11-14-2017, 03:00 PM | #1 |
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1st Gen Kindle Oasis users: feedback/review 1+ year later?
hi readers, i hope to get some feedback as i await my refurbished 1st generation Oasis from Amazon after finding that the new Oasis turns out to be uncomfortable for me to hold with one hand in bed (i lie on my back while holding it over my face/neck...not purely upside dow, but at a slight angle form vertical)
for those of you who kept the Kindle over time, what is your long term perspective on ownership? in particular, i'd love for comments on the following: (sort of culling together many of the concerns i've read about) - have you had an issues with the connecting the cover for recharging? - how even is the lighting (it would be great to compare against other kindles you may have owned)? - any color gradient issues you have "learned to live with"? - what kind of battery life do you experience for the KO1 without the cover? (pls share roughly the backlight levels you use) thanks in advance! |
11-14-2017, 03:25 PM | #2 | |
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- The lighting on my 2016 Oasis is pretty even, the only issue is "light cones", which in my opinion are not particularly disturbing. Otherwise, the old Oasis has more even lighting than my Voyage and the 2017 Oasis (both of those have gradients). - I've never run down the battery in a reading session, but then I'm not really a fast reader. I'm satisfied with the battery on my old Oasis. Absolutely no problems. I read with the light on level 9. |
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11-14-2017, 03:47 PM | #3 |
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Love the thing. Had a Kindle Keyboard before it, so can't compare the light to anything else. I find it overall very even. I think it lasts 5-6 hours before having to throw the cover on it for more charge.
If you stare at the thing intently, you'll find flaws, but I gave up on doing that after the first month or two. Now I just read w/it and enjoy. I'm concerned that with the new Oasis, Amazon will stop releasing regular updates for it, because it's now a forgotten child of sorts. Which is too bad, because I like it as is (size of original Kindles, remove the cover to make it lighter). -HM |
11-14-2017, 04:43 PM | #4 |
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I like my Oasis 1 a lot. I've had the original Kindle, Kindle Keyboard, first Paperwhite, Voyage, and O1. According to Amazon, I'm getting an Oasis 2 today.
The screen is great IMO, but then I never had problems with any of the lighted screens, my Voyage was my 2d one because the G3 modem stopped working during the warranty period. A friend who is really into music says I have Donald Duck ears, and that's probably the kind of vision I have too when it comes to lighted screens. I never loved the PW because I wanted page turn buttons. I never loved the Voyage because IMO the haptic buttons were a bitter disappointment. Also while I couldn't fault the screen as to evenness or flaws, it was (I say "was" because I traded it to Amazon for a credit toward buying the O2) an intense blue/white. The Oasis 1 has a cream sort of tone that's much easier on the eyes for me. So I do love the Oasis a little if not as much as I did the KK in its time. For me the big negative of the O1 is that you can't charge the the cover on its own. So when the battery is low (and mine is low often, I read a lot), I can't keep reading on the device alone and just charge the cover. Also I dislike the suede finish on the walnut cover intensely. When I found out the new covers for the O2 are that finish, I canceled my order for the merlot one and have ordered a Fintie. |
11-15-2017, 02:35 AM | #5 |
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- have you had an issues with the connecting the cover for recharging?
Rarely - it will not start charging on first connect, but pressing a bit firmer on the cover or reconnecting always fixes it - how even is the lighting (it would be great to compare against other kindles you may have owned)? Very, although I don't see any big difference to PW - any color gradient issues you have "learned to live with"? No - what kind of battery life do you experience for the KO1 without the cover? (pls share roughly the backlight levels you use) On backlight level 11 - 8-10 hours |
11-15-2017, 04:27 AM | #6 | |
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That said, i had no problem with the lighting, the battery life was never an issue to me (i never ran out of battery part way through a three hour reading session). I did very occasionally have an issue with the charging cover not connecting however. |
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11-15-2017, 07:24 AM | #7 |
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- have you had issues with the connecting the cover for recharging?
Yes. I don't so much mind having to fiddle with it when I attach it, or even while I'm reading, but it sometimes loses the connection while it's just sitting peacefully on a table (I do try to lay it down v e r y gently). The worst part is that, when it's plugged in and charging, a disconnect means that the cover doesn't get charged -- ironic that my smallest, lightest, most portable ereader is occasionally too weak to leave the house. I bought a second cover, but the connection is no more stable so I guess the problem is with the Oasis itself. If the covers could be charged independently I'd at least be able to ensure that one of them would always be charged. Given the choice, I'd be happy to accept enough additional weight and thickness to have the whole battery onboard. - what kind of battery life do you experience for the KO1 without the cover? It varies a lot. I seem to require a higher than average amount of light for comfortable reading (about 14 on the Oasis) so I knew the battery life would be on the low side but going from 100% charged to the first low battery warning can take anywhere from two to six hours of reading time. - how even is the lighting (it would be great to compare against other kindles you may have owned)? The lighting on mine is the best of all the Kindles I've owned but, judging from what I've read over the years, that isn't a totally reliable predictor of what your specific device will be like, or of how you'll feel about it. In addition to the Oasis One I have a PW1 (with some gray blotchiness that never bothered me), and a Voyage (with the worst and most annoying gradient I've ever seen on any ereader of any brand -- pretty much unusable for me). I also had an Oasis Two for about a week but I found it so uncomfortable to hold that I hardly noticed the lighting. |
11-15-2017, 01:25 PM | #8 | ||||
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My Oasis has faint light cones, which don't bother me when I'm immersed in reading, but if I look for it (e.g., after reading too many MobileRead posts about screen defects ) I become more aware of it, which becomes distracting until I get immersed in reading again. (Note: I've seen photos of really bad light cones, which I would not be able to ignore. Fortunately, the light cones on my Oasis are faint.) One thing I'm curious about: The Oasis1 was out-of-stock for a while and is now back in stock. I'm wondering if this new batch of Oasis1s may have better lighting as Amazon may have worked out some of the earlier quality control issues? Maybe? Quote:
I usually only read for an hour or two at a time, and then I pop my Oasis back in its cover while I do something else. When I start reading, the Oasis is usually around 93% (supposedly that's a normal battery management thing; the only time I see it at 100% is after charging the Oasis+cover on ac). After an hour or two of reading without the cover, the Oasis is usually around 80-85%. On the rare occasions that I read uninterrupted for three or four hours, the battery goes down to maybe 60-70%. I have never read long enough for it to go below 50%. My light setting is usually 10-11. Also, I have poor eyesight, so use big text, which means frequent page-turning. If I used smaller text (so less frequent page-turning), I suspect battery life would be even better. Last edited by odamizu; 11-15-2017 at 01:38 PM. |
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11-16-2017, 02:30 PM | #9 |
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thank you to everyone for their helpful comments and sharing of their experiences. i appreciated hearing them all. i got my Oasis 1 yesterday, and in short, i'm disappointed although i guess it matches much of what is discussed above...
