DS Forums

 
 

New Amazon Kindle Oasis


Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 13-04-2016, 16:35
Mandark
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Derby
Posts: 27,586

Looks like a decent ereader but £270?
Impossibly slim, effortlessly stylish and, at £269.99, painfully expensive, it's a device that is cementing Amazon's standing as the traditional book killer.
http://www.digitalspy.com/tech/featu...o-a-free-case/
Mandark is offline Follow this poster on Twitter   Reply With Quote
Please sign in or register to remove this advertisement.
Old 13-04-2016, 16:41
Brady12
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 375
Wow, when I was watched a brief review earlier I assumed the price was in dollars.
Brady12 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-04-2016, 17:40
MagicCoppelia
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 2,649
They have got to be joking at that price. My Kindle Fire is perfectly adequate for all of my e-reading needs.
MagicCoppelia is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 13-04-2016, 19:41
JasonWatkins
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 53,646
Looks very nice but horrendously overpriced.

Obviously trying to take advantage of the early adopters, but i can't see how anyone can really justify nearly £300 quid for an e-reader.

Most people who already have one will quite probably find whatever they've got perfectly adequate - I can't see me changing my paperwhite for anything any time soon.
JasonWatkins is offline Follow this poster on Twitter   Reply With Quote
Old 13-04-2016, 19:45
Lushness
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: London
Posts: 24,691
lol my tablet is fine!
Lushness is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-04-2016, 20:02
Anika Hanson
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 14,219
My voyage was pricey at £170 but the oasis takes the biscuit.
Anika Hanson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-04-2016, 22:02
Mustabuster
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Woking, Surrey.
Posts: 3,587
That's way too expensive, even with the cover/battery pack. My 3rd gen Kindle with the keyboard is still going fine.
Mustabuster is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 14-04-2016, 10:52
frightlever
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 1,204
The big thing seems to be the reduction in overall size and weight - because we were all pulling muscles hauling our old Kindles around.
frightlever is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 14-04-2016, 12:42
Philip Wales
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: South Wales
Posts: 5,866
Yep agree, seem vastly overpriced, for something that doesn't really offer any advantages over the "paperwhite". Ok so it has an accelerometer for turning the page orientation , but it's only really useful if your left handed and want the page turning button on the left. So basically they've added a feature that overcomes a design fault and called it progress, and used it as an excuse to charge £150 more.
Philip Wales is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 14-04-2016, 12:47
Anika Hanson
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 14,219
Yep agree, seem vastly overpriced, for something that doesn't really offer any advantages over the "paperwhite". Ok so it has an accelerometer for turning the page orientation , but it's only really useful if your left handed and want the page turning button on the left. So basically they've added a feature that overcomes a design fault and called it progress, and used it as an excuse to charge £150 more.
My voyage was pricey but I could justify when I bought it because at the time it had a much better screen resolution than the paper white 2, it was more ergonomic, had page turn buttons and had the auto light setting. The oasis is something else though. It's £100 more expensive than my voyage and there is nothing extra about it.
Anika Hanson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 14-04-2016, 14:41
Tanky
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 1,712
A tablet with a coloured screen or an e-reader that can only view black and white books? For that price point, I know what people will be buying. The new Kindle is hardly a technology breakthrough that vastly improves on the previous versions. Unlike ipads or tablets, that can demand such higher prices due to their functionality and performance, the oasis is lacking features that other devices offer for that price.

The kindle oasis, is hardly a big screen either, at only 6" like previous versions. It should offer at least 8" and 10", for the price they are asking for.

It made no sense that even the team behind the oasis, stated that the product wasn't going to be their highest volume seller. They already know they aren't going to sell that many, who produces a product that isn't a big seller? If it was a cheaply developed product, understandably, however I assume this must have been a costly product development. For such costs, you need to make a big return, otherwise, you'll lose money, which could hinder future development of the kindle.

I wonder if the price will go down on the other Kindle devices, since a new kindle is launched?
Tanky is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 14-04-2016, 15:40
Philip Wales
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: South Wales
Posts: 5,866
^I think your missing the point of an E Reader, we don't need colour screens, or a bigger screen. It's meant to replicate the reading of a paperback book, which they do very well.
Philip Wales is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 14-04-2016, 15:50
Mandark
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Derby
Posts: 27,586
I thought the next gen Kindle might feature a colour e-ink screen. I recall Amazon bought a company (Liquavista) that was working on colour screens a few years ago. One tech pundit said that cheap tablets and may be ongoing technical difficulties killed off the pricey colour e-ink projects. But would they have been any pricier than the Oasis?

Bezos himself must have pushed for this launch because most companies would have canned the Oasis project long ago.
Mandark is offline Follow this poster on Twitter   Reply With Quote
Old 14-04-2016, 16:07
Tanky
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 1,712
^I think your missing the point of an E Reader, we don't need colour screens, or a bigger screen. It's meant to replicate the reading of a paperback book, which they do very well.
I understand the point you make, but only if the device was for under the £200 price. Once you go into a higher price point, the demand for functionality becomes more of a requirement. Hence, going for a bigger screen and colour, would meet some of them needs, and mitigate some of the price. My point really, is that it needs something on the features points.

