The New Kindle Oasis - The waterproof kindle is finally real

I ordered a Paperwhite and cancelled immediately.

I’d rather get an Oasis. I really like the form-factor and weight. Just miffed it costs so damn much.

I got mine as a gift. Otherwise I’d still be using my Paperwhite. I’ve been very happy with the Oasis, though.

I bought an Oasis over the holidays thanks to gift cards and something like a $55 credit from trading in my Paperwhite ($25 gift card and then 10% off or something). Quite like it, it feels like a much higher quality Kindle. The lighting is much more even and I really like the shape for holding it. Plus physical buttons! I do like it much better than the Paperwhite.

I cannot for the life of me figure out the price increase for it though. There just aren’t that many improvements to it to justify the price in my opinion. Plus it’s the high end model and they couldn’t even through in a wall charger? It really feels like Amazon is playing an Apple card here. So if it works, I can’t blame them, but I am glad I didn’t spend my own money on the upgrade.

I think I am going to pay to remove ads from it as well. This last Paperwhite was my first Kindle where I didn’t remove them and I found them really distracting. I like to pick up my Kindle see the beautiful artwork I used to see, not some ad for a book I will never read. Speaking of which, they could really do better with targeted ads.

What’s amazing is that the latest 9.7 inch iPad was on sale at one point for about the price of an Oasis. Considering that the iPad is a decent e-reader but can do so much more than the Oasis, it’s hard to make the case for the Oasis.

Unless you really want e-ink.

Reading on a non e-ink device is a desperation move at best. Or the act of a very casual reader, I suppose.

I have no problem reading on my iPad, but I prefer not to for extended reading sessions. I find e-ink to be a much more enjoyable experience. Plus laying in bed and holding a device/book, the Kindle is so much lighter, it’s a pleasure to use in those circumstances.

Still I think @Mark_Asher’s point was that at the Oasis price point, most people would be better off with an iPad. The Oasis is for very heavy readers that have money to waste. The Paperwhite really seems like the one to get if you want e-ink. The Oasis doesn’t offer enough to make it worth it. It is a better reader, it’s just nowhere near $170 better in my opinion. $50 more than the Paperwhite seems fair to me.

I agree that the Oasis is overpriced. I also firmly believe any e-ink device in the Kindle line is a better purchase for reading e-books than any iPad.

I agree with this, but the iPad isn’t really a bad e-reader. I’ve read quite a few books on my iPad. I’ve even read a bit on my smart phone. I believe quite a few people read books on their phones.

I guess what I was thinking was that if you didn’t have either the iPad or a Kindle, the iPad is the better buy. Or spend a bit more and get the iPad and a cheaper Kindle. If you’re ok with the backlight, the standard Kindle is cheap and still a good device. You can catch one of those on sale for $50 if you’re patient.

You could also probably get a Paperwhite and a Fire tablet for not much more than the price of the Oasis.

Which makes the Oasis pricing even more strange. You can get a Kindle Firet tablet for less than a Paperwhite it seems. Is e-ink that expensive, or is Amazon milking it?

I am sure Amazon knows what they are doing, but seems it seems e-ink prices could come way down since it hasn’t changed much in the 6 years. (And wow, it feels like the Kindle has been around for decades.)

Technically it has. The first model of Kindle came out 11 years ago.

Edit: And if you think about it, the prices have come way down, too. The original Kindle was $400. You can now get the entry level latest-generation Kindle as cheap as $50 at times. Yes, the fancier, nicer versions are still over $100 (well over in the case of the Oasis), but that’s well below initial pricing.

That sounds better. The Paperwhite is 6 years old.

Reading on my phone got a lot more tolerable when Amazon added a “night” mode that puts the white text on a black background. I’ve ready comfortably for a good 20 minutes with that setup.

But I can read my Kindle for literally hours straight and not think anything of it.

I have an Oasis. It was a silly way to spend $300. I like it, for all the reasons anyone is glad they have one, but my Paperwhite was perfectly fine and a third the cost. If something happens to my Oasis I’m going to be okay just getting a Paperwhite to replace it.

That said, I really hope nothing happens to my Oasis!

I like my Oasis by the way, thanks for the info! I dont think i would have done without the cover.

The extra screen size is great, the only real downside I have with the Kindle is the same it always had with them forever. it simply does images very badly. So textbooks usually require the pdf version on an ipad.

The Oasis is just the Infiniti/Lexus of e-readers. Those are just Nissans/Toyotas with more frills and higher prices than are justified. The Oasis is for people who have the extra cash and want all the bells and whistles. The Paperwhite makes much more sense if money is tight. But if you can afford the luxury tax, the Oasis provides the best overall experience.

The price delta on the Oasis doesn’t make much sense. But given how many hours I use it, and that I typically use a Kindle for 3+ years before they manage to convince me to upgrade, the price isn’t unreasonable at all for the number of hours I end up using it.

The main complaint I have is the idea that page turn buttons are a luxury frill. They really ought to be standard issue across the whole line.

I bought the leather case for it since I will be using it on my commute. Looks great and will be appreciated when out and about. But it does add enough bulk, I don’t like it as much for home use. Kind of torn, wondering is I should have just found a sock/pouch.

I like the case because it lets me hold it like I hold a book instead of how I hold a phone/tablet…

I put a screen protector on my Oasis. I really like it best less bulky without a case. I only use it at home so I might feel differently if I was still traveling for work.

Using the oasis feels so much better when reading one handed than I ever felt with any of the other models. It is worth the extra dollars to me for that alone.

I agree with this. I got it as a gift so I didn’t pay for it, but if I had to replace it I’d get another one. I also like the white text on black and the buttons. The water proofing I don’t really care about and the slightly larger size doesn’t mean that much to me either. I love how easy it is to hold and read with one hand. I keep my thumb near the page turn button so I hardly have to move anything to turn a page.

So during the holidays I drooled over this device, but browsing through the amazon reviews, many are complaining of poor battery life - about 4 hours. This seems to be confirmed b/c when i was in the Amazon book store in our local mall, I asked and the guy said “It lasts a week if you read 30 minutes a day”

LOL. 3 1/2 hours?

What are your experiences here? I don’t see any complaints about battery scrolling back 100 posts…