New Kindle oasis on way?

[knc1]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

https://www.amazon.com/

Attachment 158356

It was in the banner that changes. It may or may not be there. But when I posted the message, it was there.

Read the explanation on the left in large print.
They are only showing one category of Kindles and the Oasis is not considered to be a member of that category.

[vrf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

For me, buttons on my e-readers are a must-have.

Me, too! Reading (and walking while reading) habits formed on PRS-505 and a Kindle Keyboard.

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by vrf

Me, too! Reading (and walking while reading) habits formed on PRS-505 and a Kindle Keyboard.

I like having the option of buttons, a touch screen with buttons would be great, like the old PRS350, but I always felt the buttons on my Sony devices were 'too stiff', my delicate, waif like, fingers got sore.

[JSWolf]

I know my opinions aren't everyone's. I'm interested in the reasoning behind the need for buttons. That's why I'm asking. I'm not trying to say your wrong.

[mewmartigan]

For what its worth, I love the "pagepress" buttons on the Voyage. Don't have an Oasis but have no problem with them either. If you weren't forced to buy the case/battery with it, I would probably have purchased one.....and then maybe have gone back to the Voyage. Pagepress is silent while I imagine the Oasis buttons making an annoying click when reading in silence next to someone sleeping.

[Julian1984]

I hope they make a new kindle oasis waterproof and with a really improved battery life.


I love the design and how light and thin it was.
Let's see what happens.

[JSWolf]

I'm thinking a waterproof Voyage.

[cedsoft]

Hi there, long time lurking on the forum but this subject interest me a lot.

The Kindle Oasis may be one of the most innovative and effective design evolution made for an e-reader to date.

Most brands first tried to imitate the basic look and feel of a book. While it's good for adoption amongst people that never used an e-reader, it's a bad/suboptimal design for ergonomics. It inherits from a paper book design and suffers from its drawbacks (bulky, 2 hands needed for interactions, suboptimal weight distribution, etc.). At the end, it takes unnecessary effort to operate and to handle it properly.

I think Amazon did an outstanding job to design "from scratch" what is a more comfortable way to read. They moved the device gravity center closer to the palm of the hand. In physics, that’s the lever effect and can reduce significantly the effort to lift it against gravity. This “spine” helps to offer a very comfortable grip and direct access to buttons, allowing to (almost) never use your second hand.

The cover is well designed as well and solves two "problems". It give the Oasis the extra battery it needs and a more pleasant aspect during transport.

I have some respect for this risky/disruptive design decision. Some people won't understand why it doesn't look like a book, but the legacy form factor won't likely makes sense for next generation readers (the same way we don't write anymore on 10 pounds stone tablets).

For the overpriced argument, I’d say:
- If you compare the price to a Kindle Voyage + a leather origami cover, you spend almost the same price since the Oasis has an included leather cover (+ an extra battery).
- If you have just one reader that fulfils all your need, it’s cheaper than buying several devices that may not suit you.
- I’m pretty sure Amazon makes more money on the basic Kindle and Paperwhite (high volume + cheaper to produce)

The only "bad thing" I could say against the Oasis is the lack of adaptive light sensor. I don’t know why since it’s a very appreciated feature on the Voyage.

Anyway, I really hope this Kindle will be back soon with maybe some evolutions. Finger crossed for a plastic/polymer cover (it saves an animal skin, it's cheaper and more resistant).

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by salamanderjuice

Meanwhile the 32GB Paperwhite is only ~$20 more than the 4GB version.

What 32GB Paperwhite?

The only such version I'm aware of is sold in Japan. It would probably cost at least as much as the device itself costs to get it shipped, pay import taxes, etc.

[salamanderjuice]

Originally Posted by cedsoft

Hi there, long time lurking on the forum but this subject interest me a lot.

The Kindle Oasis may be one of the most innovative and effective design evolution made for an e-reader to date.

Most brands first tried to imitate the basic look and feel of a book. While it's good for adoption amongst people that never used an e-reader, it's a bad/suboptimal design for ergonomics. It inherits from a paper book design and suffers from its drawbacks (bulky, 2 hands needed for interactions, suboptimal weight distribution, etc.). At the end, it takes unnecessary effort to operate and to handle it properly.

I think Amazon did an outstanding job to design "from scratch" what is a more comfortable way to read. They moved the device gravity center closer to the palm of the hand. In physics, that’s the lever effect and can reduce significantly the effort to lift it against gravity. This “spine” helps to offer a very comfortable grip and direct access to buttons, allowing to (almost) never use your second hand.

The cover is well designed as well and solves two "problems". It give the Oasis the extra battery it needs and a more pleasant aspect during transport.

