If you’re looking for the TL;DR of this review, here it is: the new Kindle Oasis is a fast, responsive, and lightweight device that I have enjoyed reading with immensely since it arrived.
But at $250, there is no reason I could give as to why it is as expensive as it is, nor any reason I could justify saying to anyone that they should spend that amount when the Paperwhite is $119, and the Voyage is $200. Both the Paperwhite and the Voyage have the same resolution as the Oasis, and the front-end light, but don’t have the water resistance nor the on-board Audible capabilities.
This reaction makes it difficult for me to assign a letter grade to this review. I went with a C- because though the features are very nice and I’m very pleased to have finally upgraded, the price for this particular device seems way too high.
My very old Paperwhite was resetting and rebooting at least once a day, and its response time had become frustratingly slow, but I was hesitant to go through the process of getting a new device and setting it up with all my books, arcs, and documents. But when Amazon announced the Oasis, with onboard bluetooth streaming of Audible books, a larger 7″ screen, and the ability to survive falling in the pool or bathtub, I was intrigued.
The price, however, was a little difficult for me to swallow, even if it was going to be my primary reading device and an entirely justifiable work expense. Plus, when I realized I’d have to upgrade my Kindle Paperwhite at some point, I promised myself that I would pay extra for the absence of special offers. There were a number of books advertised on the screen saver of my Paperwhite that I did not want to look at, and some that made me irritated. It’s a small thing and I fully own my ridiculousness here, but I wanted to pay extra to avoid that irritation.
My favorable impressions of the Oasis are not going to set anyone’s hair on fire. It does exactly what it supposed to do extremely well. I am immediately immersed in whatever book I’m reading. The screen is ample and I can crank up the text size as large as I want easily. It flips automatically if I switch the device to my right or left hand, and I can use the side buttons or the touchscreen to turn pages.
I did get a cover for it (for that much money, I was a little afraid to let it touch anything, including the cover!) in a dark grey fabric, which is very nice. However, I find it easier to hold onto the Kindle Oasis without the cover, especially in bed.
The back has a ridge that makes it very easy to hold without having to grip my fingers uncomfortably. The cover, however, has a suede-ish (like Swedish only with more suede than Swedes!) lining, and is not as easy to grip securely with one hand. Design wise, I very much like the ridge on the back, though I was equally comfortable with the back of the Paperwhite as well. (Note: the schmutz on the back of my Oasis pictured above is just fingerprints. I don’t use it while eating caramel and marshmallow fluff. Yet.)
The onboard Audible streaming is pretty nifty, though I don’t quite grasp why the screen has to lock when doing so. Once you start playing an Audible file via bluetooth (there is no onboard headphone jack), the screen displays the standard Audible playscreen, but you can’t navigate away from it (not that I’ve been able to, anyway).
(The book I’m listening to is Self-Reg: How to Help Your Child (and You) Break the Stress Cycle and Successfully Engage with Life by Dr. Stuart Shanker. I mostly listen to nonfiction when I listen to audiobooks.)
I don’t see the onboard Audible bluetooth option as much of a feature, certainly not one to pay extra money for, at least. I streamed audiobooks to my bluetooth speakers from my phone regularly, so having the Kindle Oasis do so for me wasn’t much of a big deal. It’s cool, but I don’t see the need to upgrade to the highest price tier for it.
The waterproof-ness I haven’t tested yet, because honestly I’m a little scared to. I’ll probably drop it in a pool at some point, or maybe toss it in the bath with one of my kids once I’ve done some deep breathing exercises and had some wine…maybe. It seems a little counterintuitive to me to have a feature like water resistance on a premium device. It’s a $300 device; I’m wary to drop it in water accidentally, let alone on purpose! I also wonder if this feature will be part of upgrades on the other Kindles. Perhaps future Paperwhites and Voyages will also be waterproof, which would be pretty nifty.
That’s my old Paperwhite on the left. You can see the size and resolution difference. I’ve also noticed that the light on the Oasis is smoother across the screen, and that the increased resolution is very comfortable for reading. But at this point, the Paperwhite, the Voyage, and the Oasis all offer 300ppi resolution.
