
Introducing Kindle Oasis - piquadrat
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00REQKWGA
======
SyneRyder
I think the Oasis is for a different market than most people here. It started
making sense to me once I looked at the math:

* The Oasis weighs less than my current Kindle Keyboard 3G, even with the Oasis case. The 3G device weighs 247 grams - the Oasis is 133g, plus 107g for the battery cover (240g total). Never mind that my Keyboard 3G case itself weighs another 225g!

* The Oasis is not the "thickest Kindle ever". At the thickest point of 0.33", it's still the same thickness a Kindle Keyboard 3G (0.335"). With a case, the Keyboard 3G was 0.75" thick!

* The Oasis and the Voyage are roughly the same price. The Voyage doesn't include a cover, and it costs $85 to add an Amazon premium leather cover. That makes it just $5 less than an Oasis.

Weight, size & battery life are important criteria for digital nomads or
perpetual travellers. If you're trying to keep under a baggage weight limit,
saving 225g can make a big difference. So if you're upgrading from a 5 year
old device (that still works!), this is potentially a huge upgrade.

This isn't a device for everyone, in fact I'm still unsure I'll upgrade my 3G
yet (I don't travel as often nowadays). But I can at least see how it could
improve my life.

~~~
dave2000
> If you're trying to keep under a baggage weight limit, > saving 225g can
> make a big difference

I can't imagine the difference in weight will affect anyone. It'll be hand
luggage or literally in your pocket. I've never had my hand luggage weighed.

£270 (£330 for the 3G model) for something which is essentially the same as a
£110 device (it's laughable that anyone would pick up a Paperwhite and
complain that it's too thick and/or heavy). Now that's a niche market.

I don't think this will sell very many, but I suspect its real purpose is to
get people to consider buying a Voyage instead of a Paperwhite as they'll
believe they're getting more of the cosmetic thrills of the Oasis without the
stupid cost.

~~~
alec
Saving half a pound (225g) on a backpacking trip is a enough that a frequent
hiker would notice.

~~~
ghaff
Some people do spend big bucks to cut out ounces for hiking/backpacking gear.
I'm skeptical it's meaningful numbers in the context of a device like this.

~~~
masukomi
you obviously haven't met any ultralight backpackers. Of course, I can't see
any of them "lugging" around a kindle on their hikes because there's no way
that extra "weight" is necessary

~~~
ghaff
I do know ultralight backpackers. But, yes, I can't see them carrying a Kindle
as opposed to _maybe_ some pages ripped out of a book :-) Maybe a certain
class of long distance hikers but now we're getting into vanishingly small
markets.

------
paol
Still 6 inches. I'm not sure why ebook readers standardized on that size, it
feels too small at least to me.

Finally bought one last year and ended up choosing the Kobo H20 partly because
of that - it's 6.8" which is not bad, but I suspect the sweet spot would
probably be somewhere between 7 and 7.5.

Edit: for people looking for big readers (for technical books and such, where
6" is quite useless), the ones I'm aware of are the 8" Bookeen Cybook Ocean
and the inkBOOK 8 (the later was still vaporware when I looked into it, not
sure if it's available now).

~~~
j_s
Any input from lurking Kindle DX owners? Sounds like they are available around
$200.

[http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=kindle+dx](http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=kindle+dx)

~~~
Compulsion
I had a DX. I found the PDF support to be useful, but too slow. It was
difficult to use it as a reference device, but it worked ok for linear
reading.

I migrated to iPads once the iPad 2 came out and never really looked back.

~~~
peatmoss
Same experience--PDF rendering was too slow even for a lot of linear reading.
I remember once opening a statistical text (Springer has a lot of freely
downloadable content if you're at a university). I think it was a Bayesian
text with a plot showing model convergence. Because the graphic was a vector
plot containing lots of line segments, the page would take several _minutes_
to render.

I loved the screen though. I'd love to have a DX sized reader with even the
processing power of a raspberry pi. Actually, I'd love something with a
keyboard cover that let me do emacs in the sunshine, but that's an altogether
different story.

------
hudo
I was really looking forward to upgrade my paperwhite, but this is total
disappointment. Almost 3x more $$ than paperwhite, but the very similar specs;
LED lights are just fine on paperwhite, same DPI, same size, same touchscreen,
absolutely nothing worth upgrading IMHO! Buttons are ok but never missed them,
definitely not worth money. And I still can't read IT books on that 6" screen.
What a shame. Amazon is without ideas, and money. Or paperwhite is simply good
enough?

~~~
therein
I really don't understand why they aren't targeting students that have to
carry a ton of heavy textbooks. Why not target medical students with a
product? Why just make a device with a screen that can only accommodate a
novel?

~~~
readams
Because e-readers are just really bad for textbooks. They work really only for
things you want to read from start to finish (they work great for that
though!). Paper textbooks are a lot better if you're flipping back and forth
or trying to use it for reference.

~~~
RealityVoid
If they outfit one with a bigger screen and greater processing power so
switching pages is fast and it's easier to flip (unless I'm under the wrong
impression and the page-lag for the paperwhite is because of the screen not
the CPU) then you could have a superior referece platform. Multiple bookmarks,
search functionality, cross-referece.

For my job I have to read a lot of datasheets. Ctrl-F works wonders and I have
no ideea how I'd manage without it.

------
unethical_ban
I'll echo everything else: far too much money.

I felt like a chump for buying the Voyage weeks before the new Paperwhite came
out with the same screen. The voyage is nice, but I would have gladly saved
money with the PW3.

And that's at $200! The Oasis is definitely a tool for the really hardcore
reader, or otherwise for the wealthy.

And frankly, I really like the Voyage case for setting it on tables or laying
in bed.

~~~
BlackjackCF
This feels like Amazon putting out a new Kindle for the sake of... putting out
a new Kindle to keep the product line looking fresh.

