Got my new Oasis today, first impressions

[ArthurianLegends]

Greetings,

I was able to hold the new Oasis in my hands finally today at a Best Buy (relatively) near me. At first impression, loved the screen size! But the problems came as soon as I held it, and felt the edges. I switched from hand to hand and just could not get a comfortable position. I know everyone is different, so perhaps not everyone will have this issue, but I did not like the feel of the new Oasis, while still loving the look of it.

Of course, I think the discomfort issue must be resolved once I get a case, but this is the first kindle reader that I have held naked that did not feel right to me. My previous models were the keyboard, the touch, the PW3, and the Voyage (all of which felt right to hold despite the variations in weight). I would never have a problem holding any of those incarnations without a cover (and I do like to have that option from time to time).

Thus, I sadly withdrew the new Oasis from my xmas wishlist. I am glad to see many people do have a different experience and love the new Oasis, but at the price point Amazon is asking, I do expect a bit more.

There were many things they did get right on the new Oasis, mainly the waterproofing. The Audible ability seemed nice at first, but would have preferred built in speakers. My kindle keyboard had speakers and was more comfortable to hold, so I think this can be done.

The final nail in the coffin for me for the new Oasis was the contrast. I know all screens may be a bit different, but I have been spoiled by reading on a flawless Voyage screen that I got late in their production runs when the kinks were worked out. The text is noticeably richer in the Voyage and does not look as muddy as in the newer kindles I have seen in the store and those I have seen in photos in this forum. I know the new software give you options for boldness, but boldness only helps a little. The problem that I saw was that somehow the warmth or lighting on the new Oasis makes the text look muddier to these eyes anyway.

I will wait patiently for the Oasis 3 or Voyage 2 (I wonder if ever there will be such a thing). Thanks to everyone leaving reviews and impressions here, and I hope everyone enjoys the new Oasis and offers feedback to Amazon on possible improvements.


Of course all of this only reflects my own personal experience and particular tastes. I want the kindles to continue to develop and be perfected, but have to hold off so far on both iterations of the Oasis due to what I consider one of the most important aspects of my e-reading experience. The contrast and sharpness of the fonts.

[Wearever]

Thanks for your impressions ArthurianLegends, I have yet to try the Oasis 2, the best buy store, I went to didn't have one on display, although another might. Like you I want to see one first before ordering. The shape would be something I would need to get used too. I'm happy no one has seen the dreaded light cones so far on the Oasis 2, that would be something I could never get used too. The gradient if I saw it, or boldness are more subjective for each user. I am keeping the Oasis 2 on my Christmas wishlist, but I would like to see one on display first.

[disconnected]

Originally Posted by ArthurianLegends

I will wait patiently for the Oasis 3 or Voyage 2

What I want is an Oasis 1.5

Make it just enough thicker/heavier than the Oasis 1 to have the entire battery onboard.

Keep the plastic casing; I think it's much more comfortable than the metal of the Oasis 2.

Keep the smooth leather merlot case (no suede, no folding cover/stand).

Make it waterproof.

Maybe add a little more storage -- nowhere near 32 GB. When I tried the Oasis 2, and dumped my whole library of 5600 books onto it, I realized that trying to maintain my whole Calibre library on an ereader wasn't going to be a pleasant experience for me; I'm still learning about various Calibre features like plugboards and I wouldn't want to keep reloading the Oasis (not a quick process) every time I tweak something in Calibre.

In my perfect world it would have a lot of Kobo's software features.

[jscris]

Originally Posted by disconnected

What I want is an Oasis 1.5

In my perfect world it would have a lot of Kobo's software features.

[harakiri]

went to a store yesterday to have a look at a display model.
I was also able to compare it with other kindles on display and the Tolino models (being in Germany).
For me the size is perfect. Display is crisp and looks great. The software runs ultraquick (especially compared to the new Tolino epos, which is a 7.8" reader. I beleive the first one they released after being taken over by Kobo).
Needless to say, I bought one there immediately :-)
Now I am looking into covers. Seems Amazon.de withdrew all their magnetic covers here as well...

[Mick4545]

Originally Posted by harakiri

went to a store yesterday to have a look at a display model.
I was also able to compare it with other kindles on display and the Tolino models (being in Germany).
For me the size is perfect. Display is crisp and looks great. The software runs ultraquick (especially compared to the new Tolino epos, which is a 7.8" reader. I beleive the first one they released after being taken over by Kobo).
Needless to say, I bought one there immediately :-)
Now I am looking into covers. Seems Amazon.de withdrew all their magnetic covers here as well...

What store was that? I'll be in Dusseldorf next week and would like to check the OA2 out. I don't think it is on display anywhere in the UK.

[Tlca79]

I have mixed feelings about the Kindle Oasis 2. I ordered the waterproof case and it falls off the device plus it is not comfortable to hold. I am returning the waterproof case. I have ordered a Moko case which won't arrive until around November 22nd. The Kindle Oasis 2 without a case is uncomfortable to hold. I'm hoping that when I get the Moko case it will make a big difference. I enjoy the size of the Kindle Oasis 1 but I like how it has where I can change the background to black and the font to white. The Kindle Oasis 2 is easier for me to read and like that you can listen to audible books on it. Has anyone found a better case for the Kindle Oasis 2?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Tlca79

Has anyone found a better case for the Kindle Oasis 2?

There are several threads about KO2 covers. Have you read them?

