Amazon recently announced a brand new flag-ship Kindle EBook reader named “Kindle Oasis”. It’s thinner, lighter with perfectly balanced ergonomic design compared to the predecessors. Since it was first introduced the newer versions had always been lighter, having more battery life, better display for great reading experience, but this time it comes with a way too steep price tag of $290.

Whats New?

What do you really get with the extra $80 over the Kindle Voyage or the extra $150 over the Kindle Paperwhite.

Design:

The Kindle is now thicker on one side so the weight distribution is more on one side. They made this so it would resemble the spine of an actual book. So now when you hold in one hand all the weight is on your hands making it more a lot comfortable to hold for hours.

Weight:

It’s light! Lighter overall – it’s about 4.6 ounces which is 25% lighter than the Kindle Voyage, which is 6.3 ounces. The big difference is, the Oasis includes a charging cover which snaps right on the back and is easily detachable. It actually changes the battery life from weeks with just the Kindle itself to months with the cover on it.

The cover weigh an additional 3.7 ounces so it’s almost as much as the Kindle itself. What we could do is when you’re done reading pop on the cover. This way when you’re not reading it, it sits there charging from the battery included in the cover. Later you can remove the cover while reading to enjoy the benefits of being lightweight

Buttons:

The turn page button has been changed; instead of having one on either side, they now have both buttons on one side so you really can operate  and turn pages with one hand. The screen automatically flips on the orientation, You can also flip it all the way over so you can read it right-handed or left-handed, doing this still allows both buttons to be readily accessible with either hand.

Display:

The Kindle Oasis has 10 LED’s  placed along the sides as opposed to the 4 LED’s on the  Paperwhite at the bottom and 6 LED’s on the Voyage. This would probably mean a little bit more consistency in the lighting. The screen now will appear brighter but, will that really make much of a difference? I’ve used Kindle Paperwhite for 3 years now and never noticed any consistency issues, it might make a difference in the brightness if you’re reading in bright daylight.

Despite new notable changes there are several similarities between the Kindle Oasis and few older versions. For example the screen resolution is about 300 pixels per inch (ppi) which is the same exact one as the Kindle Voyage and Kindle Paperwhite.  Well, Pixel density does not matter much for e Readers as its all about reading “words” on a black and white display.

Kindle Oasis uses the  same processor as the Voyage so it’s not going to be any faster.

No changes as far as storage is concerned, but no matter what model you have they  all hold more books than you will ever need. With Wifi or 3G connection one can Wirelessly download hundreds of free kindle books from the Amazon kindle store.

One major improvement which would have been surprising for Kindle fans is, coming  up with a waterproof version. Despite rumors Amazon is still not up for it unlike the Barnes & Noble waterproof Nook which was announced last year and is now available for $129. But if that bothers you, you can get your kindle waterproofed by – Waterfi Waterproofed

Final Verdict: Is it worth the price?

Well. it really depends – If you already have a Kindle Voyage it probably not worth to spend all that extra money just for some minor upgrades. In my opinion, unless the ergonomics of the Voyage really bother you and you really want to be able to hold it with one hand or having other minor complaints, then you could spend the money if you want.

On the other hand if you were thinking about upgrading  Basic or Kindle Paperwhite to Voyage or you don’t have any Kindle at all and were planning on getting a voyage, it might be worth it to spend that extra money getting the top tier one. Go for the Kindle Oasis; especially considering that the it comes with that protective leather cover that also acts as a charging cover so will probably be a pretty good deal.

If you’re new to e readers and you don’t really want the top tier, just basic reading once in a while, or you’re looking for alternative to iPad or mobile phone for e book  reading experience and ergonomics don’t really matter to you; I would say go with the more basic models instead.

If you’re an avid reader or a bookworm who really enjoy reading, the Kindle paperwhite is an ideal choice. I would personally recommend it as it’s much more affordable with adjustable Built-in light display which makes reading less strenuous in low lighting conditions or even in the dark.

Overall, all Amazon kindle’s  have been the best e readers compared to other ebook readers that have evolved over the last decade.

Have anything to add to the story? Feel free to share in comments.

Amazon Kindle Oasis is Awesome! Except the Price Tag appeared first on Snakebytez.”