If this somehow knocks down the price for the Paperwhite, I'm all for it... so
I can get a Paperwhite. :P

~~~
chm
They did bring back physical buttons though. And the ergonomics have change
significantly - for better or worse. I really think they're trying their best
and not just trashing around products every x months...

And frankly, I've only owned one Kindle v4 and it's been going strong ever
since, albeit I use it much less than before.

------
GordonS
My first thought when I say the buttons only on the right side were 'what if
you're left handed!', but it seems they've thought of that:

 _" Comfortably turn the page with either the touch display or dedicated page
turn buttons located on the front of the handgrip. Whether you choose to read
with your left or right hand, Kindle Oasis automatically rotates the page
orientation to match."_

Having said that, when using my Kindle I often switch from one hand to the
other to accommodate things like picking up a cup, or one arm getting tired.

This is also a _lot_ more expensive that the Paperwhite, or even the Voyage.
While the dual battery concept seems nice, I can't say battery life with my
existing Kindle has ever been an issue... don't think I'll be upgrading.

~~~
blakeyrat
The older Kindles, like the keyboard one I have, simply put the buttons on
both sides. Seems like a more sensible solution. ;)

~~~
riffraff
I don't think I've ever heard of anyone complaining of the buttons on both
sides on the old kindles. I cannot understand why they chose to change
something so obviously good.

~~~
GordonS
Totally agree. Going by the excessive price, removing them from both sides
certainly wasn't a cost decision!

~~~
GordonS
Downvoter care to comment? Genuinely interested in what you find disagreeable!

------
gklitt
The design and added features look nice, but it's hard to believe they're
charging $289 -- well over twice the price of the Paperwhite, which is a great
e-reader itself. Makes me wonder if this is an artificially high price point
meant to drive sales of the Voyage, which now looks comparatively cheap at
$199.

~~~
noja
The price includes the cover. The Voyage price doesn't.

~~~
0xffff2
Yeah, but how many people really even _want_ a $90 cover? I don't use a cover
at all, but when I did I sure as hell didn't drop $90 on one.

~~~
noja
The cover doesn't cost $90, look:

Voyage ($200) + Premium leather cover ($85) = $285

The Oasis costs $290 with battery cover. You're paying for a more expensive
Kindle and a cheaper cover :)

------
nicpottier
From what I can tell this is still micro-usb. What happened to the everything
is type-c dream? Honestly that's probably the only thing that'll get me to
upgrade from my current one as I just want the same damn connector for
everything. (which I did for a while with micro-usb, but damnit, we are moving
on in theory!)

~~~
brewdad
Not only is it not type-c, it's still USB 2.0. I guess there's not much call
for higher speed data transmission on a device intended to be loaded
wirelessly.

~~~
kabdib
Typical book is less than 1MB; loads in a fraction of a second at USB 2.0
speeds. Maybe a second if you've got USB 1.1. Really not worth optimizing.

Type C USB would be nice. On the other hand, I don't have _any_ type C USB
connectors / sockets in my possession yet.

I'd really like a wireless recharging standard. Just toss your devices onto a
surface and they charge overnight, it doesn't need to be fast.

~~~
edent
Qi is that standard. Built in to lots of Androids now.

Only real issue with it is slow rate of charging. Not a problem for overnight
recharges - but my phone still discharges when I'm using GPS + Bluetooth in my
car's Qi holder.

~~~
mrpippy
> Qi is that standard

Unless you're at Starbucks, who have deployed Powermat/PMA. Even though Qi has
vastly more support from phones and chargers (Toyota is even putting Qi in
some cars), there's probably many more people who have actually used Powermat,
just because of SBUX.

------
treehau5
This solves the problem I am having with my kindle paperwhite -- difficult to
read with one hand, often I hold it at the bottom with my thumb awkwardly
sideways across the front to not invade the reading area, with my hand spread
out across the back so it doesn't fall out of my hand. It gets tired after a
while, so I end up switching hands, until eventually I have to put it down on
a table, and then I am reading with my head down, which is also inefficient.

I hope this creates demand for a paperwhite attachment / cover that will
achieve this same ergonomic design for those of us that don't feel like
forking over that much money after only just buying their paperwhites.

~~~
pibefision
Books are also difficult to read with one hand. I'm not sure if one hand is
really important as a spec.

~~~
nbb
Ridiculous. Books also burn very easily, so apparently flammability should be
an important spec of any e-reader.

~~~
hsitz
Not a great analogy. The designed use-case for a book is to be held in your
hands and read. Whereas burning is almost never desired, generally only
happens if something goes awry.

Given that two-hand holding is the norm for paper books I would say single-
hand holding isn't a terribly important spec for an e-reader. Maybe it's
desirable for some, maybe not. I would definitely give up a little bit of
single-hand holdability for a larger screen, someone in thread above pointed
out the 8" Bookeen Cybook Ocean, which at $180 looks like a good Kindle
alternative: [http://www.bookeen.com/en/cybook-
ocean](http://www.bookeen.com/en/cybook-ocean)

~~~
ajford
Short of large hardcover books, I can't say I've ever read two-handed. Perhaps
I have larger than normal hands. but every book I've ever owned (and most
books I've checked out from various libraries) I read one handed.

I object greatly, and think that single handed holding is an extremely
important spec. Far more important than some silly touch-screen.

But like books, we are all different. So I hope you enjoy your e-reader
however you choose to read it.

------
mintplant
I really wish they'd bring back the Kindle Developer Program in a better form
than what it was. My Kindle is jailbroken, and software like KOReader [1] and
KindleExplorer [2] have become must-haves. In the case of KOReader, the
flexibility offered is just miles ahead of Amazon's stock reader app—even
though reading is the central purpose of the device.

[1]
[https://github.com/koreader/koreader](https://github.com/koreader/koreader)

[2]
[http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=206296](http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=206296)

~~~
zyxley
Do you happen to know if there's any of these alternative reader apps for
Kindle that'll sync ebook files from Dropbox?

~~~
mintplant
Sorry, I don't know of any that do that directly.

