Amazon announces Kindle Oasis

[ApK]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

Did they explicitly say it cannot be charged separately? Or just that it would charge when linked to the reader? Because I just bothered to listen to the podcast here, from a person who had been to a preview which he couldn't mention until the Fixed Announcement Time. He explicitly says that there is a charge port on the case.

Clearly .... the 5 magnetic attachment points on the cover actually ARE a charge point, so even if there isn't a micro-USB spigot on the case, there could be a charger through the 5 magnetic dots. But he does seem to be saying that there is a micro-USB spigot. And until someone gets one in their hands and says not .... or until you can link to another video that explicitly says not ..... this seems to be a rather explicit yes.

It would be nice if the cover could charge separately.
But more importantly, don't ALL ereaders charge their batteries through the ereader? Don't you have to plug all readers in when they got dead and you want to read??? How would not being able to charge the cover separately make things any different?

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Jason90

Then feel the wraith of Chers bubble beam Attack!

Now you are just being cruel and inhumane.

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Thanks Deb.
What I read was if they are both connected, the priority goes to charging the Oasis battery.
So I would assume the charger can be charged separately.

And yes, I would believe the reviewer since the developer never stated the charger couldn't be charged separate but that the Oasis can be charged from the charger.

Note: Amazon had to give the reviewer the Oasis since they are not for sale yet.

Actually, I just listened again (and also looked at the post I quoted): he literally SAID "the case has a USB port".

He also mentions that the screen contrast is improved because the white background is whiter.

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

The clarity of the screen is the same as the Kindle Paperwhite and that's not a premium device. The lighting isn't even adaptive like it is on the Voyage. The design is similar to very old readers except for requiring the use of a cover to get even decent battery life.

So I still have to ask where the premium is except for the price.

Originally Posted by shalym

Sorry...I don't know about the screen on the Oasis, as I haven't actually seen it, but I do have both a PW3 and a Voyage in front of me, and I can tell you that the screen on the Voyage is better in every way, to my eyes. Better contrast, better lighting, better clarity.

I believe that the Oasis uses the screen of the Voyage, doesn't it?

Shari

I know this has already been answered but just to chip in with my own thoughts. As has already been said, the bare stats of two devices having 300 ppi & a Carta screen don't tell the full story - the screen on the Voyage is a step above the PW3, so there's more to it than that. And the fact that Bezos was tweeting about the Oasis, the marketing of it as a premium device, and of course the premium price, all add up to the screen being that little bit better again. Though maybe they are just really excited about it being thinner and lighter, some people get really turned on by that in their tech!

We do know for a fact that they've changed the lighting on it, more lights along the side instead of the bottom, and they'll probably have refined the light guide layer (that seems to happen with every new release). I'm betting it'll be the nicest looking screen on any Kindle we've seen.

I'm still sceptical of the price though!

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by Katie1

Problem with the Case is You have to Charge it thru the Reader! Who wants to wait Hours before they can read again I Don't! My Charge Works great on my Fires & PW. I don't have to wait to read! Not everyone wants the Dumb case.

There is a simple solution for this: get two Oasis devices. When one runs down, switch to the other one, sync, and keep going. The cases will remain fully charged for extended excursions.

[Jack Torrance]

Originally Posted by Barty

This whole forum is one giant first world problem. How dare we waste time talking about e-readers while children are starving. Let's shut it all down, okay?

Sure, have a nice day. We might miss you.

[Jason90]

Originally Posted by shalym

Sorry...I don't know about the screen on the Oasis, as I haven't actually seen it, but I do have both a PW3 and a Voyage in front of me, and I can tell you that the screen on the Voyage is better in every way, to my eyes. Better contrast, better lighting, better clarity.Shari

I'd second this,the screen of the voyage is definitely worth the premium over the PW3 imo.

I haven't seen a single hands on mention weather it's more akin to the PW or Voyage,but if it's the former then my head might explode upon the oasis mediocrity

[mewmartigan]

Originally Posted by Shane R

You could always sell it or just not use it.

Hard to sell it when it only fits one model and that model comes with a case.

