Amazon announces Kindle Oasis

[shalym]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

This will and it's only $5. It can live in your purse and a second one can live at your house.

I already have a sleeve that I use to put my Voyage-in-sleepcover in for transport. I'm a suspenders and belt kind of gal That sleeve the you linked to is also too floppy to offer any sort of protection, in my opinion. My sleeve is fairly rigid leather envelope with a magnetic closing flap.

Shari

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

US sales taxes range from 0% to just a tad over 10%.

Note that the US sales tax percentage isn't relevant in comparing the quoted US price to the quoted UK price, since the US price doesn't include it. But the quoted UK price does include the 20% UK VAT.

[Barty]

Originally Posted by tadhgadams

Dismissing their use of LEDs by saying they HAD to do it that way kind of ignores that they chose to place the lights lengthwise. The placement of the LEDs might necessitate the use of more LEDs but we don't know the rationale behind the design decision. Maybe they chose that design because it was cheaper or easier, or maybe they chose it because the lengthwise lighting is more even.

They put the leds on the side because there is no longer enough room at the bottom. The leds need to be recessed otherwise you will get glaring come effect.

Also, those leds need to be attached to the main board, which is now in the bulge

[pdurrant]

I must admit that the new Oasis does make the Voyage look much more reasonably priced!

[jetfin]

I think the price is entirely reasonable for what one is getting.

Too bad they ruined the covers by slapping a big Amazon logo on it.

A bit surprised that they still haven't made an amber screen lighting for healthier nighttime reading.

[Jack Torrance]

Wow 50+ pages of ???? Granted there is are quite a few members with the inability to use the multi quote button and have 4 and 5 threads back to back but still a lot of pages.

So a few thoughts from an outsider.

Nitpicking the specs here is like listening to people on a bicycle forum go on and on over a the possibility of saving a few grams of weight on s bike build only to add 15 lbs of panniers, saddlebags, lights and 2 Go-pros to go on a 5 mile ride to the store.


From what i have managed to source the portly Oasis is 238 grams with cover (since you need it) vs the lightest kindle at 191 without a cover. its kind of like an apples and oranges discussion, but since we are here at home with our feet up lets run with it.

So thats 47 grams or 1.65 oz if you can lift it toss it overboard or the ships going down.

A little perspective here.
12 packs of sugar 48 grams
My Watch 180 grams
My iPhone and case 250 grams
My K2 without case 290 grams
My Leatherman 300 grams
DXG 540 grams
Average Womans purse 2812 grams
Ave 6th grader backpack 8346 grams
Ave Soldier in Afghan. pack 36387 grams

So honestly you have to admit that's pretty insignificant and not the bowling ball its being made out to be.

Waterproofing.

If they really thought it was a big deal, they would do it. Most people obviously don't care or are not that careless. And the weight!!!

SD Cards

With the ability to store a couple of thousand books on the device and all the books you buy from them on the cloud for free why waste the space and the have people complain about the extra tonnage, why bother?

Flexible Substrate

I'm sure that would have increased the price to the next level or maybe the technology just isn't there. If you like to put it in your back pocket and sit on it like a phone and then break it then maybe rethink how you store it. If you are clumsy and tend to drop things then Otterbox.

Side loading/Hacking/Changing Fonts/Weighting Fonts/organizing by cover colors and all that Minutia.

While the majority of the people here on MR might find that stuff important Im thinking its a very small group of Kindle owners. Probably like people that jailbreak phones. Most people just want it to work and how it works out of the box is fine for them.

The Price

I paid $260ish for my K2 and it was worth every penny imho. If the current asking price is too high, move on thats why they sell the $79 ones. Something for everyone.

If I recall, Bezos wanted a device to be invisible, so nothing gets between you and the authors story and from the looks they have succeeded. i watched the video on the Amazon page and it looks impressive. its very small and light compared to my older K2, the still pictures just don't seem to do it justice.

Would I buy one?

Probably no. I really like the my 9.8 inch screen on my DX. At times i miss the portability of the smaller device but i have a iPhone 6+ wth a 5.5 inch thats only slightly smaller and thats fine for short reading. The new phones may have a larger screen when it refreshes later and then its almost on par.

If they had done an 8 inch screen in that form factor then I would have jumped in.


TLDR:

50 pages of 1st world problems. Just my opinion/.02 YMMV.

And before anyone gets mad, just remember what Sgt. Hulka said....

[issybird]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Note that the US sales tax percentage isn't relevant in comparing the quoted US price to the quoted UK price, since the US price doesn't include it. But the quoted UK price does include the 20% UK VAT.

I think tubemonkey's point, and he can correct me if I'm wrong, is that comparing pre-tax prices in the US and UK is even less relevant than comparing pre-tax price in the US to price with VAT in the UK. At worst, the US customer will pay half the VAT rate, so the average price paid in the US will be closer to the pre-tax price than close to the UK price after VAT.

*shrug* I've mentioned upthread that there's no sales tax in my state, so the comparison with after VAT price is absolutely valid for me. And I see a lot of cars with Mass and Me plates (and farther afield) in the parking lot at the local Best Buy, too. My sisters ship their stuff to my house, and so on.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by issybird

I think tubemonkey's point, and he can correct me if I'm wrong, is that comparing pre-tax prices in the US and UK is even less relevant than comparing pre-tax price in the US to price with VAT in the UK. At worst, the US customer will pay half the VAT rate, so the average price paid in the US will be closer to the pre-tax price than close to the UK price after VAT.

*shrug* I've mentioned upthread that there's no sales tax in my state, so the comparison with after VAT price is absolutely valid for me. And I see a lot of cars with Mass and Me plates (and farther afield) in the parking lot at the local Best Buy, too. My sisters ship their stuff to my house, and so on.