KOReader can sync with Calibre on the desktop, so you could perhaps set that
up as a passthrough. Or you could use something like BookDrop [1] or IFTTT
that sends ebooks from Dropbox to the Kindle over Amazon's WhisperSync
service. Those are stored in the "documents" folder on the Kindle, where
KOReader could read them as well as the stock reader app.

[1] [https://getbookdrop.com/](https://getbookdrop.com/)

------
projectileboy
This is a huge disappointment. I'm kicking myself for not buying a Paperwhite
when they were on sale last week. This was absolutely not worth waiting for. I
wouldn't find this compelling if it were $20 more than the Voyage, much less
$90 more.

~~~
BooneJS
They've been on sale at least 3 times this year. Hold tight!

------
WA
I still use some old Kindle from 2012, which was 80$ or so and had the best
design.

I'd love to have the illuminated screen, but the 2012 one was the lightest,
had physical page turning buttons on both sides and could be used by me as a
left-handed person easily.

I will stick with my old Kindle until Amazon will make a remake of it.

~~~
chiph
Same here. Mine is the "keyboard kindle" with the physical page-turn buttons.
My only regret is that I didn't buy the larger DX model while they had it, as
the bigger screen is more useful for technical titles.

~~~
tanker
I've been wanting to buy a Digital Paper from Sony since it came out for
technical articles / textbooks.

Overall, I think the product is worth the price (around $1000 last time I
checked), but I have other things to spend the money on right now. It seems to
be marketed towards legal firms (possibly a source of the high price), but I
don't need the collaboration software.

~~~
JBiserkov
The price has dropped to $800.

------
beeboop
>Our thinnest Kindle ever

*except for the half of the device that makes it the thickest Kindle ever

Almost as bad as HP advertising their new laptop as being as thin as a AAA
battery:
[http://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/384/908/4/S3...](http://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/384/908/4/S3849084/slug/l/p1010313-1.jpg)

~~~
markatto
Per the specs on the store page, the thickness is 3.4-8.5 mm. This means that
even at the thickest point, it is still thinner than the normal kindle (10.2
mm) and the paperwhite (9.1 mm), and slightly thicker than the voyage (7.6
mm).

------
vdnkh
I don't really see the point of the charging cover. I have a 2 year old
paperwhite and I charge it about once every two months.

That being said, I really like the new design. Glad they're embracing physical
buttons.

~~~
douche
> Glad they're embracing physical buttons

Re-embracing, more like it. I forget how old mine is, but it's from before the
basic Kindles went to touchscreen. The side-mounted page flipping buttons are
just about perfect. Throw in battery life of like six months of hard use on
airplane mode and the non-glare screen that you can read outside on the beach
in full sun, and it is just about a perfect e-reader.

I just wish they would resurrect the DX concept. I'd like to have a thin,
light Kindle that was approximately letter-sized, for textbooks, programming
books, etc. It'd probably also be a great fit for somebody like my dad, who's
eyes are going bad - you can crank up the font size on 6" kindles, but then
you only get a handful of words on a line.

~~~
ddeck
_> The side-mounted page flipping buttons are just about perfect_

I completely agree. I've had a Kindle 3 keyboard with the physical page-turn
buttons for nearly five years and although the new models might have sharper
screens, the lack of physical buttons is an deal killer for me.

They also seem to have gone backwards with the form factor. The 3 screen is
nearly flush with the bezel, which slopes away to the buttons at the edge and
feels great in the hand. I've handled the newer versions and they're thicker
and feel more clunky and cheap.

When you can replace the screen for $20 (replaced once) and the motherboard
for $4 (replaced twice), it's kind of hard to justify upgrading, even after
you break both by sitting on it.

------
Notre1
I love my Kindle Voyage, but I after the new Paperwhite came out with the same
resolution as the Voyage, I thought the Voyage was overpriced. At $90 more
than the Voyage and 2.4x the price of the Paperwhite, I don't know who the
target market for this Oasis is.

~~~
venomsnake
Do this have the same display as voyage and paperwhite? 300ppi

~~~
monkeyprojects
Same resolution but by the looks of it a different thinner display

------
uslic001
I have the Voyage but wish I would have gotten the Paperwhite instead as it is
not worth the extra cost. The Voyage is also very buggy when trying to turn
pages. There is no way I am paying even more for this new Kindle that looks to
correct all the problems that the Voyage has with page turning.

~~~
sunsetandlabrea
I also have the Voyage, at the time the Paperwhite was a lower resolution so
the Voyage was a better choice - but there is no question I'd buy the newer
paperwhite now instead.

When you say the voyager is buggy when you try and turn pages what is the
issue? I have a problem with the (stupid, hateful) haptic buttons. The ones on
the right mostly both go backwards, periodically it works as expected. I
thought this was a hardware fault, but maybe you are experiencing the same
issue?

~~~
dandrick
I'm not the guy you were originally asking, but I've had issues with page
turns on my Voyager. I think it's a pagination ordering issue - if I've been
reading on my phone, and then open my Kindle and sync to the location in the
book where I left off at on my phone, the first manual page turn I make
sometimes fails to match up perfectly.

As a for instance, if "the quick brown fox" is the last words on my current
page, and I turn to the next page, I'd expect the first words to be "jumps
over the lazy dog" but in this instance "jumps over the lazy dog" is typically
somewhere mid page.

I've also had issues, again when syncing my position from a different device,
where the location totally bugs out if I try to swipe back to the previous
page. This happens infrequently, so I'm uncertain if there's any logic at
play, but the location is often way off of where it should be when aiming for
the previous page.

------
satysin
£269 in the UK for the Wifi model which also has "special offers" (which is
just advertising). Umm no thanks Amazon.

~~~
username223
To avoid the ads, just leave it in airplane mode unless you're syncing. This
has the added advantage of saving battery.

------
BooneJS
While this is a bespoke reader, I like the price point of the $120 (often
cheaper with frequent sales) Paperwhite. It's always with me, and relatively
inexpensive and durable enough where I don't bulk it up with a case or sleeve.

