = £262.40

Actual UK list price: £269.99

It's a high price, but not out of line with the US price.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by rcentros

And what's a Kobo Aura H20 with cover?

I have mine in a Gecko Slim fit waterproof cover and it weighs 360 grams. Remember this is a larger screen ereader at 6.8 inches so it will weigh more than the Oasis.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by disconnected

But of course I’ve ordered an Oasis anyway.

It seems that most of the hands-on reviewers at first had a negative impression of its shape but found -- after using a bit -- that they liked the way it fit in their hands. I won't -- personally -- pay $300 for an eReader but I can still appreciate it how light and thin it is.

I'll be waiting to hear from folks who have bought one of these once they get to use it for awhile.

[Erich Zann]

Originally Posted by rcentros

It's not that small of a battery life -- a lot of people read with cell phones or tablets now and manage to get by.

A cell phone or tablets probably have a better "battery reading life" than what the limited 250 mAh will provide. From my computation posted in this thread yesterday, it'll be close to 5 hours of continuous reading (though 6…7 H of intense reading is probably closer to reality).
A cheap cellphone with poor battery life is able to do 7H of Netflix on WiFi: this consumes more than 7H of basic reading — a performance the naked Oasis is probably not able to do.

[Yolina]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

It's a high price, but not out of line with the US price.

The € price is where the difference really is. Even with p&p to the UK, you'd save approximately £50.