Amazon announces Kindle Oasis

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Why should one buy and then adjust to a device one doesn't really like, if there are more than one device, even from the same manufacturer, that are perfectly fine for that person?

Obviously, you shouldn't! You should leave them on the store shelves, so those of us who do want one (later) can still find one to buy!

[Kolja]

Originally Posted by samosa

I have been looking at people's review photos on taobao (amazon has an online store there) and some users found light cones on their Oasis, just like the Paperwhite. I don't recall seeing as strong light cones on Voyage, but may be I did not spend enough time looking for them.

My Voyage does not have light cones that I can see and my Oasis does. I'm on Oasis #2 and both have the light cones. The second Oasis has slightly better contrast and a whiter screen with a less noticeable color shift. My Voyage has the best contrast but that's only a comparison of 3 devices. My 2nd Oasis is one I could be happy with, but it is hard to justify keeping it when my Voyage has the better screen. Still deciding. I've already returned the first one.

[Shane R]

I'll have to catchup on this thread later; just wanted to note this review I just ran across. No surprises...

This would seem to explain the Oasis’s high price—you’re not just buying the reader but a mandatory accessory—and as someone who generally eschewed a case for my Kindle, I was kind of bummed out that it was a requirement of the Oasis.

Now that I’ve used it, though, I’ve changed my tune. First off, having seen the battery life of the Oasis, it makes perfect sense that Amazon would want Oasis owners to have a case that extends the device’s battery life.

It’s a trade-off, but I actually think it’s a smart move on Amazon’s part....

Your Kindle itself doesn’t need to run for a week between charges, because nobody reads for several days straight without taking a break. When you’re done reading, if you pop the Oasis back into its case—even if you’re miles from an electrical outlet—the reader will charge from the case’s battery and will be ready for your next reading session later. Clever. (You charge the Oasis via a Micro-USB port on the reader itself; if the case is attached while you’re charging, the case charges too.)

When it comes to the reading experience itself, the Oasis isn’t really much different from the Voyage or the Paperwhite. They all light themselves so you can read in the dark, via LED light channeled in from the sides of the display. (The Oasis apparently has more LEDs, but the effect didn’t seem markedly different from the lighting on the Voyage.) This lighting approach feels more natural than the backlighting on a phone or tablet display, because it’s reflecting light off the E-Ink display rather than blasting light through an LCD. The Oasis’s E-Ink display itself, alas, is the same 300 dpi as the Voyage.

So let it be known: The Kindle Oasis is a really great ebook reader, probably the nicest one ever built. And if you are a Kindle fanatic like me or you just like nice things, if you buy one you’ll be happy. But at a starting price of $290, it’s a high-end product for a narrow audience.

https://sixcolors.com/post/2016/05/kindle-oasis-review/

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Kolja

My Voyage does not have light cones that I can see and my Oasis does. I'm on Oasis #2 and both have the light cones. The second Oasis has slightly better contrast and a whiter screen with a less noticeable color shift. My Voyage has the best contrast but that's only a comparison of 3 devices. My 2nd Oasis is one I could be happy with, but it is hard to justify keeping it when my Voyage has the better screen. Still deciding. I've already returned the first one.

It looks like Amazon's issues with screen consistency, at first release, continue.

As a side question, now that someone here actually has one of these in hand, can you confirm that the cover does not have a separate USB charging port?

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by rcentros

It looks like Amazon's issues with screen consistency, at first release, continue.

As a side question, now that someone here actually has one of these in hand, can you confirm that the cover does not have a separate USB charging port?

Since I lost a bet, I can assure you that the cover does NOT have a charging port.

[MickeyC]

CNN not impressed

http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/29/tech...page_tech_pool

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by MickeyC

CNN not impressed

http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/29/tech...page_tech_pool

Basically the negative aspects came down to ... they didn't like the new GUI (I didn't even know it was different) or the price (which is pretty much a universal dislike). Otherwise the review seemed fairly positive. They even said the screen lighting was "more even" -- which doesn't seem to jive with some of the reviews here.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by MickeyC

CNN not impressed

http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/29/tech...page_tech_pool

I am not impressed with the articles attitude like this:

On the plus side, [the covers] might trick people into thinking you're reading lyrical prose or important nonfiction while you're really downing Beyoncé fanfic.