I understand why kindle has not got colour to this day, however I feel it's cut off some of it's own market. I feel that there's a big market with graphic novels/comics, that can really do with the colour screen. Even the reading of newspapers or magazines with colour photos on the kindle, would work. I mean many would buy digital magazines and newspapers, and they can get more money from selling such items for the kindle. Maybe colour or black and white, can be switched between the 2 "modes".
Tanky is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 14-04-2016, 16:16
Mandark
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Derby
Posts: 27,586
I think the colour ereaders will come Tanky. If Amazon is prepared to seek a high price low volume device like the Iasis then why not a colour ereader as a technology demonstrator. Amazon could rate the interest. Comics would be an obvious colour e-ink benefactor and since Amazon owns Comixology which seems to have deals with all the main publishers, you'd think they'd give it a try.
Mandark is offline Follow this poster on Twitter   Reply With Quote
Old 14-04-2016, 17:28
LostFool
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 59,708
^I think your missing the point of an E Reader, we don't need colour screens, or a bigger screen. It's meant to replicate the reading of a paperback book, which they do very well.
I agree. Tablets and e-readers are very different devices. On my Kindle I don't want constant email, social media notifications and app updates. I just want to read without any distractions.

My 3G Keyboard Kinde is still going strong. The battery may not be what it used to but I can still get up to a week on a single charge. If it ever died or got lost I'm sure I would just replace it with one of the cheap models.
LostFool is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 14-04-2016, 17:31
mrs_bateman
Inactive Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 60
still using my kindle, the one after the keypad but before the touch i think it is. Works absolutely fine and see no reason to change it until it stops working but even if i did want to change it id resent paying more than £100 for a replacement, let alone £270. Its an e-reader for gods sake, you read books on it. How much extra do you really use it for?
mrs_bateman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 14-04-2016, 19:46
alan1302
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: West Yorks
Posts: 6,180
It made no sense that even the team behind the oasis, stated that the product wasn't going to be their highest volume seller. They already know they aren't going to sell that many, who produces a product that isn't a big seller?
Many, many, many companies produce items that aren't going to be big sellers and that are sold at a premium. It's not all about the amount of sales.
alan1302 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 15-04-2016, 09:07
Philip Wales
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: South Wales
Posts: 5,866
I use my "paperwhite" a lot, I read it in the bath, I read it on holiday on a sun lounger, hell I've even used it in the hot tubs at hotels. Why, because I can and it's a relatively cheap device, and with all the inherent risks of using it as above, I wouldn't mind so much if it got damaged/destroyed. But I would never use a £300 pound E reader the same way, same as I don't use my iPad Pro in the bath etc.
Philip Wales is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 15-04-2016, 09:14
IvanIV
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 25,199
They made the paperwhite too good for their own good. I am not going to update until it breaks down and then certainly not for that price.
IvanIV is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 15-04-2016, 10:08
clonmult
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: UK
Posts: 3,291
I've still got my old Sony PRS-650. 6 years old, still works perfectly. Occasionally had an urge to buy a Kindle reader of some form, but at the end of the day the Sony is easy to use, has page turn buttons and a touch screen .... no need to make a change.
clonmult is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 15-04-2016, 14:32
tocsin
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 11
Well, I'm the one who...

... has pre-ordered a Kindle Oasis

Have a Kindle Keyboard, was thinking seriously about a Voyage. The Oasis has the thing I like most about the KK - physical page turn keys (don't like touch screens).

Am I a mug? Possibly! But I'll be away on a long-haul holiday and the stress cracks on the corners of the KK were beginning to worry me.
tocsin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 16-04-2016, 16:08
heiker
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 5,684
Looks very nice but horrendously overpriced.

Obviously trying to take advantage of the early adopters, but i can't see how anyone can really justify nearly £300 quid for an e-reader.

Most people who already have one will quite probably find whatever they've got perfectly adequate - I can't see me changing my paperwhite for anything any time soon.
Looks horrendously over-designed

I see nothing that would lure me away from my Paperwhite.
heiker is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 16-04-2016, 16:14
Mandark
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Derby
Posts: 27,586
Well, I'm the one who...

... has pre-ordered a Kindle Oasis

Have a Kindle Keyboard, was thinking seriously about a Voyage. The Oasis has the thing I like most about the KK - physical page turn keys (don't like touch screens).

Am I a mug? Possibly! But I'll be away on a long-haul holiday and the stress cracks on the corners of the KK were beginning to worry me.
Brave soul! I read an interesting article where it said that Amazon appears to be going down the Apple by producing a new range of high end devices with high profit margins. Most Amazon hardware is basic and designed to encourage you to make retail and/or digital purchases on it. The Oasis is here for its own sake, a bit like the Voyage I guess. But you expect a decent amount of functionality for a £270 device, which the Oasis has not got. But if you're going to keep it for say 5 years or more then you could argue you'll get your money's worth. Apparently many people still use their first gen Kindles from 2007 and they cost $400! They probably believe that they've got their money's worth.
Mandark is offline Follow this poster on Twitter   Reply With Quote
Old 16-04-2016, 16:32
IvanIV
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 25,199
There are even no mechanical moving parts on paperwhites, so the only way a bad build quality (compared to Oasis) could manifest itself is if the reader disintegrated I think it comes down to taste now, they got all clients on cheaper readers, now they want to differentiate them between those who will pay for pretty things more and the riff raff who won't.
IvanIV is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply




 
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 16:53.