My Kindle Oasis Has Arrived

Originally Posted by NullNix

How? I can't imagine that there was ever a plan for sound hardware on this thing, with its extreme weight constraints. More likely this is a mistaken addition...

It could be just a generic bit of stuff added for future use on other Kindles, perhaps a future Kindle, that will use the same FW. Does the Oasis have a stereo jack for plugging in a headset? If not then these sound files are for some other Kindle.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by NullNix

It will surprise nobody to find that the occasionally advertised 4GiB capacity is actually, uh, 3GiB available (minus the hundred megabyte plus for this mysterious voice content) and I guess a gigabyte in the system partition. So it's not quite twice as capacious as a PW1, rather than the nearly three times I was expecting. (Of course, Amazon just say 'thousands of books', but people have been saying 4GiB in various places for some time. It's not, any more than the PW1 was 2GiB. I'd guess there's a *lot* of room for expansion spare on the system partition...)

The Voyage has about three and a quarter GB user storage. I imagine the Oasis is similar?

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Raptwithal

I'm one of those who reads with the backlighting all the way down.

Without the backlighting, does the Oasis have any screen differences compared to the Paperwhite 300 ppi using the same font?

Thanks -- I know this is a niche question.

I think you mean 'front lighting'.

[Derek87]

IT's great to hear some first impressions. my wish lists of tests and feedback as i think i read my kindle in perhaps a unique way:

- how well does the Oasis work at auto sensing orientation/hand if and when one reads on their back in bed (with the kindle held above their head). i own a PW which i read typically without a case in bed. i am interested in the Oasis for its reduction in weightl. i hold my PW in a funky way so that it doesn't feel heavy (i form an L with my thumb and hand to brace the lower corner), but i often swap hands because in time, one hand/arm grows weary.

- how is the backlight evenness in the dark at a setting of say 6-8? this is where i find my wife and my PW shows a lot of imperfections on the edge and show some uneven lighting, yet this the light level we read ours at in the dark before going to sleep.

thanks for any thoughts/feedback on these two particular scenarios.

[badgoodDeb]

I'd love to see photos of all the Merlot covers you guys receive --- I want to see what the variations are (brightness, etc) before I decide what color I want to order. Because leather never takes color identically, the way that plastic does. Thanks Mickey330 for your pics. Other folks, if you could??

I'd also like to see pics of brown covers -- it almost looks like a brushed suede on one early video, but that wouldn't be consistent with the Merlot pics we've had.

[NullNix]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The Voyage has about three and a quarter GB user storage. I imagine the Oasis is similar?

It's down to 3GiB precisely.

[NullNix]

Originally Posted by jswinden

It could be just a generic bit of stuff added for future use on other Kindles, perhaps a future Kindle, that will use the same FW. Does the Oasis have a stereo jack for plugging in a headset? If not then these sound files are for some other Kindle.

Rumours (and firmware) say Bluetooth speakers, but whether there is actually Bluetooth hardware in there will have to wait for someone rich and/or foolhardy enough to do a teardown -- i.e. we'll probably know by tomorrow!

[Wearever]

Originally Posted by JulyB

I'm new, but I've been lurking while I've been waiting for my new Merlot Oasis to turn up. It's finally here!

I'm really pleased with it, especially because my previous kindle was a Paperwhite 1, which I loved, but I'd be the first to admit that the screen was blotchy green and pink and the LEDs are completely visible. And, with the case, it's heavy.

The Oasis is exactly what I hoped the Paperwhite would be when I ordered it three and a half years ago. The screen is even whiter than the walls of my house! It's easy to read in direct sunlight - I tried it out this morning, and I live in Spain, so you can imagine that the sun can get quite strong even in April. Anyway, it looks perfect in all conditions.

The LEDs are almost, but not quite invisible - they certainly don't cast any shadows, and the colour is perfectly uniform across the whole surface. It's much brighter than my Paperwhite, much faster, and the touchscreen is far more sensitive.

I was a little worried at first about how I would know the status of the battery, but it's in the settings when you tap on it, so it's easy to see if there's any juice.

The red cover is very nice, quite subtle, not garish, and expensive feeling - it does give me the sense of holding an old book. Even with the cover on, it feels surprisingly light. The new fonts are great, the screen, compared to my old reader, seems to allow my eyes to relax in a way the previous one did not.

I'm honestly trying to find something wrong with it and failing. I suppose the only issue is the price, but for me this was a birthday gift! So I have nothing. I love it.

Thank's JulyB , for your comments on your new Oasis. Especially your comments on reading in direct sun light in Spain. I think your right if you can read on it without glare there ( Spain) you can read on it anywhere ! Now I just need to see one in the store !

And Happy Birthday !

[Kolenka]

Originally Posted by Raptwithal

I'm one of those who reads with the backlighting all the way down.

Without the backlighting, does the Oasis have any screen differences compared to the Paperwhite 300 ppi using the same font?

It should be basically identical to the Voyage, which means it will be better than the PW3. I've held them both, and honestly, the Voyage is sharper because the layer for the lighting on the Voyage doesn't wind up obscuring the screen as much (it's almost like the PW3 has a sort of "watery" look to it).

Originally Posted by NullNix

Rumours (and firmware) say Bluetooth speakers, but whether there is actually Bluetooth hardware in there will have to wait for someone rich and/or foolhardy enough to do a teardown -- i.e. we'll probably know by tomorrow!

Anything is possible, but I think the drain of BT on an already small battery (when no cover is attached) would not have been a smart addition on Amazon's part. Also I seriously doubt Amazon would release their newest and greatest Kindle without all the hardware functioning from the get go. They have never done that in the past, AFAIK. More than likely it is meant for another or a future Kindle, or perhaps the code was developed but the decision was made to kill the sound feature and no one thought to remove the files. It wouldn't be the first time that hardware and software groups failed to communicate properly on a project.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by NullNix

Yes indeed, it's in there, and I have no idea why. It's not as if the Oasis has the hardware to do anything with it.

Not yet, anyway.

[joblack]

Can the front light completely disabled?

[Tarana]

Thanks for all the lovely photos!! I'm envious, but just got my Voyage 2 months ago, so have to wait for a new toy. i do have a question. I know you mentioned that the COVER doesn't have a USB port, but I presume that it comes with some way of charging it as it is a battery boost, right? What sort of plug does it use?

[kacir]

Originally Posted by Mickey330

Here's a shot of just the screen. ...


I don't see any unevenness ...

I see atrocious typography.
Please notice the lack of hyphenation.

Look at the spaces between words in the first and second line of the first paragraph and the two last lines on page.

Premium reader ...

[newkindlefun]

Originally Posted by Tarana

Thanks for all the lovely photos!! I'm envious, but just got my Voyage 2 months ago, so have to wait for a new toy. i do have a question. I know you mentioned that the COVER doesn't have a USB port, but I presume that it comes with some way of charging it as it is a battery boost, right? What sort of plug does it use?

It charges when it's magnetically attached to the Kindle itself.