Amazon Kindle Oasis Review: Best But Pricey

Oasis with Cover

The Amazon Kindle Oasis is a very notable departure in terms of design and features from all the previous Kindle E-Readers. Amazon has gone to town with the buzz and made it very clear this is in many ways the beginning of their bold new vision for Kindles. Given the pricey positioning, the Oasis has a lot riding on it. Does it deliver? Read on

Kindle Oasis Reader

Amazon has put in a a lot of solid effort in a radical rethink of the way the Oasis looks and it shows. This must be the thinnest Kindle ever! Designed to feel as light as paper, Kindle Oasis is over 20% lighter and 30% thinner on average than any other Kindle. The hand grip tapers to an unbelievably thin 0.13” or 3.4 mm display so you can read comfortably for hours without stressing your hand in any way.

Thinnest Kindle

Ergonomic design

Kindle Oasis combines a very strong cover glass and a featherweight frame infused with metal using structural electroplating, ensuring it is lightweight while also resilient enough to take anywhere you want to read.  It has a tapered ergonomic hand grip that effectively shifts the center of gravity to your palm, to rest in your hand like the spine of a book. Perfectly balanced for one-handed reading, long hours of reading – no problem at all! You have the option to turn the page with either the touch display or dedicated page turn buttons located on the front of the hand grip. When you change your reading hand, the Oasis automatically rotates the page orientation to match. A good feature to have for readers like me who get lost in a book.

The Kindle Oasis has a 300 ppi display for crisp, sharp text and retains a 6” display size that is same as Kindle Voyage. A redesigned built-in light features 60% more LEDs than any other Kindle, increasing the range of screen brightness for improved reading in all types of lighting. Kindle Oasis also is like the other Kindle readers and the light is directed on the screen and not into your eyes, hence reading does not subject you to strain or blue light exposure like the LED screens of smartphones and tablets that we are all used to.

Oasis with Cover

The cover is a very different idea in this Kindle, the cover is also an additional battery that complements the internal battery. Charge the device and cover simultaneously while snapped together and plugged in. When on the go, the cover will automatically recharge the device, giving you months of combined battery life. Plus, a new hibernation mode minimizes power consumption when your Kindle is inactive, extending battery life to a very very long time. This changes they way you read when you travel or even generally without the need to replug and charge the kindle over and over again. The charging cover is made of premium leather and comes in brown, black, and red. The cover opens like a book and fits closely around the bezel, waking the display of the Kindle Oasis when opened and putting it to sleep when closed. There are twelve magnets that form a secure attachment between device and cover, and retaining the ease to detach when even the lightest possible weight is desired.

Oasis Front View

And as usual, there are great features like adding margin notes that you can edit, delete, or even export from your device to your computer. You can share highlighted sections and meaningful quotes on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads, and you also get to see passages frequently highlighted by other Kindle readers.

Verdict

This is the best Kindle ever in terms of the experience, the radical new design, the cover that acts as a second feeder line for the battery and the useful page flip buttons that are convenient. The key is that while relative adjectives can make up for a full review, the device is priced above the reach of most people in India at a hefty INR 23,990/- and that I suspect, is where the challenge lies for Amazon with this one. Impressive device at a premium price.

 

Note: All images are Copyright Amazon

About Shakthi

I am a Tech Blogger, Disability Activist, Keynote Speaker, Startup Mentor and Digital Branding Consultant. Also a McKinsey Executive Panel Member. Also known as @v_shakthi on twitter. Been around Tech for two decades now.

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