[samosa]

Originally Posted by Kolja

My Voyage does not have light cones that I can see and my Oasis does. I'm on Oasis #2 and both have the light cones. The second Oasis has slightly better contrast and a whiter screen with a less noticeable color shift. My Voyage has the best contrast but that's only a comparison of 3 devices. My 2nd Oasis is one I could be happy with, but it is hard to justify keeping it when my Voyage has the better screen. Still deciding. I've already returned the first one.

Since posting my last message I have momentarily lost my sense and plunged for an Oasis. I was keeping all fingers and toes crossed until I received it. Luckily my poor eyes cannot detect much strong cones even with the lights turned to the highest.

I have read about the Voyage having better (moderately better) contrast than Oasis. I'd been staring very very hard at my Oasis / Voyage / PW3, where PW3 and Oasis are supposed to be using the same screen carta 1.2, and Voyage using the slightly less hi-tech 1.0. I find v little difference, maybe the Voyage's screen is a tiny little bit sharper...

People are saying that the newer tech is sacrificing contrast for lower refresh rate.

People have also been saying that the lights on Oasis is dimmer than the Voyage, but on my single Oasis observation I found it to be brighter...

I come to the conclusion that there are quite a bit of variation in all the models sold by Amazon, it's near impossible to work out a answer when comparing across products

[samosa]

Originally Posted by MickeyC

CNN not impressed

http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/29/tech...page_tech_pool

The worst design is actually on the screen. Kindle recently updated its software across devices, and the new OS is installed by default on the Oasis. The home screen is cluttered with large images of book covers and recommendations for other titles.

Obviously this reviewer doesn't use Kindle v often. As this screen can be easily turned off... just need to fish around a bit and then it's turned off permanently. Thus no one needs to pay attention to this reviewer's words...

It's not the first time I read reviews which is obviously written by someone who has not got the knowledge to review...

[nurseshelly]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

And then you move to a different place... You move a computer, or maybe even only a hard drive or USB-stick, while your brother is hauling 50 crates of books. Then you're glad you did switch

I know! While I do love his library I just don't have room for one in my house anyway.

[nurseshelly]

Originally Posted by Kolja

My Voyage does not have light cones that I can see and my Oasis does. I'm on Oasis #2 and both have the light cones. The second Oasis has slightly better contrast and a whiter screen with a less noticeable color shift. My Voyage has the best contrast but that's only a comparison of 3 devices. My 2nd Oasis is one I could be happy with, but it is hard to justify keeping it when my Voyage has the better screen. Still deciding. I've already returned the first one.

Mine also has light cones but they are pretty mild. I don't have a Voyage to compare the Oasis to.

[Marcy]

Mine doesn't have light cones, except if I hold the reader at an extreme angle so I'm looking almost directly into the lighted edge. I can't see them while reading at any normal angle, and I don't see any color change on the screen.

My big gripe is I find the battery life not even close to as advertised, unless the battery life slider is wildly inaccurate. I read every night before going to bed and typically the kindle + cover drains 15% during one session. Doing the math, this leaves me with <7 days of reading before my Oasis is dead. I read probably 1-2 hours and have the light set on 8-10. I keep it on airplane mode unless I look something up in wikipedia, and when I'm done I put it back in airplane mode. There is no way I could ever get "months" of reading between charges on this device.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by samosa

The worst design is actually on the screen. Kindle recently updated its software across devices, and the new OS is installed by default on the Oasis. The home screen is cluttered with large images of book covers and recommendations for other titles.

Obviously this reviewer doesn't use Kindle v often. As this screen can be easily turned off... just need to fish around a bit and then it's turned off permanently. Thus no one needs to pay attention to this reviewer's words...

It's not the first time I read reviews which is obviously written by someone who has not got the knowledge to review...

Maybe I could get a job at CNN Money reviewing Kobo devices. I know next to nothing about them, and that seems to be a plus at that outfit, judging from that blurb.

[Yolina]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Maybe I could get a job at CNN Money reviewing Kobo devices. I know next to nothing about them, and that seems to be a plus at that outfit, judging from that blurb.

Maybe my cat could help them out with reviews too, and she likes tuna