- [Mr. Mobile] The notion of a deluxe e-reader
is almost an oxymoron up there with hot ice
and wondrous strange snow.
The popular idea is that if you have enough money
for something like a Kindle Oasis,
you probably already own an iPad
with the Kindle app on it.
And if you don't,
well then you settle for a more affordable Kindle
that gets the job done almost as well.
But I've just spent two months with all
the conveniences of the most
decked-out Kindle around,
and yeah I have to say that I'd have a hard time
going back to any other e-reader.
I'm Mr. Mobile and this is the
Kindle Oasis review.
(fun music)
Okay the only other e-reader I've covered
is the Kobo Aura One.
And that's still my recommendation
if you need a more open device
that can easily read files like PDFs.
But as I said in that review,
Amazon's ecosystem is massive.
So if you've already got a whole Kindle library
at your fingertips odds are you're staying
under Amazon's roof.
My favorite thing about the Oasis is the thing
I least expected to like.
This design is weird.
With an asymmetric humpback and an off-centered
display on a nearly square chassis,
it takes some getting used to.
But after the endless parade of
virtually identical thick plastic e-readers,
it's such a relief to see a product that
dares to stand out.
Even if the way it does that is by intentionally
jumping out of the ugly tree.
And the design has practical elements too.
The offset bump makes the smooth metal
easier to hold onto,
while the superthin display ensures the weight
is concentrated on the side you're holding.
That can be left or right.
You turn the Oasis upside down
and display flips over,
while the buttons flip assignments automatically.
Those buttons of course are for turning pages.
The display is a touch screen but when
you're holding the Oasis in a hand,
the keys sit nicely under a thumb.
So you don't need to tap the screen at all.
Out of the box those buttons are set so that
next is on top while previous is down low.
Well that doesn't make any sense to me
and fortunately the Kindle's software
lets you reverse them.
There's actually a lot of customizability here.
Inside a book you can tap the format menu
to change font, orientation.
If you dig a little deeper,
you can switch over to landscape too.
That took me forever to find as did
the option to invert colors,
which is under accessibility.
The display itself is fantastic with a
300 DPI resolution and the familiar
E-Ink technology.
Now this is the number one reason
to buy an e-reader.
If you're a voracious reader.
To the eye E-Ink looks just like
words on a printed page.
Unlike a tablet which feels more like
reading on a TV.
It also stays readable in direct sunlight,
and it's much more power efficient.
On the Oasis I was able to get through
1 1/2 books about 700 pages on 3/4 of a charge.
And I could have gone longer if
I'd remembered to turn on airplane mode
during one of my flights.
Course the usual complaints about
E-Ink hold fast as well.
It's slow to refresh and if you're trying
to open something like a PDF,
the combination of the slow E-Ink
with a pretty slow processor means
your gonna have a bad time.
My advice leave the miscellaneous files
to a proper tablet and stick to books
when it comes to the Kindle.
After all that's one of the great things
about a dedicated device for reading.
No notifications, no distractions,
no nonsense, just books.
Getting those books to my review unit
was another delight.
See on an iPad there's this stupid
intermediate step that actually forces you
to buy an e-book in the browser,
and then hop over to the Kindle app
and sync it.
But on the Kindle it's a much easier process.
And because my device was the top-shelf model
with LTE I didn't need to turn on WiFi to do it.
The books synced over the cellular network
for free no matter where I was.
I even synced a few books overseas.
And speaking of the seas,
the Oasis is great for the beach
with IPX8 water resistance.
Folks you know I always cover the down side
so let's hit em.
If you've already converted your other gadgets
to USB-C you'll be annoyed to find
an older micro USB port here.
Also while the screen's adaptive
front lighting is very consistent,
I was surprised to find that it's impossible
to adjust it's color temperature.
Which made reading at night less comfortable
than it could have been.
I just like my light a little warmer than this.
And finally there's the price.
Even if you downgrade to the 8 gig
WiFi only model and consent to seeing
Amazon adds on your lock screen,
you're shelling out $249.
Bump it to the 32 gig model with cellular
and no adds like I reviewed here,
you're lookin at $349.
That sticks the Oasis firmly
in the luxury category.
Since again most folks with a reading app
on their tablet will probably be just fine
doing their reading that way.
Or picking up a Kindle Paperwhite
for a little over a hundo.
But the Oasis is the only waterproof Kindle.
It's the one with the biggest display
and the highest capacity.
And it's the only one with even a hint of flair
in it's industrial design.
True only the hardest core of readers
will care about any of that stuff,
but well that's exactly who the Oasis is for
isn't it?
This video was brought to you by thrifter.
Thrifter is a new way to save money
on everything from gadgets to home goods,
by shopping based on value and not hype.
Check out the latest deals at thrifter.com
and tell em Mr. Mobile sent cha.
(fun music)
Folks let me know if wanna take a look at
any other e-readers on the market today,
or any other gadget categories
that Mr. Mobile hasn't hit yet.
And be sure you're subscribed to
the MrMobile on YouTube so you don't miss
those videos when they go up every week.
Until next time thanks for watching,
and stay mobile my friends.