I have some respect for this risky/disruptive design decision. Some people won't understand why it doesn't look like a book, but the legacy form factor won't likely makes sense for next generation readers (the same way we don't write anymore on 10 pounds stone tablets).

For the overpriced argument, I’d say:
- If you compare the price to a Kindle Voyage + a leather origami cover, you spend almost the same price since the Oasis has an included leather cover (+ an extra battery).
- If you have just one reader that fulfils all your need, it’s cheaper than buying several devices that may not suit you.
- I’m pretty sure Amazon makes more money on the basic Kindle and Paperwhite (high volume + cheaper to produce)

The only "bad thing" I could say against the Oasis is the lack of adaptive light sensor. I don’t know why since it’s a very appreciated feature on the Voyage.

Anyway, I really hope this Kindle will be back soon with maybe some evolutions. Finger crossed for a plastic/polymer cover (it saves an animal skin, it's cheaper and more resistant).

Who tried to mimic the look of a book? Sony's were a mess of buttons, Amazon stuck a keyboard on there and the first Kobo looked more like a pot holder with the quilted backing. They are just flat. Sony tried making a curled tablet like the Oasis and nobody cared.

They didn't, still don't require two hands for operation. The early Sony's had 2 or 3 sets of page turn buttons. You could hold it in either corner and turn the page one handed. The Kindle had page turn buttons that could also be operated one handed and the Kobo had a d-pad that could also be operated one handed. All the touch screen models can be operated one handed. I've done that with all of mine.

The Oasis can't be operated one hand completely either any more than a paperwhite because you still need to use a touch screen to do anything more than flip the page.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by salamanderjuice

The Oasis can't be operated one hand completely either any more than a paperwhite because you still need to use a touch screen to do anything more than flip the page.

I think most people would accept the compromise of needing to use two hands for infrequent operations such as looking a word up in the dictionary, highlighting something, opening a different book, etc, providing they can comfortably turn pages one-handed.

[salamanderjuice]

Originally Posted by HarryT

What 32GB Paperwhite?

The only such version I'm aware of is sold in Japan. It would probably cost at least as much as the device itself costs to get it shipped, pay import taxes, etc.

Yes, it's only sold in Japan. And it's only 2000 yen(~$20) more than the 4GB version. And no I don't think it'd cost $180 to ship it and pay taxes. A quick look on eBay shows them for $170 with free shipping to the U.S brand new. I'm guessing that's one with ads based on the price. I don't even think I'd pay $180 to pay a reshipper service to buy one for me straight from Amazon Japan with taxes and everything.

Anyways my point was that storage is cheap, so why didn't they put more on the Oasis.

[knc1]

Originally Posted by HarryT

What 32GB Paperwhite?

The only such version I'm aware of is sold in Japan. It would probably cost at least as much as the device itself costs to get it shipped, pay import taxes, etc.

Perhaps that is so in the UK.

In the USA, no import taxes - it is well within the personal limits.
Shipping can be dealt with, there is more than one way to ship.

The only hang-up I have found is the price charged by 'buying or forwarding agents'.
With that charge added in, the price of the device is indeed nearly twice the selling price in Japan.

[Gabriel.Voyager]

Originally Posted by cedsoft

Hi there, long time lurking on the forum but this subject interest me a lot.

The Kindle Oasis may be one of the most innovative and effective design evolution made for an e-reader to date.

[...]

For the overpriced argument, I’d say:
- If you compare the price to a Kindle Voyage + a leather origami cover, you spend almost the same price since the Oasis has an included leather cover (+ an extra battery).
- If you have just one reader that fulfils all your need, it’s cheaper than buying several devices that may not suit you.
- I’m pretty sure Amazon makes more money on the basic Kindle and Paperwhite (high volume + cheaper to produce)

The only "bad thing" I could say against the Oasis is the lack of adaptive light sensor. I don’t know why since it’s a very appreciated feature on the Voyage.

Anyway, I really hope this Kindle will be back soon with maybe some evolutions. Finger crossed for a plastic/polymer cover (it saves an animal skin, it's cheaper and more resistant).

You're right for all about the oasis price.
But the only "bad thing", the lack of adaptive light prevent me to buy it, i still love my voyage for the adaptive light and the origami cover (i read always on table)

[haydnfan]

The premise that the Oasis is being pulled from stores was discredited almost immediately. I'm surprised that this thread persists.

I find it unlikely that the Oasis will be refreshed this year because

1. It is the newest premium kindle
2. It is lowest rated premium kindle (4 stars vs 4.5 stars for the others)
3. It makes up the lowest revenue stream with anemic sales