Aside from reading and Audible, does it do anything else? Nope. Which is exactly what I want in an e-reader. Sure, I can share highlights with Twitter or post my progress to Goodreads; those integrations have been available for awhile. And I could easily read on my Kindle app on my phone, too, just as I listen to audiobooks via my Audible app, and have access to all the internetty things I could wish for.
But for me personally as a reader, the technological isolation – dare I say, the oasis – of an eInk reader is that it does the one thing that I expect a paperback or hardcover book to do: allow me to read. And that’s it. Just reading.
There was a review on The Verge that included one section which baffled me utterly: why pay all this money for the Oasis if the Kindle Fire is cheaper and comes with a color screen and streaming and social media, etc etc:
But despite the annual introduction of new features, the Kindle is still defined by what it can’t do. It can’t check Facebook or post to Instagram. It can’t show notifications when you get a new email. Despite what it calls an “experimental” browser, it is not designed for extensive web surfing. The promise of the Kindle is that you can leave the rest of the world behind for a while, so as to better surrender yourself to the story you have chosen. It is a single-purpose tool, but that purpose is powerful, and explains the enduring appeal of the Kindle in a world that has largely passed it by….
I’ve spent countless weekend mornings in coffee shops trying to force my way through one novel or another on my iPad, only to find myself distracted by a tweet, a text, or a game. The Oasis feels downright meditative by comparison. Everything it can’t do makes it better suited to doing the one thing it can.
And yet at $250 for a Wi-Fi-only 8GB Oasis, it still feels like more than all but the most dedicated of readers will be willing to spend. A Wi-Fi-only Amazon Fire tablet with 8GB of storage can be had for $50 — and will give you the entire internet in return.
I know my eyeballs would rebel at the idea of reading long-term on a Fire screen, or any screen for that matter. My eyeballs and my brain love eInk, and I want that “meditative” experience of reading and only reading. (This Friday’s podcast is in part about reading, in fact.)
I don’t want the entire internet. I want to read and only read, and I want more control over the text size and screen light because paperback and hardcover text stopped working for me a few years ago. (I may be 42, but my eyesight is probably akin to age 102, possibly more.)
But should you pay $50 over the Voyage or $130 over the Paperwhite for similar experience? I don’t think so.
One question I try to answer, either outright or in the larger angle of a review, is “Who would enjoy this book? Who is this book for, ideally?”
So who is this device for? I am guessing the promotional image says a lot about that:
Do you wear linen pajamas while you read on yachts? This is the device for you!
As I said, I am very happy to have upgraded from a reading device that was failing. And I’m glad I’ve tried it out, much like one day I’d like to test-drive a Tesla. It’s very comfortable, and it’s light weight makes it very easy to hold. I can tell the difference in the upgrades to the screen resolution, and I am immediately immersed in what book I’m reading as soon as I open the cover.
But can I recommend that you spend upwards of $250 on a new Kindle? No, not at all. The features don’t justify the price, in my opinion, and if you’re buying a Kindle to read on, and you don’t live on a yacht, any of the other Kindles will be just fine.
The Kindle Oasis 2017 starts at $249.99 with Wi-Fi and Special Offers. It has a 300ppi screen resolution, an adaptive front light, is waterproof up to 2 meters (according to Amazon – I don’t have two meters to test with nor the inclination to chuck it into the water), and includes Audible, which connects via bluetooth to headphones or a speaker.
The Kindle Voyage starts at $199.99 with Wi-Fi and Special Offers. It also has a 300 ppi resolution, and a front light.
The Kindle Paperwhite starts at $119.99 with Wi-Fi and Special Offers. It has a 300 ppi resolution and a front light.
Have you tried the new Oasis? Are you in the market for a new e-Reader? Which ones are you looking at?
I’m definitely in the market for a new e-Reader, and I have already planned to get myself the new Oasis as a Christmas gift. The extra inch, as many other ladies can tell you, can make a difference!
Yes, it’s expensive, but it’s not like I get a new one every year. I still use the one I bought 5 years ago.
