Amazon has unveiled the All-New Kindle Oasis. And while it's still an expensive proposition, it also boasts some improvements over its predecessor. The biggest of which is its ability to survive getting wet, which means, for the first time ever, you can feel confident reading your Kindle in the bath.
The Amazon Kindle has fundamentally changed the way we read books, and there's no going back. Sure, real books made out of paper are still a thing, and still sell in huge numbers, but the future is undoubtedly digital. Which is why there's room for a premium product like the Kindle Oasis.
For Serious Readers With Serious Cash
The first Kindle Oasis was released last year as a premium product for serious readers with serious cash. In our review of the original Kindle Oasis, we admitted it was good, but didn't think it was worth the money. So much so that we'd still recommend the Kindle Paperwhite to this day.
However, Amazon has now taken the wraps off of the All-New Kindle Oasis. The headline-grabbing difference between the old Oasis and new Oasis is that it's waterproof up to two-meters in depth for up to 60 minutes, being the first Kindle to boast such a capability. But there's more too.
The Kindle Oasis Is Designed to Feel Like a Book
The All-New Kindle Oasis boasts a 7-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 300 PPI (Pixels Per Inch), the highest Amazon has ever offered on a Kindle. This means you can get 30 percent more text on the screen at any one time, leading to fewer page turns.
The screen is encased by an aluminum back with a unique ergonomic design to let you read comfortably for hours without getting an aching hand. In essence, the Kindle Oasis is designed to feel like a book, with the center of gravity shifted to your palm.
The All-New Kindle Oasis also boasts a fast-charging capability which lets it go "from no battery to fully charged in less than two hours". It also has Audible built-in, so you can easily switch from reading an eBook to listening to an audiobook and back again.
In Amazon's press release for the All-New Kindle Oasis, Dave Limp, Senior Vice President of Amazon Devices and Services, said:
"Ten years ago, we introduced our first Kindle with the mission of delivering any book ever written in 60 seconds or less,With a larger 7-inch, 300 ppi display, waterproof design, and Audible built right in, the all-new Kindle Oasis is our most advanced Kindle ever. Its thin, light, and waterproof design allows readers to stay engaged in the author’s world in even more places than ever before."
The the All-New Kindle Oasis is available to pre-order today, with Amazon starting to ship orders on October 31 (just in time to read scary stories over Halloween). At launch, prices start at $249.99 (for 8GB of storage), rising to $279.99 (for 32GB of storage).
Can Amazon Justify This Asking Price?
This isn't a review, so we don't know for sure whether or not the All-New Kindle Oasis is worth the asking price. However, it's a lot of money to spend on an eReader. It all boils down to whether you have the money to spend, and read enough eBooks every year to justify the outlay.
Do you own an Amazon Kindle? If so, which model did you buy? Would you really like to own an All-New Kindle Oasis? Or do you think it's just too expensive? Have you ever wished Your Kindle was waterproof? Is that a game changer? Please let us know in the comments below!