Either $289 seems overkill for a single purpose device, or Amazon screwed up
and provided too much value in the Paperwhite.

------
mmanfrin
Amazon sure has a problem pricing things. When they announced the Fire Phone I
was all set to buy one out of plain curiosity, assuming it'd be priced at $299
-- then it came in at $699. Nope.

I have bought every iteration of Kindle (other than the large one they sold
when they first came out). This one I might skip. $300 for the _same
internals_ as the Voyage is steep. The only major changes are the form factor
and a few more LEDs. I do like that it has physical buttons, but not $300
like.

e: Also chiming in that I probably would have bought it anyway had it had
usb-c, but it doesn't, still stuck on micro.

------
elmarschraml
I've bought pretty much every previous generation of kindles, but don't see
the point of this one.

The voyage is already quite expensive for an ereader, and an upgrade of
questionable value over the Paperwhite, and this one is still more expensive,
for hardly any benefit.

To put it more positively: The kindle paperwhite is amazing value for the
price ;-)

~~~
Kihashi
I bought the Voyage when it first came out (moving form a paperwhite gen 1)
and I thought it was _barely_ worth the upgrade then. Now that the paperwhite
3 is out with all of the features that I bought the voyage for, I don't see
any reason to pay the extra for it.

------
DomBlack
Interseting to see that the UK price is £269.99, and the US price is $289.99
(£203.95). Seems a steep price different, even accounting for VAT.

Edit: Wasn't taking into account Sales tax, it's not that bad actually

~~~
koralatov
Usual caveats apply: U.S. sales tax is still to be added to that £204 figure,
so it's not actually £204 for an American buying it.

Adding vat to your £204 figure takes us to about £245, so even if we assume
that an American _does_ pay just £204 for it, it's only a £25 difference
(~10%). It's not ideal, but it's actually not bad either --- I've seen that
difference being much, much bigger in the past.

~~~
DomBlack
I was under the impression that online shops didn't get Sales tax (not sure
where I heard that, thanks for clarifiying)

~~~
aidenn0
The answer to that is "it's complicated"

In California, you were, in theory, required to pay a "use tax" on any goods
purchased from out-of state, that just happened to be equal to sales tax. The
reality is that most consumers didn't do this, since the only way to get
caught would be if they audited your return.

On top of that, if you maintained a commercial presence in the state you are
shipping to, sales tax was required. So, any national retailer that also sells
online had to charge sales tax.

Amazon was in a gray area where they had shipping warehouses, but not
commercial offices in California. They ended up making some deal a couple of
years ago where they would charge sales tax online. I'm not sure what Amazon
got out of it though.

So you used to be able to illegally get away with buying online without sales
tax in some circumstances, but it is no longer the case for Amazon.

------
djhworld
I've owned a kindle paperwhite since 2013, it works fine tbh I don't feel the
need to upgrade. Even the touted 10 LED backlight on the Oasis is meaningless
to me, I never use the backlight on my Kindle as it is.

The thing that is frustrating me more and more about the Kindle (and e-readers
in general) is the amount of books still not available as ebooks, I don't
understand why publishing houses like Penguin books have such a mixed bag when
it comes to having a Kindle offering for some titles.

~~~
Havoc
> the amount of books still not available as ebooks

And the retarded pricing. Its regularly at the same or higher as mass
paperback. Unless shipping costs have turned negative thats just bullsht.

~~~
piquadrat
There's a conspiracy theory going around that the nonsensical pricing for
Kindle ebooks is caused by a strategy from the big publishers to make the
Kindle less attractive. Their worst nightmare of an Amazon monopoly on digital
distribution is becoming more and more a reality. Setting the price for Kindle
editions unrealistically high is one way to fight that.

~~~
Havoc
>There's a conspiracy theory going around that

Well something definitely is screw-y with the pricing so I'd consider that
theory quite plausible.

------
undoware
I already have a great portable e-book reader that's light enough to hold in
my hand. It's my phone. And it's a sunk cost. Oh, and it's not locked to a
single bookseller.

I spend all day reading text on screens; when it comes to recreational
reading, why are my eyes suddenly so precious that they need a special display
that's supposedly easy on them? Like, the rest of the day I'm beating them up
or something? $500CAD is almost the up-front cost of a Nexus 6p. And when I
get tired of reading Proust I can play Neko Atsume.

This is vesselmancy -- the same wayward urge that had fools plonking out for
leatherbound copies of Encyclopedia Britannica as late as the '00s, when they
could have -- should have -- known better.

The container has been abstracted. The value is not there anymore. Amazon is
just doing arbitrage on the delayed response the background culture has to
value migration. $60 leather case included indeed.

~~~
bendykstra
It's funny that you mention vesselmancy. As an early adopter of e-ink, I had
to endure years of talk about how e-ink will never smell or feel like a real
book. I'm the opposite of the person who ordered the leatherbound Encyclopedia
Britannica. I bought an early ereader and put all my books in the attic!

Phone displays and computer screens are just fine for reading text, but the
fact that you completely discount the value of e-ink makes me wonder if you've
seen a recent e-ink display in person. The advantages really become apparent
at the extremes: bright sunlight or dim rooms in the evening. Also, the
ergonomics of reading on a phone or a computer are not great for books and
long articles. It's no coincidence that e-readers tend to be about the size of
paperback books. Tablets are better, but they are more expensive, more fragile
and more power-hungry.

------
Karunamon
_Augh_ \- I wish they'd stop making smaller kindles and go with another DX!
Giving up all that screen space after having gained it is just painful.

I wouldn't mind a hard keyboard again either, but apparently the design meme
nowadays is that keyboards are a terrible thing to be virtualized or omitted
entirely. (Bitter? Me?)

------
tallanvor
I've owned about 4 Kindles (always upgraded, never had one break), but I just
don't see any reason to upgrade to this model, especially given the price.

I don't understand why they haven't included waterproofing yet. Or at least
IP68 certification so you don't have to worry at the beach or by a pool.