I can’t imagine switching from Kindle to something else – the dictionary is amazing, the device is FAST. I got each of my kids a Kobo Glo HD last year, and compared to my old Paperwhite they were so sloooooow and clunky. It reminded me of dial-up era when you had to wait 5 seconds after everything you attempted to do. It felt like a downgrade.
And sure, amazon is an ‘evil corporation’ that keeps you in their ecosystem and traces everything you read and monitors your every move, etc. But I’m not much of a privacy freak, I just keep the wi-fi off most of the time, and hope they don’t keep a log of all my files that they’ll send when I re-connect.
Do you wear linen pajamas while you read on yachts?
Yes, but while sipping champagne from the navel of my young lover, so I’m afraid I must hold out for the $500 version.
I think I got my base-model Kindle on sale for $49. It reads books good.
And I would rather set my hair on fire than read a book on my Fire. It’s too bright, too shiny, too fingerprinty. If you look at it too hard, the screen orientation flips or it goes into Page Flip mode or drags out the side menu. I do not need a counter of all the emails I’m missing while reading, nor do I need a timer telling me how much longer it will take me to finish a book at my current pace, as if urging me to hurry up so I can check those emails. It was clearly designed by and for people who don’t like reading.
I love my Kindle Voyage. And thought about upgrading to the Oasis, but most likely won’t. Barnes and Noble is releasing their new e-reader today. Will someone from Smart Bitches write a review?
I read on a Kobo but Kobo was first into the Canadian market. The main reason I stuck with Kobo these days is not only the investment on their platform (I was an early adopter of e reading), it’s because I find it is seamless with Overdrive. I also like the fact that I can read on multiple devices using the same adobe id.
I only have a Fire tablet & I love it! Love seeing all my book covers in color & the brightness of the screen is a bonus for me. Plus when I need a break from my book, I can scroll over to my games page & play solitaire for a bit!
I’ve had a few people ask why I like my kindle paperwhite so much when I could use the app on my phone, and I could never quite articulate the difference besides screen size and eInk. But thanks to your review now I know- it’s for all the things it can’t do. I like the integration with the kindle store so I can check out samples but other than that i don’t want it be able to browse the Internet. I agree with you Sarah, it’s the most like reading a book, in fact I might even say it’s a superior experience. I won’t give up my physical paper and ink because owning books is a somewhat visceral pleasure for me. But for reading books, I wouldn’t be without my kindle.
I still have my Kindle Paperwhite and it’s more than enough. 3 years old and still functioning perfectly.
I guess “cheap” and “expensive” are really relative. In my country wages are pretty low so the price of a Kindle Oasis might represent almost 50% of your month’s paycheck.
@sandy I: I’d like to see a review of the new nook as well. My Simple Touch does all I need it to do as an e-reader, but it is getting elderly and will have to be retired soon. I have too large a library at BN to switch readers, and I am not an Amazon fan anyway.
I just got the Voyage for my birthday and am very happy with it. I had the old basic Kindle, non-touchscreen, but not the original with the keyboard (anymore). I wanted something that wasn’t entirely touchscreen, and I like the automatically adjustable lights on the Voyage. I thought about asking for the new Oasis, but the only upgrade seems to be the waterproof feature, and I figure I can always just use a “real” book for my yacht-reading…
I have a Kobo Aura One and love it! Screen is 7.8″, 300 ppi, integrated with Overdrive and also has Comfortlight which gently turns the screen orange so reducing blue light exposure = comfortable eyeballs! I did think this was probably a bit gimmicky but it works really well for them or so they tell me.
It is also waterproof for up to 2 metres of water – and this is the only disappointment so far – am still waiting for Kobo to release its exclusive line of swimwear with which to dress it with before I, or rather it, takes the plunge!
Am more than happy with it and with the added bonus of not being locked into Amazon!
I’m with Lisa C on the Fire love. It’s the least expensive AND I get to see all my beautiful 1000+ romances with color covers. I would never dream of hooking up my email to it; in fact, I usually have it in Airplane mode except when I need to download new books. Plus, I get to play some games (like a free logic puzzle every night) and I have the option of using the Internet to play an on-the-go workout video.