And not use it is great...except you had to pay for it anyway.

I agree, case should be option...sell the Kindle on the merits of ergonomics, size, weight, etc. Sell the case as an extended battery separately.

They will probably never sell it separately though as there wouldn't be much to distinguish the Voyage and the Oasis at the same (or near) price. Amazon would just have one or the other at that point. Maybe a Voyage refresh will take design cues from the Oasis.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Katie1

No way to charge the case with out the reader.

Not according to Len Edgerly of the Kindle Chronicles. I emailed him and he specifically responded to my question about a USB port on the cover ...

"Yes, the cover has a micro USB port, and the Oasis has one, too."

So, according to someone who has held one in his hand, the Oasis cover (as well as the Oasis) both have USB charging ports. I guess it's possible he was given a prototype and not the finished product, but that seems to be a stretch.

[WT Sharpe]

Since there seems to be conflicting information on whether the case can be charged separately, I suppose we'll have to wait until one of our members has the device in hand to report to us. In the meantime, I checked the Q&A section at the bottom of the Amazon Oasis page, and found this:

Question: How does the Oasis Charge? It sounds like it charges automatically with the cover on but wouldn't one need to hook up the charger first?
Answer: The USB jack is on the Oasis itself, and the Oasis can be charged with or without the cover on. The cover needs to be attached to the Oasis to charge the cover's battery.
By Ed Neisch on April 14, 2016

Of course, those questions and answers are provided by Amazon customers themselves. If Amazon actually policed that section, I don't suppose they would allow this to be the first Q&A people see on that page:

Question: Is this e reader stunningly overpriced?
Answer: Without a doubt! For a mere $200 more than the Paperwhite at its recurring sale price, you get 4 MORE LED LIGHTS and save 70g so you don't tire your feeble spaghetti arms.
By Nikola Budisavljevic on April 13, 2016

[mewmartigan]

The Oasis user guide makes no mention of a USB port on the cover and all the references to charging are with respect to the Kindle itself either with or without the cover attached.

Having said that, they definitely should have let you charge the cover independently of the Kindle in order to charge it while you read and the slap the cover on and keep reading.

[tubemonkey]

I'm beginning to see Amazon's wisdom in using a docking battery cover to increase the battery life of the Oasis from 2 weeks to 9 weeks. Good move.

With that in mind, I just added a docking station to my Kindle 7 which increased its battery like from 4 weeks to 22 weeks. Wow! Wow! and Wow again!!! I'm stoked!!!

Hey Oasis, how's that 9 week battery looking now?

The beauty of this docking station is that it'll not only recharge my Kindle, but also my Clip Zip, Moto E, and Galaxy Tab. Talk about versatility. What say you Kindle Oasis?

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I'm beginning to see Amazon's wisdom in using a docking battery cover to increase the battery life of the Oasis from 2 weeks to 9 weeks. Good move.

With that in mind, I just added a docking station to my Kindle 7 which increased its battery like from 4 weeks to 22 weeks. Wow! Wow! and Wow again!!! I'm stoked!!!

Hey Oasis, how's that 9 week battery looking now?

The beauty of this docking station is that it'll not only recharge my Kindle, but also my Clip Zip, Moto E, and Galaxy Tab. Talk about versatility. What say you Kindle Oasis?

Don't tease me monkey or the banana gets it. Link this docking station.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by mewmartigan

The Oasis user guide makes no mention of a USB port on the cover and all the references to charging are with respect to the Kindle itself either with or without the cover attached.

Actually, it kind of (ambiguously) does say that.

Micro-USB/power port: You can use the supplied USB cable to connect your Kindle to a computer for charging the battery located in your Kindle and in the charging cover.

[Shane R]

Originally Posted by mewmartigan

I agree, case should be option...sell the Kindle on the merits of ergonomics, size, weight, etc. Sell the case as an extended battery separately.

me, Me, ME!

No...let's see how the business model of selling it WITH the case goes first. Mr. Bezos may have found a rich vein of untapped demand to mine from. If not, no harm done.