------
cooper12
Wow, while I'm still disappointed that this doesn't support EPUB, I'm
impressed by the feature set. It's clear that the team that did product design
is really starting to understand book readers and their needs. The price-point
seems to be targeting more dedicated readers it seems, especially with
"luxury" offerings like leather covers. My only gripe is that a lot of the
touted features will probably only be available for a select few books. It's
good to see that even though the e-ink technology isn't maturing that much,
the software integrations are increasing. Though personally I'd still go for a
Kobo because of size and compatibility issues. Fingers crossed for that
experimental color e-ink to ever make a debut...

------
amerkhalid
Ergonomically looks great. They have fixed one of the issue with Paperwhite by
adding physical page turn buttons. I prefer to use my Kindle Keyboard instead
of Paperwhite everywhere but in bed. Accidentally touching the screen or
tapping on a link when you wanted to turn a page is just too annoying.

Now I wish that they had re-introduced Text-to-Speech feature, I would have
bought it then. At present, I think it is too overpriced.

There are many times when I get tired of holding Kindle and want to rest my
hand. I simply plugin headphones and listen to whatever I was reading.
Kindle's TTS is amazing and almost sounds like human.

------
clement75009
Yeah for physical buttons! I miss them on the Paperwhite.

~~~
verytrivial
I have two Kindle 4s, the last with physical page turn buttons on the edge
(until know). I have drooled over the Paperwhite screens but was holding out
for one with physical buttons. If the Oasis and its Apple Watch market segment
price is anything to go by, I'll be holding on to the 4s for quite some time.

------
maxaf
My 5.5 year old Kindle 3 is still going strong. I could definitely see a
strong case for a backlit display, but the device I have right now is not
worse than a dead tree book in this regard.

My attitude might seem reactionary, however, I feel that in the case of a
device that is used for an intimate and intellectual activity, more does not
always equal better.

~~~
mseebach
No, but better _is_ better. The paper-white display (with backlight) is
substantially, appreciably better than the old displays. The absence of the
extremely rarely used keyboard is also welcome. The Paperwhite _model_ doesn't
have page buttons though which is a regression (fixed on later models which
still has the paperwhite _display_ ).

~~~
maxaf
Yeah, the keyboard is just a gimmick. I only ever use it to enter wifi
passwords. So, in this case _less_ is actually _better_! :P

------
nicole_express
Just recently bought a Kindle Voyager (to replace my Kindle 2, which ended up
having its screen crack after a fall), and I have to say the physical buttons
on this are appealing-- definitely something I miss about the Kindle 2, though
the Voyager's pressure-sensitive sides aren't terrible. Not sure it's $90
appealing, though.

------
0xCMP
Wow it's significantly lighter than previous kindles, with more battery, and a
nice case.

People are going to say "ah, same old" but there are a lot of big changes here
without going and breaking what makes kindles great. Will lots of people
upgrade though? Probably not, the existing Kindles are also very good in their
own right.

~~~
stupidcar
Seriously?

It significantly lighter _without the cover_. And is charging every few
_weeks_ really so burdensome that you'll pay an additional $170 (compared to
the Paperwhite) to avoid it?

That figure really bears repeating: ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY DOLLARS more.
They're charging over _twice_ the price of the Paperwhite, for a device with
the same screen size, same resolution, same connectivity, etc.

Madness.

~~~
sk8ingdom
This might be a niche market, but 4.7 oz (Oasis) down from 7.6 oz (Paperwhite)
is nothing to scoff at for through hikers. People will gladly spend MUCH more
than $170 to shave ounces on other equipment. The additional battery life also
removes the need to carry a charging cable reducing weight further.

------
donatj
I don't see what makes this worth $100 more than the Kindle Voyage other than
it being thin? Am I missing something?

~~~
monkeyprojects
Comparing like for like with the voyage, the voyage is missing $60 of leather
case that Amazon is including this time around

------
oneeyedpigeon
Is it me, or is the whole product line looking a bit weak right now? Only one
model has proper page turn buttons, and that's the most expensive. The
cheapest is nice and cheap but has a low resolution. The paperweight looks
like the best option at the moment; I'm not sure what the voyage offers for an
extra $80.

~~~
xzi
Not just you. The screen size being locked to 6 inches across the lineup is
disappointing. I can understand why someone would want the small screen for
portability, but an option for an 8-10 inch screen would be nice.

------
TY
Cool product, but I don't see any reason to upgrade from Kindle Paperwhite
that would warrant spending additional ~$300 on.

Paperwhite is just _good enough_ across all of the key dimensions - size,
weight, screen resolution and battery life for the users who don't run after
the latest and greatest.

~~~
BooneJS
+1. Unlike mobile-ish apps that run on tablets, new books on an e-ink reader
aren't in an arms race with CPU performance.

------
pfooti
I got a paperwhite for the touchscreen and backlight - both made the device a
lot better for reading in bed, and that was a long time ago: a 1st gen
paperwhite replaced a 2nd gen kindle, and the turn-page button on the 2nd gen
was loud enough to bug my wife if she was trying to sleep. The battery on my
paperwhite still lasts a week or more of regular reading, so I'm not about to
upgrade for battery life (I have an anker for long trips anyway).

I guess maybe the big bezel would have to be a _lot_ more comfortable for me
to want to spend on the upgrade. OTOH, I'm a loyal customer who buys kindle
books from the amazon store (or gets them from the library), so amazon already
has me as a customer anyway, so maybe the device sale is no big deal.

------
Haul4ss
My first Kindle was the 2nd gen one, right after they dropped the price to
$359 (from its original $399 debut price).

Hard to believe I happily paid $359 for my first one, but $289 looks
outrageous for the latest model.

The Oasis looks _awesome_ , but I have a 1st gen Paperwhite and it still runs
just fine.

