Amazon announces Kindle Oasis

[Shane R]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

Or push everyone towards tablets, or Kobo. Who knows, I think they have lost their minds

I'd agree more with your opinion if they'd taken the other options away and made this the only Kindle version available.

They didn't.

This is the top of the line version, and the previous versions are still for sale.

[meeera]

Has anyone seen a mention of what kind of leather the cover is? Plastic or animal?

[howyoudoin]

Originally Posted by Shane R

Not every new release is going to push the technology forward. Some are just to provide the consumers with new options in other areas.

[DreamWriter]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I am -- $289.99

Kindle Oasis

I had originally followed the link in the initial post, which is for the Oasis without special offers, priced at $309.99. I did find the $289.99 model (with special offers) a few minutes later.

I'm not tempted to buy at either price.

[Avwriter]

Weight comparison to Voyage:

Voyage: 6.3 ounces + official cover 4.8 ounces = 11.1 ounces combined

Oasis: 4.6 ounces + included cover 3.8 ounces = 8.4 ounces combined

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by meeera

Has anyone seen a mention of what kind of leather the cover is? Plastic or animal?

Real leather:

Premium leather cover

New—The removable charging cover is made of high-quality leather and comes in your choice of black, merlot, or walnut. The cover opens like a book and fits closely around the bezel, waking Kindle Oasis when opened and putting it to sleep when closed. Twelve magnets form a secure attachment between device and cover, while still easy to detach when the lightest possible weight is desired.

[Graham]

Is it just me that's bothered by the fact that the screen is off centre?

Graham

[Atunah]

Originally Posted by Shane R

I'd agree more with your opinion if they'd taken the other options away and made this the only Kindle version available.

They didn't.

This is the top of the line version, and the previous versions are still for sale.

I was just going to say this. You don't like it, you don't have to get it. The Paperwhite is still available. And the other ones. I see this as an addition to the line up and for specific folks.

I am really interested in it, but I will still wait for the first hands on reviews. I am a voracious reader that still misses the ergo design of the first kindle. The wedge shape, but it was much heavier. I imagine reading on it would be like a dream holding it.
I don't have any wishes otherwise as my Voyage works perfect as it is as far as display and software on it. Anything they might add would be updates.

I have a feeling I'll get one.

I love that in a way they were going back to what the initial idea was. When the kindle was designed for the reader and for the hand of the reader. Then they all got as flat and thin as tablets and phones. Its like we come full circle, just with much better specs.

My hands and wrists are asking for the Oasis.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by Shane R

I'd agree more with your opinion if they'd taken the other options away and made this the only Kindle version available.

They didn't.

This is the top of the line version, and the previous versions are still for sale.

I still think they have lost their minds. So they abandon high priced quality tablets as they can't sell them and they now think readers will pay a small fortune for an ereader?

I'm not saying there isn't a buyer for this device, and each to his own, I paid £250 for a Sony PRS600 once, but the days I would spend that much on an ereader are looking good gone.

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The press embargo is over! And it's a high price for the new Kindle - US$289.99/€289.99/£269.99/CA$399.99
The new Kindle will be available from 27th April 2016.

That UK price seems very high? Equivalent to approximately €340, $380 CA$490. I know currencies fluctuate and there may be local taxes to add, but still, less than difference between the various Voyage prices, but at a far more expensive price. Crazy.

On the whole, this product launch seems utterly bizarre. A lot of hype for something that is admittedly a little different to the norm, but does it really merit such a jump in price over the previous top of the range model?

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Graham

Is it just me that's bothered by the fact that the screen is off centre?

Graham

Same here. It's weird looking.

[Josieb1]

Anyway most members of this forum know how I feel about Amazon so I'm obviously not a buyer, but even if I was it's a 'considered' purchase. My only advice would be to buy the warranty.

[septentrion]

It's available at amazon.fr, too. 289€ for wifi, 349€ for wifi + 3G. It's more expensive than my tablet. I won't have trouble to skip this one, though a lighter ereader with real buttons interest me a lot.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

So they abandon high priced quality tablets as they can't sell them and they now think readers will pay a small fortune for an ereader?

Overlapping, but different markets?


They're obviously trying something a bit different and we have no ideas what their sales expectations are for the device. Since they seem bent on staying with a 6" screen there was very little area they haven't covered. The PW3 and Voyage are pretty solid the way they are, but people have come to expect new devices fairly often. Someone obviously thought this was the route to go vs making a few slight changes to the Voyage or something.

Any word on the other new model rumored to be coming, code name Whiskey, or is this it?

[Shane R]

For those hoping it will be sold without the case...you'll probably be waiting a while:

The battery cover looks as if it could sell for $50 to $70. So perhaps it’s fair to think of the Oasis as priced similarly to the $200 Voyage. Still, not many Kindle owners tend to complain about the current line-up’s multi-week battery life. So the inclusion of the cover seems to be more a symbol of how Amazon’s Kindle team thinks the Oasis should look instead of what’s necessary for it to function.