Perhaps other people are comparing US and UK prices for their own reasons.

I compare them to see if the UK price is 'reasonable' - that is, whether Amazon are making significantly more (or less) from a UK sale than from a US sale.

The current UK price is roughly what one gets by converting the US price to Sterling and then adding VAT. IMO that's reasonable.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Jack Torrance

Wow 50+ pages of ???? Granted there is are quite a few members with the inability to use the multi quote button and have 4 and 5 threads back to back but still a lot of pages.

So a few thoughts from an outsider.

Nitpicking the specs here is like listening to people on a bicycle forum go on and on over a the possibility of saving a few grams of weight on s bike build only to add 15 lbs of panniers, saddlebags, lights and 2 Go-pros to go on a 5 mile ride to the store.


From what i have managed to source the portly Oasis is 238 grams with cover (since you need it) vs the lightest kindle at 191 without a cover. its kind of like an apples and oranges discussion, but since we are here at home with our feet up lets run with it.

So thats 47 grams or 1.65 oz if you can lift it toss it overboard or the ships going down.

A little perspective here.
12 packs of sugar 48 grams
My Watch 180 grams
My iPhone and case 250 grams
My K2 without case 290 grams
My Leatherman 300 grams
DXG 540 grams
Average Womans purse 2812 grams
Ave 6th grader backpack 8346 grams
Ave Soldier in Afghan. pack 36387 grams

So honestly you have to admit that's pretty insignificant and not the bowling ball its being made out to be.

Waterproofing.

If they really thought it was a big deal, they would do it. Most people obviously don't care or are not that careless. And the weight!!!

SD Cards

With the ability to store a couple of thousand books on the device and all the books you buy from them on the cloud for free why waste the space and the have people complain about the extra tonnage, why bother?

Flexible Substrate

I'm sure that would have increased the price to the next level or maybe the technology just isn't there. If you like to put it in your back pocket and sit on it like a phone and then break it then maybe rethink how you store it. If you are clumsy and tend to drop things then Otterbox.

Side loading/Hacking/Changing Fonts/Weighting Fonts/organizing by cover colors and all that Minutia.

While the majority of the people here on MR might find that stuff important Im thinking its a very small group of Kindle owners. Probably like people that jailbreak phones. Most people just want it to work and how it works out of the box is fine for them.

The Price

I paid $260ish for my K2 and it was worth every penny imho. If the current asking price is too high, move on thats why they sell the $79 ones. Something for everyone.

If I recall, Bezos wanted a device to be invisible, so nothing gets between you and the authors story and from the looks they have succeeded. i watched the video on the Amazon page and it looks impressive. its very small and light compared to my older K2, the still pictures just don't seem to do it justice.

Would I buy one?

Probably no. I really like the my 9.8 inch screen on my DX. At times i miss the portability of the smaller device but i have a iPhone 6+ wth a 5.5 inch thats only slightly smaller and thats fine for short reading. The new phones may have a larger screen when it refreshes later and then its almost on par.

If they had done an 8 inch screen in that form factor then I would have jumped in.


TLDR:

50 pages of 1st world problems. Just my opinion/.02 YMMV.

And before anyone gets mad, just remember what Sgt. Hulka said....

I do not appreciate that you said people that want waterproofing are careless. I also did not appreciate the clumsy comment.
Hey yes. This is first world because we are talking about a luxury item.
Oh I do owe you a thank you.
You got me to clean out my purse.

[Jason90]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The current UK price is roughly what one gets by converting the US price to Sterling and then adding VAT. IMO that's reasonable.

But you could say that and make the case any item sold in the uk should have the same US price tag,but most products don't do they?

I'd still put it down to amazon being greedy.

Edit : i meant in relation to VAT

[Conan46]

Originally Posted by Shane R

Last link says "Notwithstanding price, Kindle Oasis is mighty tempting..."

The penultimate link is about waterproofing (which is a dealbreaker only for a vocal minority).

Just making a point it has not been universally welcomed with open arms by those writing about it. And price is usually the main reason why, the value proposition is not evident to many people.

[Jason90]

Originally Posted by Jack Torrance

Flexible Substrate

I'm sure that would have increased the price to the next level or maybe the technology just isn't there. If you like to put it in your back pocket and sit on it like a phone and then break it then maybe rethink how you store it.

At the price amazon is selling the Oasis they could of added a flexable substrate and you know what,i bet they could of kept the same battery life of the voyage and retained the same lightweight design along with being infinitely more robust.

The wexler flex one i posted a few pages back had a plastic substrate screen,weighed less than the oasis and had a battery almost 3 times bigger than the oasis.

The oasis is a massive scam,more fool anyone paying full price for it.

[Shane R]

Originally Posted by Jason90

The oasis is a massive scam,more fool anyone paying full price for it.

Exactly as I said. People can't limit their feelings to saying "it's not for me..."

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by Shane R

Exactly as I said.

Some People

Originally Posted by Shane R

People can't limit their feelings to saying "it's not for me..."

There. I corrected it for you. No need to thank me.

Edited to say : corrected the quote. I ADDED THE "SOME PEOPLE".

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Jason90

The wexler flex one i posted a few pages back had a plastic substrate screen,weighed less than the oasis and had a battery almost 3 times bigger than the oasis.

Google it. It was a failure (even a flexible substrate doesn't increase durability if everything else about it fails prematurely). It's very easy to put great sounding specs on a web site then design a horrendous product that fails. You're kind of making the argument for the Oasis's cost by comparing it to that.