Amazon announces new 7" waterproof Oasis with 32GB storage option

[ElspethB]

I'm so excited about this release! It's everything I'd hoped the Oasis would be. For a year now, I've been going back and forth about whether to buy the Oasis, even going so far as to put it in my cart on occasion. But I wasn't crazy about the charging cover and the lack of adaptive lighting, and I couldn't justify the price especially when I have a Voyage I love. This new one fixes those issues and adds a larger size and waterproofing. I'm in!

I'm trading in my spare PW2 that I keep at work for reading on my lunch hour. It's in perfect working condition, so the $35 I should get for it, along with the $20 credit toward a new Kindle, will help. I'm waiting to pre-order the Kindle until I get that credit, but I've already ordered the water-safe fabric cover in Indigo.

Can't wait to get it!

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ElspethB

I'm so excited about this release! It's everything I'd hoped the Oasis would be.

Me too! In the thread about the press event I wrote:

An eInk device with a flush screen and 32GB storage would be nice...

and that's exactly what we've got .

I'm waiting to pre-order the Kindle until I get that credit, but I've already ordered the water-safe fabric cover in Indigo.

I wouldn't wait too long to pre-order. If a device is popular (as I'm sure this one will be) delivery dates can start escalating from release date to weeks or even months later if the initial manufacturing run sells out.

[93terp]

Originally Posted by 344a

Personally, I really hope that Kindle could release a faster device than a bigger device.

according to the CNET review I posted above, the new Oasis does have a new processor - dual core 1GB. By "new" I'm assuming the reviewer means new to the Kindle (eInk) product line.

[ElspethB]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I wouldn't wait too long to pre-order. If a device is popular (as I'm sure this one will be) delivery dates can start escalating from release date to weeks or even months later if the initial manufacturing run sells out.

I was concerned about that, too, Harry. The only thing is, I wasn't sure if I could apply the $20 credit toward a new Kindle if I'd already ordered it before receiving the credit. I am shipping the PW2 back today, so I hope to have the credit soon, at least a week before the Oasis release date. However, maybe I should order the Oasis now and then call CS to get the credit applied to the order.

Thanks for the advice.

Edited to add that I just ordered it and the delivery date is now November 13! Glad I didn't wait any longer! Thanks again.

[tdonline]

My excitement was tempered by the 7 inch screen rather than a 8. But I'm back on the wagon after reading a post over at the e-reader blog. Basically that the Oasis has comparable actual text screen space as the 8 inch KAO since the latter has large header and footer footprints. So that about negates the biggest positive for moving to Kobo. The font and accessibility updates also negates my complaints about the PW's limited screen/reading options.

Since I'm an avowed non-early adopter, I'll wait for actual user reviews. I don't mind waiting if it means giving time to Amazon to iron out the kinks.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ElspethB

Edited to add that I just ordered it and the delivery date is now November 13! Glad I didn't wait any longer! Thanks again.

Lucky you ordered now. Goodness knows what the delivery date will be in a week's time!

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by tdonline

My excitement was tempered by the 7 inch screen rather than a 8. But I'm back on the wagon after reading a post over at the e-reader blog. Basically that the Oasis has comparable actual text screen space as the 8 inch KAO since the latter has large header and footer footprints. So that about negates the biggest positive for moving to Kobo.

Perhaps the blogs you're reading don't know much about Kobos. Any Kobo owner who wants to reduce the size of the header and/or footer can do so. They can even reduce them both to zero if they prefer a "full-screen reading experience".

By all means choose to buy Kindles but if you're posting logic for others to read it's better to use fact not fiction.

[344a]

Originally Posted by 93terp

according to the CNET review I posted above, the new Oasis does have a new processor - dual core 1GB. By "new" I'm assuming the reviewer means new to the Kindle (eInk) product line.

That's good.

Since I can't buy any Kindle device easily in Hong Kong, I hope I can see and try the new Kindle next month in Japan when I visit there. I know Amazon is selling it online. But still I hope I have a chance to try it before I buy one.