[harakiri]

Originally Posted by Mick4545

What store was that? I'll be in Dusseldorf next week and would like to check the OA2 out. I don't think it is on display anywhere in the UK.

It was a Saturn in Munich. What I actually did was to search for the Oasis at their website. Then pick a store in my vicinity. The system told me that this store had inventory, so I went there checked it out and bought one.
Although it looks that currently there is nothing available in Düsseldorf. But it was the same for Munich until this weekend, so good luck!

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Mick4545

I don't think it is on display anywhere in the UK.

Are they not on display in John Lewis? They certainly sell them.

[johnnyb]

Ok, got mine yesterday :-)

Pros:
- great that the screen is a tad larger
- superfast and responsive, makes all the difference when deciding between tablet and eink, especially for not entirely linear reading (footnotes, annotations, comments, heavy use of dictionary)
- weight is nicely balanced, mostly comfortable to hold if warm
- page turn buttons are great, I like that they close the annotation/highlight popup (something my old Voyage was not able to do)
- waterproofing, I guess
- PDF reader profits hugely from speed and screen size, that is a plus for me (even with the usual caveats)
- bluetooth connection to my Beats headphones worked without a problem, listening to audiobooks is great
- ambient light sensor works really well

Cons:
- aluminum back feels quite cold (material property -> aluminum drains heat quickly)
- also a bit slippery
- does not support the standard .m4a format for audiobooks, so restricted to Audible (also does not support mp3 like e.g. the Kindle 3 did)
- many of the features the firmware offers are restricted to Amazon content and that EXCLUDES books uploaded to the cloud
- no yellow light (like Kobos), screen does look blue when you come from a Mac or iPad that has Nightshift enabled
- no USB-C: not only would that future proof the device in general (no matter what you think, USB-C is coming), it would have also made wired USB-C connected headphones possible which would habe been a nice cost-effective alternative to bluetooth (and they come with many of the new Android phones)
- I hate that the 8GB version does not come with 3G capabilities (see summary)

Summary and thoughts:
It is a good device but it feels like yet another in-between (one thing no one should copy that from Apple), for it tries to do more things, still comes with compromises and is not strictly the latest tech. This should have been the device that was released one year ago and this year’s iteration should have included at least some form of yellow light and USB-C (especially considering the audio capabilities).
Also, the software is very good when it comes to Amazon content and very poor when it comes to other content. You can work around some of the stuff but it always feels kind of deficient (you always have to make some sort of compromise). I think that Amazon should be self-confident enough to remove some of the restrictions (or at least let readers convert their stuff to kfx, aka a format that supports all the bells and whistles the firmware has to offer).
So, will I keep it?
Honestly I don’t know. I like reading on it quite a bit but I am also a bit annoyed reading on it at night.
Getting it for audio capabilities is not worth it in my opinion. You cannot put your own audiobooks on it or some music for listening to while reading. And even if you have a large Audible library, you are restricted to bluetooth headphones, which is another investment for some, generally more annoying to set up that a physical connector which you just pop in, and at the very least, an extra strain put on the battery (you can get ok USB C headphones for a tenner and other than many cheap bluetooth headphones, they tend to always work flawlessly, plus people will have them lying around more and more in the foreseeable future anyway). The last point also makes me unwilling to shell out an extra 30 for the larger storage model (because I definitely would not use it) only to get 3G, which I always really liked about my Voyage, so for me personally, the experience is even more compromised that perhaps for others. I think Amazon could have easily done better and I am not yet sure if I want to reward them with a purchase for not doing so.

[Barty]

Originally Posted by johnnyb

Also, the software is very good when it comes to Amazon content and very poor when it comes to other content. You can work around some of the stuff but it always feels kind of deficient (you always have to make some sort of compromise). I think that Amazon should be self-confident enough to remove some of the restrictions.

Yes. It's annoying that you can't have ragged margin without getting books from Amazon with topography enhancement or whatever it's called. Really? To get ragged margin, just don't take the extra step of justifying the text. Why do you need typography enhancement for that? It's just Amazon trying to look you in their garden.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Barty

Yes. It's annoying that you can't have ragged margin without getting books from Amazon with topography enhancement or whatever it's called. Really? To get ragged margin, just don't take the extra step of justifying the text. Why do you need typography enhancement for that? It's just Amazon trying to look you in their garden.

No, that's not strictly true. You'll get whatever justification the publisher or book creator has decided on. You only get the choose the justification yourself if the book has ET.

Of course, if you're loading your own content, you can apply whatever justification choice you wish.

[johnnyb]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Of course, if you're loading your own content, you can apply whatever justification choice you wish.

This is not entirely true and you know it. If you send mobis to Kindle (e.g. to have it display covers), you cannot adjust fonts, justification and it will not hyphenate. Also, the process to have a Kindle reliably download azw3 files (that support the above but not the enhanced page flip), you have to follow a very specific process (or sideload, which then negates the advantages the send-to-Kindle service supposedly offers). This is simply not user friendly and I think there's really no room for debate. Of course, everyone is always free to voice their opinion...

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by johnnyb

This is not entirely true and you know it. If you send mobis to Kindle (e.g. to have it display covers), you cannot adjust fonts, justification and it will not hyphenate.

No, you misunderstand me. I mean that if you load your own content, you can edit that content yourself so it looks the way you want it to look, prior to sending it to the Kindle.