My husband bought a Paperwhite because the shiny screen drove him crazy and he wanted the papery experience, but he still plays some of the word games with me on my Fire. I’ve never had an issue with the screen reading, and my new Kindle version does blue light at night! (Er, no blue light)
I understand that people can be choosy about their reading experience (hence some people loathing e-reading period) but I don’t have a problem with it at all (this article was a bit of a surprise for me, I didn’t realize others had such strong feelings!) (Note that I’ve grown up with computers and still have young eyes so that could be part of it). I love my Fire, I’m on my second model (caved after five years of use and three factory reboots from malfunctions in six months), and a different Kindle model would have to be drastically less expensive for me to consider it next time I need a new one.
(Two additional notes: 1 ok maybe people don’t care about games because they have them in their phones; my phone only has bare bones storage because of stupid Google bloatware so my Fire is where I play games, and 2 do other Kindles allow Overdrive? I installed the app because ironically I hate adding library ebooks via Kindle because it throws everything off when they expire and I hate having to go to a browser to return; now I can just download them to my overdrive app, read on my Kindle, and press one button to return)
Wow. I still have a Kindle Touch and had no idea there were so many levels of upgrade to the Kindle! I love my e-reader and I agree, I don’t want it to do anything fancy. I’ll use my Touch until it doesn’t work anymore and then I’ll probably ask for a Paperwhite for Christmas.
I have owned (and still have) almost every Kindle ereader since it’s inception including the very first wedge style Kindle. I looked at the Oasis, but with the reviews, price and features it doesn’t warrant the expense for me. I have the Voyage.
I have had my Kindle Voyage which I named V’ger for over three years now. She is starting to get a few missing pixels but the small starlight dots are at the very bottom and do not interfere with my reading. She runs a bit slower and the battery wears faster especially when I cram her full of books. But I still love her.
I have Kindle Fires too, but I use them mainly for audiobooks. I get hooked on immersion reading but try to multitask while listen to my books. But my V’ger goes with me everywhere. We are inseparable.
The e ink is the best invention ever, imo.
I have the previous generation Kindle Oasis and I love it like it’s one of my own children. I have already told my family that I want to be buried with it. Or possibly stuffed and sat in a corner holding it for eternity. It was quite expensive but I use it every day and carry it with me where ever I go. I have a second Kindle Paperwhite that I had waterproofed from a company called Waterfi. I use that in the hot tub. So much nicer than sticking it in a ziploc bag! I really want to upgrade to the new Oasis so I can use just one device as well as for the bigger screen. I’m turning 49 and I don’t know why the world has decided to shrink all the print everywhere on everything!
I have to say, I absolutely love how many different options there are for people to read, and how adaptable we are to new and varying choices. I can’t read on a shiny screen, for example, but my kids have no problem just like some of y’all don’t either.
@Cat C: as far as I know, Kindles do not allow Overdrive inclusion on the e-Ink devices. I could be wrong about that, but my quick searching yielded no guides or solutions for folks who want Overdrive ebooks via their library.
@Sandy, you asked:
Barnes and Noble is releasing their new e-reader today. Will someone from Smart Bitches write a review?
I’ll take a look at the release announcement when it arrives, but likely no. BN has such terrible history with device support and customer service, I don’t recommend any of their devices. I’ll keep my eye out for the announcement today, though, for sure.
I started with a Kindle Touch as a gift (TOTALLY THE BEST GIFT I’ve EVER GOT!). When that started to have issues aafter 5+ years (resetting constantly) I “Upgraded” to the Kindle Fire and HATED IT WITH THE PASSION OF A THOUSAND SUNS!!!!! Seriously hated it; 1) so heavy 2) Shiny screen 3) so slow.
I went back to my poorly behaving Touch and nursed it through the last prime day when I got a Paperwhite (Why did I not do that first, oh, yeah, all the shiny promises of the fire…”it’s a tablet, you can do all the things!”) and got one for under $100.
With Cyber Monday coming up, I’d expect some deals on Kindles…
I have had a paperwhite for about 2 1/2 years, and it started freezing, resetting and rebooting every day as well! So I read up on the Oasis and Voyage, and also couldn’t understand why the Oasis was so pricey.