[knc1]

Originally Posted by 93terp

according to the CNET review I posted above, the new Oasis does have a new processor - dual core 1GB. By "new" I'm assuming the reviewer means new to the Kindle (eInk) product line.

Most likely.
The SoC used on PW2 and newer models comes in one, two, and four core versions.

[tdonline]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

Perhaps the blogs you're reading don't know much about Kobos. Any Kobo owner who wants to reduce the size of the header and/or footer can do so. They can even reduce them both to zero if they prefer a "full-screen reading experience".

By all means choose to buy Kindles but if you're posting logic for others to read it's better to use fact not fiction.

This is ridiculous.

I am not a Kobo owner but am aware there are ways to reduce the size of the header and footer. But the fact is that you actually have to take action to do so. My understanding is it's not simply a selection you make out of the box. You don't have to deal with it at all with a Kindle. I've read it's a fairly simple patch solution, but again, it's not something a new Kobo owner would know unless they took the time to research it. It's not something they can simply find in the reader's menu. Again, this isn't even an issue with a Kindle so a new owner wouldn't even have to research a solution.

You could have offered more details or nuances or useful info in addition to my post that would have been genuinely helpful instead you opted to go with a haughty tone and unnecessary last statement. Pity.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by tdonline

You could have offered more details or nuances or useful info in addition to my post that would have been genuinely helpful

... and if this thread was in the Kobo forum I (and probably several others) would have been happy to post full details, but it seemed totally inappropriate in this particular thread in the Kindle forum. Rest assured I won't be troubling you with any more Kobo facts.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by 93terp

CNET's review is out.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by tdonline

You could have offered more details or nuances or useful info in addition to my post that would have been genuinely helpful instead you opted to go with a haughty tone and unnecessary last statement. Pity.

This seems a little disingenuous since you said that finding out that the reading area of the new Oasis was the same as the KA1 tipped you toward the Oasis, but it turns out you knew this isn't entirely accurate. If you're interested, it doesn't even require a patch to eliminate the header and footer entirely on Kobos, but only a very trivial hack that even someone with no skills can manage in less than a minute. More granular adjustments do require a patch and some skills.

My own take on this device is that it's great that the Kindlers have finally got a larger screen* option, which has always been my top criterion going back to my PRS-950. I think Audible integration is less valuable than it seems, at least for me, since I think the Android/iOS Audible apps are far superior to the native Audible function on Amazon devices. Even when I'm listening to an Audible book on an Alexa device, for example, I'll stream it from another device because of more and better playback options. I also think an audiojack would have been handy in addition to Bluetooth capability.

But that's me and I'm invested elsewhere, mostly. Sometimes I think it would be handy to have a Kindle because of the cool things Amazon brings to the table, but I can never quite justify it. The size of this got me thinking,; fortunately rationality triumphed.

*I'm not counting the mammoth DX.

[tdonline]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

but it seemed totally inappropriate in this particular thread in the Kindle forum. Rest assured I won't be troubling you with any more Kobo facts.

Apply that logic to the tone of your posts and see how much better the conversation flows.

[tdonline]

Originally Posted by issybird

This seems a little disingenuous since you said that finding out that the reading area of the new Oasis was the same as the KA1 tipped you toward the Oasis, but it turns out you knew this isn't entirely accurate. If you're interested, it doesn't even require a patch to eliminate the header and footer entirely on Kobos, but only a very trivial hack that even someone with no skills can manage in less than a minute. More granular adjustments do require a patch and some skills.

How is it disingenuous? Out of the box, KAO and Oasis, according to the post I cited, have similar reading areas. I'm posting about information that affects MY decision-making. I'm at a point with my e-readers where I want something to work out of the box the way I want it to work. I also almost exclusively read Overdrive books so I do not have my own books to convert/manage. I'm really into the most simple streamlined experience with my daily ereader.

I've used Calibre in the past, I've dealt with tethering my Nook to the PC and dealing with DRM. I even have a 10 year old plus version of Rockbox on my MP3 player. So I'm well aware of processes to alter or replace systems in e-products. I enjoyed the process many years ago. Nowadays, I don't and I just want it simple.