based on my typical usage patterns (backlight 7-12 range) - there is definitely a color gradient. it's more prevalent than what i had on my Oasis 2. probably ignorable, but that will take some mental gymnastics to overcome noticing it. - i have two areas on the screen where i see distinct light cones that to me are probably more distracting than the gradient. it's something my attention is drawn to and what led me to exchange several paperwhites previously. - comfort: this is the biggy: it's definitely much lighter than the Oasis 2 which is a big plus for it, but i still find myself struggling to find a comfortable way to hold it. i am guessing its designed to be held some one's thumb is near the page changing buttons. if i somehow end up keeping it, it may be something i just have to get used to. it's strange, maybe it's habit of using a Paperwhite for 3 years, but what i thought was an unorthodox uncomfortable holding method (forming an L with my pointer finger and thumb as a ledge to hold the device) turns out to be more comfortable than either of my short term experiences of grasping the Oasis 1/2 to access the turn buttons. my L method does sort of work ok with the Oasis 1 (since it's so light, but because it is tapered, it doesn't balance as well, surprisingly as my PW3 does) what i think is most disappointing (this, the color gradient, and cones may be symptoms of just trying to get a good deal on a refurbished unit which passed Amazon lack QC standards) is the the page turn buttons are not super reliable. it seems that sometimes (1 in 8 tries), the button just doesn't work or there is a huge lag in page turning. so...i'm being the ultimate OCD consumer here: i now have Voyage on the way so i can hopefully pick one unit and just move on from this huge time sink of trying all these devices out. what i thought was going to be a fun upgrade to a Oasis 2 has turned into a pot-hole filled journey (the reason this started in the first place is my PW3 backlight "switch" seems to be faulty and i can't always get the backlight to come on). i'm hoping that maybe, just maybe, the Voyage will be the best compromise -- getting a pristine screen, and something slightly lighter than the PW3 that i can continue to hold using my awkward but effective grip i've developed over the past 3+ years of using a PW2 and PW3. (PW2 is now used by my wife) i know for certain the Oasis 2 is going back (just need to drop it off to UPS). there's a small chance of me keeping the Oasis 1, but it really doesn't feel like an improved reading experience over my PW3 (except that it's backlight is unreliable)... (my wife thinks that i should just get another PW given what i've experienced thus far and spend the extra money on more books thanks again for your feedback and sharing. this is an awesome community! |
11-16-2017, 04:07 PM | #10 |
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following up after opening up my Kindle Voyage via Prime Now
- Amazon's standards are really slipping... although this was supposed to be a new unit, the seal was broken ?!?! - this Voyage has both subtle light cones and a very strong yellow, almost orange upper half of the screen. side by side with the Oasis 1, it makes the Oasis 1 look nearly perfect. while i have espoused elsewhere that i'd rather than a top to bottom gradient, i have to take that back... if the gradient is abrupt and as strong a jump from white to yellow/orange as it is on this Kindle, i'll take left-right gradient that i see on my Oasis 1 and 2 any day... so where does that leave me? i'm not really sure any more. i think i'm going to start reading/using the Oasis 1 the next couple of days to see if i figure out a comfortable grip and can ignore the gradient/cone issues. i'm tired of playing russian roulette with Amazon's e-reader QC... |
11-17-2017, 12:12 AM | #11 | |
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https://www.amazon.com/PopSockets-Ex...ords=popsocket Theres also stick on rings to put on the back of devices to hold them. |
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11-17-2017, 01:18 PM | #12 | |
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11-17-2017, 03:57 PM | #13 | |
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-no color gradients that I notice -battery without the battery-cover is enough for reading "an afternoon or so", with light at 5 and Kindle in Airplane mode. So perfectly usable. That said, I *think* the battery life in general has degraded a bit since I got my Oasis (on release), it is NOT something I have measured, but I haven't changed my reading habits, and I think I am charging it more often. But not more than every few days. |
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11-23-2017, 08:57 AM | #14 | ||||
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The only real problem with it is that the plastic housing is really fragile: if you drop it, you'll chip it, and if you chip it enough the metal layer underneath shows through. If that happens on the spine side, it'll get really uncomfortable to hold (since the metal will feel much colder than the plastic due to greater thermal conductivity) and need replacement. Quote:
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I really like the split cover scheme |
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11-23-2017, 03:45 PM | #15 |
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are there any third party charging covers
i need to buy one |
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