I bought a voyage, and although I will always have deep feelings for my first-love paperwhite, I am happy with the Voyage.
I adore my Nook Glowlight Plus, especially after the system update they just pushed. The kids upgraded me last year. I completely agree that having an e-reader only device is imperative. I just need it to read books and carry lots of books easily.
I won a Fire in a giveaway. I only use it for authors that are imprisoned in the KU universe and can’t sell through other retailers. And, because I detest reading on it so much, I don’t read on it frequently. I didn’t bat an eye when my daughter wanted to borrow it to download Overdrive so she can borrow e-books through school. There would have been much more of an issue had she needed my Glowlight.
I still use my Sony e-ink. I have a Galaxy tab and all the reader apps, but like others I cannot read on a shiny screen. My old eyes just get tired too fast. I dread the day my Sony dies. I love carrying all of my books on an SD card. I am a big re-reader and having them all at my fingertips means I can read whatever book I want whenever I want. I am guessing I will go with a Kobo once my Sony breathes its last, but I am hoping that will be many years in the future.
Well here’s a timely post. It appears my Kindle is dying. It won’t hold a charge. When I asked the Best Buy people about battery replacement, they liked at me like I had spoken another language. Aside from the fact that I hate planned obsolescence, IT WAS A GIFT! I hate having someone notice I’ve replaced a gift. It was one of the best gifts ever, even if it is the low end model.
I’m with SBSarah, I want my e-reader to give me books. Just books. For long plane rides, or standing in line at Garrett’s during the holidays, or sitting inwaiting rooms. I can’t believe I have to say goodbye toy little buddy. I’m going to need a minute.
I bought a Kindle Paperwhite a few years ago for my mother. She hated it because it was non responsive (pages would not turn). She gave it back to me and I solved the responsiveness problem when I upgraded the operating system. I read a few books on it and enjoyed the long battery life (vs my iPad). I loaded it with a lot of books and it is now back to being nonresponsive. I have defaulted back to reading ebooks only on my iPad mini with the Kindle App. Covers are in color. I can arrange collections. I can use Overdrive (I always download library books as ePub, never Kindle and use OD app.) I can adjust fonts and contrast. No complaints. My one Kindle is my last Kindle.
When I was in Canada back in May, I took advantage of the exchange rate and got a Kobo Aura One. I have zero regrets. None. The biggest advantage is being able to access the library straight from the device without having to go through my desktop or the phone and have it kick over after checking it out from the library. If a book is available from the library I have hooked in, just one-click download.
I also really like the home screen and the organization and how it plays nicely with my Calibre. I also am a fan of the size. I went from a Voyage to the Aura One and like the larger size a lot. There is an actual button on the back, which makes it far easier to wake from sleep if the cover doesn’t trigger – the Voyage was a nightmare regarding that. If I didn’t have the cover on and it went to sleep, it was such a PITA getting the device to respond. I just press a button on the Aura One and it wakes right back up. Pushing the button on the back of the Voyage never worked.
The only drawback is that sometimes it is a bit slow to respond, but it is far from a dealbreaker. TBH, my Voyage was super sluggish by the time I made the switch.
I actually am in the market to replace my basic Kindle, 4th Gen. It has a grey splotch on the screen and is becoming slower and slower, sometimes needing reboots when it gets stuck. I’m hoping for sales this holiday season.
I already eliminated the Oasis simply due to cost. I might have paid that much when I bought the first Sony eReader, but I’m damn well not coughing up this much for a Kindle. Sony hooked me on eInk, so that is a requirement. As is manual page turning buttons, even if the Reader is touch screen as well.
This review was extremely helpful on the off chance the Oasis showed up somewhere on deep discount.
Like Lisa J., I primarily use my Sony and will mourn it’s death when it becomes the time to go. But for new books, I use the Kindle that I got for free. And tablets do nothing for me except bother my eyes.