------
15charlimit
Positives: -Physical buttons -Lighter -Smaller -Better frontlighting
(supposedly)

Negatives: -Shorter battery life (without the case) -STILL no memory expansion
slot -Very, very expensive for a small-formfactor monochromatic e-reader

I've owned every e-ink Kindle model released to date. Going to be skipping
this one because there's no real value added over a last gen paperwhite except
for physical buttons, which, while very nice, aren't worth tripling the price.

Why do you hate people actually hauling around decent sized libraries, Amazon?
Why no SD slot? The device isn't even waterproof yet, there's no excuse.

Their pricepoint is a mistake, unless they just don't want to sell very many
of these for some reason. Not much more to say about that.

------
piinbinary
It feels like innovation on e-readers has stalled. Where is our color eink?
Flexible screens?

------
toxican
I don't know how many years its been, but all this time and the only reason I
see to upgrade from my gen4 Kindle is my lack of back light, which has never
really been a huge issue as I don't do much night reading.

~~~
criddell
I also have a gen 4 Kindle and a few months ago bought a Paperwhite. The
Paperwhite backlight is fantastic, but what really stands out for me is the
improved layout engine.

[http://www.fastcodesign.com/3046678/the-kindle-finally-
gets-...](http://www.fastcodesign.com/3046678/the-kindle-finally-gets-
typography-that-doesnt-suck)

------
reustle
Previous (current) discussion from 1 hour ago
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11488082](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11488082)

------
graffitici
I wish Amazon would start investing more effort into the software of the
Kindle, and make it more into a platform. I still use mine mainly to read
eBooks. I would love to use it for reading my Pocket list, for instance. I've
been waiting for such an integration for a while.

Amazon's doing a much better job with third party integration in the smart
home domain. I still hope the eBook division will follow suit..

~~~
harrisonhunter
Checkout [https://p2k.co/](https://p2k.co/), I think it does a good job
solving the specific Pocket problem. I agree with your general sentiment
though

------
Slippery_John
Disappointing. I can see some very small demographics being interested in
this, but I don't see the average consumer benefiting purchasing it.

------
elevensies
Apropos nothing, I just checked my email records and I have 294 purchase
receipts from Amazon Kindle books going back to 2010. I've read the vast vast
majority of these on various iPhones and I have no complaints. It works great
for me for 6+ hour sessions of reading.

I'm still looking for the right PDF reader, currently using GoodReader which
for me is merely acceptable.

------
BinaryIdiot
Looks pretty good maybe even worthy of an upgrade but that price is just too
rich for me for an ebook reader. Maybe in a year or so when they've come down
significantly. The charging cover almost seems unnecessary but if it really
extends the battery life into months then that's pretty awesome. Certainly
would be great for long term camping / hiking.

------
tma-1
E-Reader for the price of a new PS4, no thanks.

------
neves
Ok, I have a Kindle Paperwhite 7th generation. It's 300dpi. There's no reason
even to desire this, right?

~~~
artursapek
You shouldn't let other people tell you what to desire ;)

------
sixothree
All of the images show it being held with the right hand. Can it not be turned
upside down and held with the left?

------
adventured
This is a terrible price point for what's at best a weak upgrade to the
Voyage. $290? That's nuts, unless you're going to give me a 10" screen with
it. I was waiting on buying a new Kindle, hoping the Oasis would have a larger
screen. Now I'll just buy the Voyage instead.

------
bb101
A new Kindle, and still the size of a postage stamp. Do people really like to
read on such a tiny screen? I ended up buying a Kobo H2O when I compared it
next to a Kindle Voyage - bonus is I can use it in the bath without worrying
about getting it wet!

------
jmspring
Late last year I upgraded from a kindle 3 (keyboard) to the Voyage. I like the
Voyage quite a bit and the cover flipping over the top rather than to the side
is more usable than the case for the paperwhite.

As others have said, additional battery life isn't an issue for me.

------
vanous
Nice. We have a Kindle for book reading but I have been considering letter/a4
size epaper reader for music score notes for my children, the amount of paper
they carry around is incredible. Too bad Amazon doesn't offer anything like
this yet.

------
fhood
I suspect that Amazon has realized that people don't upgrade their kindles the
way they do their phone per say and they think that people will be willing to
pay a lot more for something that lasts them 4 or 5 years, if it feels higher
quality.

------
cmrdporcupine
This is a terrible price, especially at the CAD ($400!) pricing.

I would love page turning buttons on my paperwhite like my older kindles had.
But I'm not paying $400 for the privilege of getting back what Amazon took
away.

The touchscreen on the paperwhite is a terrible idea.

------
incepted
Wow, $289?!?

I loved the previous generation priced under $100 but that's a huge jump and
I'm not convinced the feature list justifies such a price. I predict this is
not going to sell very well.

And I would have loved a slightly larger screen (7 inches).

~~~
gnoway
$289 _with offers_.

Who is going to buy this? Who is it for?

~~~
joshvm
And don't forget $20 for a power adapter :)

------
kawsper
The only thing that have held me back from upgrading to a Paperwhite is that
the background LED is always on.

I hope this allows you to turn it off, but like the information about the
Paperwhite, it is probably going to be buried in the forums.

~~~
mgberlin
You're not the first person I've heard to complain about this, but is it
really an issue? When it's on the lowest setting you're hard pressed to see
the glow in even the darkest of rooms, and the battery life is still amazing.

------
GordonS
My first thought when I say the buttons only on the right side were 'what if
you're left handed!', but it seems they've thought of that:

"Comfortably turn the page with either the touch display or dedicated page
turn buttons located on the front of the handgrip. Whether you choose to read
with your left or right hand, Kindle Oasis automatically rotates the page
orientation to match."

Having said that, when using my Kindle I often switch from one hand to the
other to accommodate things like picking up a cup, or one arm getting tired.

This is also a lot more expensive that the Paperwhite, or even the Voyage.
While the dual battery concept seems nice, I can't say battery life with my
existing Kindle has ever been an issue... don't think I'll be upgrading.

