In a day and age where tablets have been routed by mobile phones and the newer innovative laptops or notebooks. Amazon has held it’s own with the Kindle Range of e-readers. There are many who swear by the reading experience with a Kindle device. Amazon has been steadily refreshing the reading devices every year and moving them closer and closer to perfection. We spent a good amount of time with the latest premium Kindle device – The Kindle Oasis 2017. Here is a detailed review of this device.
The Kindle e-reader that uses an e-ink display is any day better than the average mobile or tablet screen for people who read regularly and considerably. The reasons for that are many, first up, the display itself is kinder to your eyes and there isn’t the issue of blue light and reading fatigue that you would encounter with regular OLED and LED displays. Second is the fact that the size and dimensions of the Kindle devices are thought out to resemble a physical page and this sort of mimics the real reading of a book very closely both in terms of ease of posture and handling. The third biggest advantage is that technically the e-ink display gives you weeks of reading on a single charge of a battery in a day and age where we charge our mobile devices multiple times a day. So there really is no comparison between reading on a Kindle and on a mobile device.
Let us now get specific about the Kindle Oasis 2017. Amazon has made the process of listening to feedback and making thoughtful changes based on good suggestions an intrinsic part of their product philosophy and the Kindle Oasis 2017 is testament to that. When you ask people who read with a high end device like Kindle Oasis, they will tell you that they want the device to look and feel premium. When you hold it and use it they want to feel good. The new Kindle Oasis has that covered for you. The design used high end aluminium and feels very rich to the hold. The design is also unique.
It features a very thin and light ergonomic design with dedicated page turn buttons and adaptive front light so you can read even more comfortably for hours. It has the largest, highest resolution display that any Kindle has at 7″ and 300 ppi, reads like real paper without glare, even in bright sunlight. This one is the first waterproof (IPX8) Kindle so you are free to read and relax in even more places. The device can take water splashing on it and keep going without any issues. The new Oasis is designed to work after immersion in up to two meters in water for up to an hour. We gave it to a teenager out to his swimming session and it did well and so did he.
Let us get to the immersive part next, Amazon has put in a lot of serious work into making it look like a book or a page and that works in it’s favor. The presence of the option to have your book read out to you is a great immersion and accessibility feature. If you want to spend an hour with just you and your books, this is brilliant.
The new Kindle Oasis can connect to to your Amazon Echo device when you are home and you can have Alexa read the book out to you loudly. This is very useful.
Having a slightly thicker grip to actually hold the Kindle with one hand is very ergonomic and comfortable. The page flip buttons are also very thoughtful for single handed use and can be customized to make sense to your dominant side when reading. The device automatically changes orientation when you flip sides and re-adjusts itself. The display is way ahead of the previous iteration of the Kindle Oasis and is just like a printed paper. The new Kindle Oasis has storage options of 8GB and 32 GB and they are major improvements over the previous Kindles.
If you are someone who reads your Kindle for 30 minutes a day with wireless and Bluetooth off, and has set your backlight at about 40 percent of maximum, Amazon says the Oasis will last for six weeks on a single charge. And that is a very big thing to have if you are a regular reader.
The 8 GB WiFi only version costs Rs 21,999 and the 32 GB version with WiFi and Free 3G support in over 100 countries cost Rs 28,999. For people who value reading and actually have passion for it, the cost will not be a factor. And we believe that given the package that comes in the new Kindle Oasis, the price is only fair.
Verdict
This Iteration of the Kindle Oasis has been very carefully thought out by Amazon and comes with a bevy of features that enhance the immersive reading experience and take it to the next level. The 2017 Kindle Oasis is immersive, practical and stylish. It is clearly for people who value reading and do it regularly. This one gets a double thumbs up from us.