@ Rae
I had the same issue with my Paperwhite more than a few years ago. I have a habit of loading my Kindle with books. I mean why have the space if I cannot use it? lol
I called and spoke with a Kindle tech support. Tech support man with a very sexy voice had me unload and reset my Kindle while he did some Kindle voodoo on his end. I was trying not to hyperventilate for said voice and my book naked Kindle, but it worked. My unresponsive Kindle worked like a dream…. I am not saying this is your Kindle’s problem, but it worked for me. Sexy voiced man tech told me my Kindle would run smoother and use less battery if I could refrain from putting so many books on it. For that voice? Anything if he just kept talking.
Of course I am back to cramming my Kindle full and my Voyage does not like it anymore than my Paperwhite did. I don’t know why I do it, maybe it is part of my book hoarding problem. Sexy voice tech would be so disappointed in me. lol.
I had 2 successive Sony e-readers, then got a Kobo Aura and a Kindle paperwhite in 2014. I was disappointed with the Aura’s responsiveness, but Kobo had bought Sony’s rights/books/customer base (whatever) and I had an extensive ePub collection. I love my kindle but it is slowing down, my next one will be another paperwhite. I like the cost/form factor. I use my Aura for my existing books and Overdrive.
I love e-ink and the matte screens and I will scream and rant and rave if they take that away. Also, as mentioned, it’s just for reading! I don’t WANT to be able to access social media if I am just trying to read a book!
…geez, now I want to buy a kindle just to call tech support.
This review and all the smart comments have been very helpful, thanks! I read via the Kindle and Overdrive apps on my ipad mini, and have no issues re: being distracted by social media or other notices on the device, but since I’ve been reading on it upwards of 4 hours a day for nearly a year now, I definitely notice the eye strain. If an “eink” device will help preserve my eyes for thirty more years of use, it’s worth it to try one out. I’ll be looking out for Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals and treat myself. (But I’ll only be able to use it at home. When I leave my home, I need all the other features offered on my tablet and I can’t see myself carrying two devices.)
I just don’t care for the Kindle format. I love Overdrive and when my 6 inch Fire dies I’ll buy a mini I-Pad and use the app to read library books. All the Amazon sales crap drives me crazy too, it’s so annoying the way they updated my library page to tell me what I may enjoy blah blah blah.
@SB Sarah & Cat C: You can send Overdrive books to your Kindle ereader, you just have to link your Amazon account to your Overdrive account and then, once you check out the book, you go to your Loans page, click Get Kindle Book (or working similar) and it takes you to Amazon, where you sign in (and click remember me to stay signed in), click Get Library Book, and it sends it to your Kindle. It’s the same for Libby (Overdrive’s new “streamlined” app), though I think they’ve eliminated the Go to Amazon step there.
https://help.overdrive.com/customer/portal/articles/1481616-getting-started-with-kindle-ereaders
*wording similar
Dang it
@KateB: I have never been so excited to be incorrect before. Thank you!!!
Yes! What KateB said. I have a very old e-Ink Kindle, the one with the keyboard, that I gave to my 10 year old for reading over the summer. She reads almost exclusively library books on it through Overdrive. You do have to go to a computer or your phone to get the book “delivered” to your Kindle account through the Overdrive app. Then it takes me to Amazon, I just choose her Kindle from the drop-down list and deliver it there, and it automatically downloads when she turns on the Kindle. It’s awesome–my only complaint about the Kindle/Amazon format in general is the lack of ability to separate some books from others in your account. For example, if my daughter searches “Archived Items” on her Kindle, she sees ALL the books in my account, some of which are most definitely age-inappropriate for her! (Someday she will probably be on this web site going “I became a romance reader when I was 10 and I got my mom’s Kindle….” hee hee) But I wish there was a way for me to separate my books from hers somehow. I personally read mostly through the Kindle app on an Asus tablet that I got for my birthday about 4 years ago. I thought I wanted the tablet because I wanted to be able to use the Kindle app as well as other apps for reading, like Google Play Books or something, but it turns out that I primarily use Kindle and I hate the glare on the tablet screen. Also like others have said, I wish the thing was JUST for reading, without the distraction of email/Facebook/whatever. I’m saving my pennies for a Paperwhite by the time pool season rolls around next year, because trying to read on the tablet in any kind of outdoor light is a hard no.
