While Amazon may have tweaked its Kindle line-up in recent years, the one thing that it hasn't changed in a long time is the overall design. All of the current line-up (the Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Voyage) look very similar and quite tablet-like. For the Kindle Oasis, Amazon has gone back to the drawing board and has completely redesigned its eReader.
I had the chance to see the new reader, getting behind the scenes to find out how and why the Kindle has evolved. In short, the Oasis is the culmination of a lot of research, with Amazon watching how people read and use their Kindles, so that it could redesign the product to make reading a more pleasant and less interrupted experience.
Design
The big change is in the design. Rather than following the tablet design book, the new Kindle is wedge-shaped, with a thick right-hand edge. This shifts the centre of balance, pushing the Kindle into your hand, making it more comfortable to hold and harder to drop. It's also smaller and lighter overall, weighing just 131g (down from 217g on the Paperwhite). The Oasis is also 30% thinner on average.
Amazon has used structural electroplating, which bonds metal to a plastic frame, which increases strength, while keeping the Kindle light. This method has a couple of major advantages: the lightweight frame means that you're less likely to get damage should you drop it; secondly, Amazon could leave part of the plastic frame uncoated, so there's no need for an antenna cut-out.
Amazon realised that using a touchscreen to change pages interrupted reading flow. With the Kindle Voyage, Amazon introduced page turn buttons, which continue with the Oasis. They're only located on the right-hand-side of the Oasis, but a built-in accelerometer detects if you turn the device 'upside down', so you can use the Kindle left-handed. The buttons can also be programmed, depending on whether you prefer the top or bottom button to be for the next page.
Screen
A big improvement comes from the brand-new 300ppi Paperwhite screen. With its 200-micron backplane (about the same thickness as a sheet of aluminium foil), the screen should be cleared and sharper. Amazon has also managed to boost the number of LEDs used for the front light (60% more). Better diffractive patterns in the screen give more even light coverage. Does it work? Absolutely. Side-by-side with the Paperwhite, the Oasis has a brighter, whiter screen that's much closer to real print than I've seen before.
On top of that, the glass is cut and then chemically strengthened. This is different to the traditional method, where the glass is strengthened and then cut, leaving the edges weaker. Given that a lot of screen cracks start at the side and work their way towards the centre, the Oasis could be a lot tougher than previous models.
Battery life
With a smaller case, the big downside is that battery life has dropped to two weeks. Now, that sounds like a long time, but that's a third of the time that the Paperwhite lasts. Don't worry, Amazon has a solution: a battery case. This ships with the Oasis and is available in black, merlot and walnut. The walnut leather case is my favourite, with the raw leather likely to develop its own patina over time.
Most battery cases are a bit rubbish, adding an ugly bulge to a device. However, with the Oasis, you don't have this problem, as the case dovetails neatly with wedge-shaped Oasis. The result is an overall package that feels much like a traditional Kindle or tablet. With 12 magnets holding it in place, the battery case feels remarkably secure when it's locked in place.
The battery case adds seven weeks of battery life to the Kindle, for a total of nine weeks. Best of all, it doesn't need to be charged individually, as it's charged via its docking port through the Kindle when plugged into USB.
Price and availability
There's no getting around the fact that the Oasis is rather expensive at £270; that's more than double the Paperwhite's price of £109. However, you do have to take into account that it ships with the case: a Kindle Voyage and Origami case will set you back £210 and you don't get the extra battery. I'll have to wait until we get a final review sample, to see if it's really worth this much money. My first impression is that, regardless of the price, it's the best eReader that I've seen. The improved design, light-weight body, better screen and smart battery case all add up to create something that's a lot different to the eReaders that I've seen before. You can pre-order the Oasis from Amazon today, with units shipping in a couple of weeks.