------
k_bx
For someone who never had e-reader: how good are they to read PDFs with code?
Most of my "books" are just PDFs and I've read e-readers were bad for them
some time ago. Is it better now?

~~~
coreyoconnor
Still bad IMO. I do not recommend using an e-reader for PDFs. I use a Kindle
DX on a rare occasion.

A tablet computer with pen provides the best experience IMO. I've used a iPad
and an Android tablet before. Both have excellent PDF reading software. I
recommend Bookari on Android. The Microsoft Surface, however, beats everything
else I've tried.

------
serge2k
The design does look way better, but 300 is a stretch for me for a kindle.

------
bborud
I'm sorry but the device didn't need fixing. The shitty user experience of
getting content on it and managing it needed fixing.

Until that is taken care of this is still not the device it could be.

~~~
peletiah
Calibre solves that for me. Also I barely buy books on Amazon thanks to it.

------
pjmlp
I love the Kindle and ebook readers in general, but my beloved Kindle doesn't
like PDFs.

Is there any Kindle that does a proper job displaying PDFs without one having
to play all the time with zoom?

~~~
tumba
No, but if you are serious about a PDF workflow for reference and annotation,
the Sony DPTS1 is an excellent single-purpose device.

[http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/product-
DPTS1/](http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/product-DPTS1/)

~~~
pjmlp
Interesting I wasn't aware of it. A bit pricey though.

------
RodericDay
Looks really nice, but $500 CAD for the 3G version seems very steep.

------
paulcole
Was looking forward to buying this, but have no interest in buying leather for
ethical reasons. I emailed jeff@amazon.com about this and am curious what kind
of response I get.

~~~
dchest
Indeed, it's stupid that such high-tech device ships with dead animal skin.

------
heisnotanalien
Why have the buttons on just one side? That means I can effectively only read
with one hand. I basically just want a paperwhite with page turn buttons on
both sides.

------
hartator
I wonder if it's actually now better to read things on the new ipad 9.7".
Notably with true tone, night shift and the wide color gamut of the new
display.

~~~
falcolas
Personally, I find eink screens easier to read, even over retina displays.
There's simply less strain on my eyes with the eink.

------
protomyth
Is Amazon still refusing to support ePub on their devices? It looks like that
from the spec and conversions didn't look correct last time I tried.

------
DennisP
Can anybody tell where the power button is? The Paperwhite has it at the
bottom, which isn't ideal for setting it on the elliptical machine.

------
d_theorist
It doesn't have the adaptive light sensor from the Voyage? It always feels
like one step forward, one step back with this product line.

------
aaronpk
Looks like it's meant to be held with your right hand. I wonder if you can
make it flip the screen so left handed people can use it too.

~~~
DanielStraight
Paragraph 4: "Whether you choose to read with your left or right hand, Kindle
Oasis automatically rotates the page orientation to match."

------
orbitur
The copy here makes a big deal about reading outdoors. Can anyone comment on
the current offerings and how reflective they are in sunlight?

~~~
amerkhalid
I have Kindle Keyboard and Paperwhite. Both of them are great for reading
outdoors. Only time it is problem is when sun is directly reflecting in your
eyes, but slight adjustment of wrist, problem is solved.

------
wallzz
so thin that the screen breaks at the slightest pressure, I owned 2 kindles,
they ended up with the screen broke in two after every travel.

~~~
jon-wood
What were you doing to them? I treat my Kindle terribly and the only damage
its ever had is a small part of the screen which no longer works because my
keys pushed into it.

~~~
creshal
What Kindle do you have? My Kindle 3 (complete with physical keyboard!) still
keeps rocking, but my Voyage broke after less than half a year.

I moved to a Kobo Glo HD after that. DRM free, account free, same screen, more
robust.

~~~
jon-wood
I've got a Paperwhite, so maybe that's what did it. I don't really see the
point in the higher end models myself, I wouldn't even have bought the
Paperwhite if it weren't for the screen backlight.

~~~
creshal
I bought the Voyage for its better screen… a week or so before Amazon
announced an updated Paperwhite with the same screen.

------
iagooar
As a leftie, I feel like it is going to be uncomfortable to use, given that
most of the weight of the device sits on the right hand side.

~~~
justinv
From the photos, it seems you can flip it around and it works for lefties.

------
terda12
$289.99 for an ugly looking kindle that isn't that different from the
paperwhite... no thanks.

------
meehow
Isn't it easier/cheaper to add small solar panel than second battery?

------
shostack
I wonder how much battery might be saved with an "invert colors" mode for
nighttime reading. I love that feature for my various iPad reading apps and
desperately wish my Paperwhite had that capability. It would be so much easier
on the eyes as well.

~~~
geoelectric
Probably not much. e-ink only sucks battery when it's changing pixels, and the
same ones change whether or not it's inverted.

~~~
shostack
Bummer--makes sense though. Thanks for the explanation.

------
dimplesmcgee
I don't like that the page turners are only on the right side.

~~~
ljf
Simply rotate the device, and the content will also rotate.

~~~
f1nch3r
Then they'll only be on the left side!

~~~
afandian
You can turn it round so the buttons are on the opposite edge.

------
Frenchgeek
So, if you're left handed it's upside down by default?

------
j_s
Kindle keyboard (and text-to-speech) for life! :)

~~~
douche
The test-to-speech on the old kindles was surprisingly good. I used to walk to
work, and listen to my kindle on the way. Also worked pretty good with one of
those audio-to-tape adapter rigs in my old car - way better than trying to
find non-abridged audiobooks on tape and then deal with switching through a
box of a dozen tapes on long drives.

------
takno
I've mostly gone back to physical books. The Kindle was a nice experiment and
all, but honestly it's more expensive and less convenient

~~~
chucknelson
Well, a little more nuanced than that. I'd argue the convenience of getting
books at the touch of a button outweighs some of its inconveniences (battery,
etc.).

~~~
takno
I don't particularly experience the inconveniences since I like going into
bookshops and usually have a backlog to read. I still have the kindle app and
a few kindle books for the occasions when they are useful. The real killer for
me though is that at least a third of the books I read are lent to me by a
friend, and most of the books I buy are shared on. Kindle doesn't really
support this, and that makes the economics of ebooks rather poor for me.

------
WalterBright
I'm glad the buttons are back!

------
jenkstom
It is about time that an e-Reader works one handed. I have no idea why this
wasn't done years ago.