I still have my Kindle Keyboard which is more than 5 years old AND was a refurbished device then. I’ve had some false alarms in the last few months where it’s made me think it’s dying on me and the battery is definitely declining, so I’m babying it through to Black Friday when I will probably upgrade.
I sincerely adore my version with its page turn buttons and the actual keyboard was a lifesaver when I was using it to take notes on cases in law school and now to take notes on ARCs for review. Has anyone done any kind of annotating on the newer touch models? Please reassure me I won’t be miserable!! I’m leaning toward the base model.
I have to say I totally love my Oasis. Yes, it was pricey, but for me, it’s super comfortable to hold, and as someone with (apparently) really small hands it fits my hand really well. All the other touch-screen Kindles (I had a new touchscreen Paperwhite after my Keyboard died) I’ve used were really awkward– if I rested my thumb comfortably on the Kindle while reading I’d end up accidentally brushing the touchscreen, and end up way forward/behind where I was reading. Having the physical page-turn buttons is a the best thing ever, in my opinion. Plus, unlike my Kindle Keyboard I can still have the flexibility of a touch screen to download/choose books. I’d buy it again in a heartbeat.
Like Heather at #33 above, I still have the Kindle Keyboard I received for Christmas 2011. The power button sticks sometimes, but other than that, it works fine (touch wood!) Like many of you, I’m perfectly happy with it as a dedicated reading device; I don’t want to check email or social media when I’m reading. My biggest problem with it just recently was that the cover I’ve been using for years finally wore out. Because the Kindle is such an old model, I had to special order a new cover, and it still doesn’t fit perfectly. I realize that eventually I’ll have to upgrade, but when I do I will miss the old Kindle Keyboard.
I recently paid the $20 to remove the ads from my Paperwhite’s lock screen and have been surprised by how much it’s improved the experience. I didn’t realize just how much they were annoying me until they were gone. Now I can pick up my Kindle without having to see ads for books I’m uninterested in — or worse, actively irritated at (Ready Player One, I’m looking at you).
My Kindle Oasis is being delivered tomorrow and I can’t wait. I have a Paperwhite that is a few years old, but as a 40 something with Parkinson’s, the page swipe to turn pages drives me mad. Seventy-eight percent of the time, I end up repeatedly highlighting words or phrases, and I have to laugh. “Yes,” I tell my Paperwhite. “I really did want to know the meaning of ‘the’. Again.” It was pricey, but IT HAS BUTTONS to turn pages and I’m very certain the waterproofing will come in handy down the road.
@Christy: I think you will really like it, especially given how lightweight it is. I do like the buttons – I hadn’t realized how much I would. Will you share what you think when you get It?
I am one of the minority here, it seems, who likes reading on the shiny screens. I do 75% of my reading on my phone and the other 25% on my laptop, and I like both. (I used to read on a kindle fire as well until my kids took over that.) My husband and I do share a SUPER old eink Kindle, don’t even know what model any more, and tbh I do enjoy reading on it a lot. But, I don’t particularly like carrying around another device when I have my phone with me already, and since our model is old it’s definitely slower. I’d love to try out one of the expensive models like the Oasis, but given that I’m definitely not spending money on a new ereader I guess I’ll just stick with my phone!
Thanks for the review.
I started off with the 1st Gen Kindle and have since had more Kindles/Fires than I can count offhand. I loooved my old Paperwhite, but, like yours, it eventually started doing the constant freezing/rebooting thing. Even resetting it to factory specs multiple times didn’t help. So, I very reluctantly upgraded to a Voyage when there was a sale on. Sadly, I’ve been underwhelmed. There are some things I like about it, but it’s been glitchy as hell almost from the outset with a myriad of issues. Amazon, which normally has fabulous customer support, can only suggest the reset-to-factory-specs route and can’t seem to understand why I’m so reluctant do that and start from scratch with no guarantee it will actually resolve the problems.
I don’t want to read on my phone. I can only tolerate reading on my Fire for short periods. I don’t need a lot of bells and whistles; I just want a dedicated, easy to see/read, easy to hold eInk ereader. When I move on from the Voyage, I’ll probably go back to the non-yacht-friendly Paperwhite.