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

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPad edited April 2016
Amazon's latest black-and-white e-reader is its thinnest and lightest design ever, but the Kindle Oasis also comes with a hefty $290 price tag, making it more expensive than Apple's iPad mini 2.




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.

In addition, the Oasis features a new hibernation mode that minimizes power consumption when the device is inactive, maximizing reading time without the charging cover.




The new Oasis features the same 6-inch, 300-pixel-per-inch display as the Kindle Voyage. But it also includes 10 LEDs with "enhanced page consistency," an improvement from the 6 LEDs in the Voyage and 4 LEDs in the Paperwhite.

Perhaps most noticeable about the Oasis is its unique asymmetrical design. Amazon says the new Kindle was designed to rest in a reader's hand like the spine of a book, balanced for one-handed reading.




"To lean back and read for hours, you need a sanctuary from distraction," said Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos. "We want Kindle to disappear, and Kindle Oasis is the next big step in that mission. It's the most advanced Kindle we've ever built--thin and ultra-lightweight, it gets out of the way so you can lose yourself in the author's world."

At $289.99, the Kindle Oasis is Amazon's most expensive e-reader. The Kindle Voyage remains available for $199.99, the Kindle Paperwhite is $119.99, and the entry-level Kindle is $79.99.

The $290 Kindle Oasis is actually more expensive than Apple's iPad mini 2, which the company continues to sell for $269. Of course, while Apple's iPad features iBooks and can even access a user's Amazon Kindle account for e-books, the iPad offers much greater functionality with a full-color 7.9-inch display, while the Kindle is intended solely for reading books in black and white.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 38
    williamhwilliamh Posts: 1,033member
    I assume they had a lot of user testing and this thing is just wonderful.  However, I just can't manage to sustain any interest.  I do support their goal of making the Kindle disappear.  They'd probably come closer to the goal if they stop making them.
    caliradarthekat
  • Reply 2 of 38
    nolamacguynolamacguy Posts: 4,758member
    halve the price and it could be something. as is....just too niche for us. 

    now, when will these jokers get their Video app on apple tv!?? if they really called about user experience this would have happened already.
    edited April 2016 cali
  • Reply 3 of 38
    smaceslinsmaceslin Posts: 85member
    Still prefer reading electronic books on my Kindle. Much easier on the eyes than my iPad -- and one can read outside in bright sunlight as well.
    jahbladeSithFranmike1icoco3disneylandmanafrodriBShee
  • Reply 4 of 38
    NY1822NY1822 Posts: 621member
    Wait till Christmas....they will have a 4-pack for $99.99, only with a subscription to Prime and must be ordered through Alexa with a limit of 1 per customer 
  • Reply 5 of 38
    jbdragonjbdragon Posts: 2,311member
    I got the Kindle Paperwhite this last Dec.to replace my old Kindle 2. That price range is about the MOST I'd ever pay for one of these things. The cost of the one new Kindle is just way to costly. I really don't like the design of it either. The Kindle is a nice device to read books on if you read books. It's also better on your eye's when reading a lot of text, especially in the dark because unlike a phone or tablet where the light comes from behind the screen and blasts out the front, the Kindle is more like reading a book. Or a Book with a book light attached, it's shining the light DOWN onto the text. I love the light on my new Kindle. My old Kindle, I would have to attach a book like on it to read in the dark. It does it's one thing well. It's also a snap to check out ebooks from my local Library's and I don't even have to go there. I can do it online going to "Overdrive". Go Google that. But you can check out ebooks and Audio books for FREE. Your Taxes pay for your local Library's, why not make some use of them.
    jahbladeSithFrantrumptman
  • Reply 6 of 38
    supadav03supadav03 Posts: 503member
    Great device but $290 is just too expensive for an e-reader. My wife has the Paperwhite and loves it and i'd upgrade her in a heartbeat if this was about $150 but a $290...GTFO!!!
    nolamacguycali
  • Reply 7 of 38
    jkichlinejkichline Posts: 1,369member
    DOA. But Wall Street will rejoice in nonexistent sales numbers.

    nolamacguycali
  • Reply 8 of 38
    phone-ui-guyphone-ui-guy Posts: 1,019member
    Ummmm... WTF? 

