Kindle Oasis: Amazon's impressive new e-reader is the most advanced yet

The latest ebook reader from Amazon is the company’s eighth generation of Kindle. It was revealed today (though some details were leaked onto the internet yesterday). It’s called, as expected, the Kindle Oasis and The Independent saw it ahead of time.

It’s called Oasis, I presume, because the Kindle, as opposed to multi-functional tablets like the iPad, only does one thing. So you won’t get distracted by an email pinging in, a text arriving or an app notification appearing on screen. With an ebook reader you’re encouraged to stay in the world the writer created. Just like with, you know, a book.

As with every Kindle, the range of books available to buy is massive (4.4 million) and downloading a book takes less than 60 seconds. You can carry thousands of ebooks on it at a time. Kindles have certain advantages over real books, such as X-Ray, a search function that explores by themes, topics and characters. Or Kindle Unlimited where subscribers can read as many books as they like from a selection of a million titles, for £7.99 a month. Of course, they still lack the physical attributes that make real books special, but Amazon has gone further than most at closing the gap.

At first glimpse, the Oasis seems preposterously small, as though the display is substantially shrunk compared to previous Kindles. In fact, it is an optical illusion, the screen is the same size as ever, six inches, but the top and bottom bezels are far smaller than on previous models.

The Oasis is also extremely thin, just 3.4mm thick at its thinnest point, though that’s where it’s barely thicker than the screen. Even so, a clever electroplating-on-polymer manufacturing process means the case is still stiff enough to feel solid and strong.

On one side, where the battery and electronics are housed, it’s a bit thicker. That’s the side where the bezel is wider too, and has two raised buttons. The idea is that you hold the reader in one hand (it’s certainly light enough for that, more so than a paperback) and your thumb can rest on one button as you do. When you need to turn the page, a gentle press makes that happen. The other button is to go back a page.

open image in gallery

An accelerometer means it will work either way up, so it’s as comfortable in your left hand as your right.

There are new software features on the Oasis, including a new font to go with Bookerly, the excellent typeface introduced last year. Like Bookerly, the new san serif font called Amazon Ember has been designed to be as readable on a front-lit screen like this one as on a backlit LCD such as on the Amazon Fire tablet.

The front-lit screen, by the way, has been newly designed for a more even effect and like other Kindles with screens that light up – Amazon calls them Paperwhite displays – can be adjusted in brightness. This is the brightest Kindle yet. Size constraints mean that the Oasis lacks the adaptive brightness feature that automatically turned the brightness up or down according to the environment. That’s found on the Kindle Voyage, the reader which until today was Amazon’s flagship.

open image in gallery

Front-lit screens are much easier on the eye than backlit because there’s no light spraying directly in your face. This display has the same 300 pixels per inch resolution of the Voyage which is exceptionally clear and easy to read.

And as with every Kindle, you can read this one in bright sunlight, through sunglasses, which is nearly impossible with a backlit display.

Because Amazon wanted to keep the Oasis as thin as possible, the slightly fatter edge is the only bit with a battery in. As a consequence, this battery doesn’t last as long as previous Kindles. But we’re not talking the hours a regular tablet offers, this still lasts two weeks. If you don’t fancy having to recharge that often, Amazon has a neat answer.

open image in gallery

It ships the Oasis with a leather cover. This has two parts, a back plate which magnetically attaches to the reader and a front cover which closes perfectly across it. This makes sure the screen is protected and handily makes the Oasis look a bit like a real book.

But its main purpose is to add more battery life. Amazon says the cover adds an extra seven weeks of usage and it works by charging the reader as soon as it’s connected. Connect for 10 minutes and you’ll add an extra hour to the Oasis’s charge.

This is unquestionably the most advanced, powerful and appealing ebook reader yet. Even with the cover attached it’s light and manageable and its peppy, responsive display looks great. The software and hardware work together to create an immersive experience so there’s nothing between you and the writer.

All this clever tech doesn’t come cheap – the Oasis costs £269.99 for the wi-fi version. I’d say it’s worth it for the screen and ultimate portability alone, though if that’s too pricey for your liking, there are three other Kindles available, ranging from the entry-level £59.99 model, through the £109.99 Paperwhite up to the excellent Voyage at £169.99. All have touchscreens and wi-fi built in. All except the basic model also come in two versions, one with wi-fi, the other with wi-fi plus 3G. The 3G connection means you can download books wherever you can find a mobile phone signal, you’re not restricted to wi-fi hotspots. And there’s no ongoing cost for a 3G connection, wherever you are in the world, though the 3G versions cost £60 more than the wi-fi models.

Though there are tremendous ebook readers from manufacturers like Kobo and others, with this model Amazon places itself ahead of the competition by quite a distance. It’s available for pre-order from today and will be delivered in the next few weeks.