~~~
mynameisvlad
The original Kindles had page turn buttons on each side. The Kindle Voyage has
capacitive page turn buttons on each side. I don't really see what's so
special about this other than that it has a bigger bezel on the side with the
buttons.

~~~
eb0la
I love my 2nd gen Kindle for having those page turn buttons on both sides.

Not just for left or right hande people. Sometimes you want to rest and can't
stop reading.

------
zephyrus1985
Yes finally an ereader designed for Africa the land of wild animals and no
electricity !

------
ortusdux
10 whole leds!

------
bitL
4GB in 2016. Amazon, it's not funny, really! Or actually it is very funny...
Good luck!

~~~
criddell
How much on-board storage do you think would be enough? I'm guessing Amazon
has a pretty good idea of how much storage their best customers need.

~~~
bitL
I have to read plenty of PDFs (imagine recent research articles) and have many
books in PDF format I bought (a single photography/visual art book PDF can be
easily 100MB) - if Amazon had incorporated a silly microSD card slot, I could
stuff everything I got into it. Now my Voyage is relegated to "hot items"
only, the ones I need to read right now, and often I don't bother. Now what is
the cost of a microSD slot? $0.20? They insist on some silly business model
and they just ruin it for the resourceful clients that don't want to waste
time switching between multiple devices, could buy a lot from them and inspire
other people to "ape" after them as well. Now I rather stuff a 200GB microSD
card into my Android phone (iPhone has the same issue), put everything there
instead and buy ebooks elsewhere. Win for Amazon?

~~~
mynameisvlad
How can you even read PDFs on it? Whenever I try it tries to cram it from a
8.5x11 down to he 6in screen and everything turns out blurry. Images also
don't seem to be fantastic on the devices, so I don't know how many high-image
documents you could even _use_ on that device.

~~~
bitL
Voyage has 300ppi as well, so it's readable from close distances (kinda like
low-quality laser print); research articles often have two columns per A4 so I
just zoom in 200% and am more-less fine. I would rather have 8"\+ 4:3 of
course. And sometimes PDF rendering is extremely slow as well, but...

On the other hand if I need a certain photography setup for achieving a
certain look, I can use Voyage for that - imagine instead of a PDF book with
lighting setups and examples of results you had a piece of paper with a
drawing - seems pretty comparable quality-wise.

~~~
arximboldi
For research articles I do this:

1\. crop out page numbers:
[http://briss.sourceforge.net/](http://briss.sourceforge.net/)

2\. remove columns and reflow with:
[http://willus.com/k2pdfopt/](http://willus.com/k2pdfopt/)

The later one works like magic, it totally made my ebook reader so much
useful. (A Tolino Vision, a very fine german device not locked to the Amazon
store: [http://mytolino.com/](http://mytolino.com/))

(edit: fixed links)

~~~
criddell
What do you mean by _not locked to the Amazon store_? Does the Tolino work
with books bought from Amazon? How about Google, B&N, or Apple?

~~~
arximboldi
It means you can copy Epub files to it without conversion (with or without
drm). It has direct integration with various ebook shops (mostly German) as
opposed to be tied to the reader manufacturer's bookshop. It's not the panacea
but it seems better than the situation with most other readers. I also enjoy
the tap-to-flip feature (tap with your finger on the back to flip page),
specially when lying on the bed.

------
jsnk
"Buy once, read everywhere"

I can't get this to work for my Kindle. I export lengthy articles and journal
papers to mobi and save it on kindle device, but I can't find it on my mobile
or my laptop ever.

~~~
ghaff
The key word is "buy." If it's associated with your digital purchases on
Amazon, you can directly access them from any device. If you've
downloaded/saved a document to a specific device, it's only on that device.

However, my understanding is that you can import content to your personal
Kindle library.
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_...](https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_left_v4_sib?ie=UTF8&nodeId=201974270)

------
mrbill
I owned a Kindle 1, 2, Keyboard, and then a Paperwhite.

The first-gen PW was EXTREMELY disappointing - their much-hyped backlighting
was uneven and splotchy, and I hated being forced to use a touchscreen instead
of having page-turn buttons.

So, when the Nexus 7 FHD came out, I switched to using that (despite having to
use a touchscreen) and the PW has gathered dust. If I ever dig it back out,
I'll have to do a manual firmware update for the SSL cert issue, but I need to
do that for the K1 I have in storage as well.

It was surprising when I dug the K1 out of a box last year and the built-in 3G
still worked fine.

------
sebular
I really wish the Kindle team had more imagination. It's a tablet designed for
reading enthusiasts-- what about making one for writing enthusiasts?

Imagine a very affordable, portable laptop with week-long battery life,
completely free of distractions like youtube.

It writes. It reads. It sends emails. That's it. Maybe as a stretch, they
could quietly make it attractive to the tech community with a Unix-compatible
shell and SSH ability. Call it the Kindle TypeLighter.

You're welcome, Amazon. I'll accept my royalty payments in personal check.

EDIT: Before anyone says anything about refresh rates, there's plenty of
electronic ink technologies that are more than capable of supporting the rates
needed to rapidly add characters to the screen. This thing, for example:
[http://www.dasung.com.cn/](http://www.dasung.com.cn/)

~~~
Erwin
You can buy this Sony thing right now:
[http://www.sony.com/electronics/digital-paper-
notepads/dpts1](http://www.sony.com/electronics/digital-paper-notepads/dpts1)
\-- thin A4 display.

~~~
ghaff
It looks interesting if it works as advertised. (The reviews seem a bit
mixed.) But at $799 you'd need to have a pretty compelling use case (like
reading an annotating a lot of PDF journal articles) to justify it vs. just
annotating articles on a tablet.