    "measuring 3.4 millimeters at its thinnest point."

    Who cares about the thinnest point? What is the thickest point? Given that odd shape where it looks like half of the unit is twice as thick, that is the measurement we need to see. At the front of my MacBook Air it is pretty damn thin, but that doesn't come anywhere close to the average thickness across the device. 

    Found a shot of the side on Amazon's site. Not sure why this is the only pic that Apple Insider didn't show.


    edited April 2016
  • Reply 9 of 38
    xbitxbit Posts: 390member
    Outside of what I'd pay for a Kindle but a nice glimpse into what to expect in the future.
  • Reply 10 of 38
    irnchrizirnchriz Posts: 1,617member
    Tried reading on a kindle and just hated it, the screen resolution was woeful, I'd much rather read a real book or on my iPad with its crystal clear crisp text.
    bestkeptsecret
  • Reply 11 of 38
    isteelersisteelers Posts: 738member
    Wow, almost $300 bucks for an e-reader.  Even if it's the best e-reader on the market it seems a little pricey.  We'll see if the market will bear it at that price I guess. To each his own. 
  • Reply 12 of 38
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member

    What is the world coming to Amaizon is actually trying to make a profit. What is everyone going to do if they actually have to pay what something is actually worth.

    The bigger question is, will this thing be free of Amazon nagware trying to get to buy other stuff.

    I know my wife likes her Knidle and it is much easier to read books on verse an ipad.

  • Reply 13 of 38
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    You could buy  rent quite a few books for that $290, or one college book. 
  • Reply 14 of 38
    bdkennedy1002bdkennedy1002 Posts: 543member
    "At its thinnest point" makes how thin it is redundant. The same when Steve Shiller introduced the current baby bump iMac.  Look at how thin the edges are!
  • Reply 15 of 38
    michael scripmichael scrip Posts: 1,916member
    bdkennedy said:
    "At its thinnest point" makes how thin it is redundant. The same when Steve Shiller introduced the current baby bump iMac.  Look at how thin the edges are!
    Steve Shiller... Phil Schiller's evil twin  :)
    stompyJanNL
  • Reply 16 of 38
    nolamacguynolamacguy Posts: 4,758member
    maestro64 said:

    What is the world coming to Amaizon is actually trying to make a profit. What is everyone going to do if they actually have to pay what something is actually worth.

    its worth what people will pay for it. id bet an e-reader is not worth close to 300 bucks. I'm betting this due to us being a techie household and having an e-reader, but having no desire to purchase this.
  • Reply 17 of 38
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Why do they bother to compare this to Apples Mini iPad.   The devices are two completely different concepts, on is a book reader the other a general purpose tablet.   
  • Reply 18 of 38
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    What's new that justifies that price?

    Apple needs to hurry and put an e-reader mode on iPad.
  • Reply 19 of 38
    michael scripmichael scrip Posts: 1,916member
    wizard69 said:

    Why do they bother to compare this to Apples Mini iPad.   The devices are two completely different concepts, on is a book reader the other a general purpose tablet. 
    You're right... they are two different types of devices.

    But I think they're trying to explain what else you can get for the same amount of money.  Something with more than one purpose.

    An iPad can become a Kindle thanks to the Kindle iOS app.  And tons of other things too.

    But a Kindle can never become an iPad.
    Rayz2016
  • Reply 20 of 38
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,284member
    nolamacguy said:
    halve the price and it could be something. as is....just too niche for us. 

    now, when will these jokers get their Video app on apple tv!?? if they really called about user experience this would have happened already.
    That is most likely Apple's doing, not Amazon's. Apple so far has not approved any rental services that compete with iTunes. And Amazon wants to rent/sell videos. The selection of recent movies included Amazon Prime is minimal and I would think they do not want to break out the Prime videos separately and push people to rent from iTunes.
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