Amazon launches $290 Kindle Oasis, its thinnest e-reader ever

Appleinsider ^ | April 13, 2016 | Staff

[C19fan]

In announcing the Oasis on Wednesday, Amazon said its ultimate goal is to make the hardware eventually "disappear," delivering the simplest possible experience for readers. In the retailer's words, the Oasis is "another step toward this mission," weighing in at 4.6 ounces and measuring 3.4 millimeters at its thinnest point.

In order to achieve this svelte design, Amazon trimmed battery life on the Kindle itself, and developed a new dual-battery design. The Kindle Oasis ships with an included charging cover that delivers "months" of uptime, according to Amazon.

[Vigilanteman]

Forgive my ignorance. But what, exactly, does an I-Pad do that a Kindle Fire doesn't besides the cell phone and its own internet connection feature?

If I need to connect when traveling (which isn't that often), I can pull into a Mickey D's, Starbucks or host of other places with free wifi connections without that seriously expensive monthly fee to the wireless carrier.

[PAR35]

Readability is much better on an e-reader than on a tablet. It’s a niche market, but it can be a useful product for someone who does a lot of reading. On the old ones without the light, you could measure battery life in weeks, rather than hours, another nice feature on overseas flights.

That being said, I’m not in the market for a $300 reader.

[redgolum]

I have the Voyage and a first gen Paperwhite.

The screen quality was a definite step up,but the Oasis seems to have the same screen. I don’t know about paying $300 for better lighting.

[PAR35]

The Kindle Fire tablets are color readers.

Not really. Fires are mid-range touch screen tablets.

[SunkenCiv]

In order to achieve this svelte design, Amazon trimmed battery life on the Kindle itself, and developed a new dual-battery design.

Amazon is building from the content up -- which means, this is a higher-markup slightly higher-end iteration; the people who buy it will already be good customers.

[over3Owithabrain]

Yeah. The market for tablets/readers is so glutted right now, you can get good ones cheap. I found a new LG Gpad 8.3 inch hi def display for 70 bucks. I don’t get paying laptop prices for them.

And used tablets are everywhere for pennies on the dollar.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Amazon said its ultimate goal is to make the hardware eventually "disappear,"

So, they do this by introducing a new hardware platform? What is their ultimate goal? A neural implant?

[rdl6989]

My Ipad does the same thing, I can go to a place with public internet if I need to. The Ipad has a lot more apps, that’s a reason I like it more.

[SamAdams76]

The Kindle I have is also cheap enough that if I drop it or lose it it is not a major deal.

That's the reason I stick wth the Paperwhite version. It's only about $100 and if it gets washed away in a wave at the beach, it's fairly cheap to replace and all my books are up in the cloud anyhow so I can bring them all back down on a new device.

I did a lot of research on the Voyage and Oasis as I always want to have the best, but I could see no compelling reason to spend the extra money in this case.

Also, the newer Paperwhites have the same 300dpi resolution of the more expensive models.

[SamAdams76]

I have both an iPad and an e-reader. Yes, the iPad also allows you to read books (with the Kindle app) but is almost impossible to read outside in the sunlight. Also the glare at night strains my eyes after a while. The e-reader allows you to read for hours with no eyestrain in any light conditions.

And the more important reason, you don't want to take a $800 iPad to the beach. The Kindle, as I mentioned before, is dirt cheap and easy to replace if it is stolen or ruined by a rogue wave.