Kindle Oasis E-reader (Previous Generation - 9th) - 7" High-Resolution Display (300 ppi), Waterproof, 8 GB, Wi-Fi (International Version) (Closeout)

I don't know what number Kindle this is for me. I tend to upgrade as newer Kindles come out. This Kindle is an upgrade from the 8th generation Oasis and that was an upgrade for a Voyage, which was an upgrade from the Paperwhite all the way back to the 1st Gen Kindle.. Having said that, I feel like I have a pretty good understanding for the different models and I can say by far this is the best one I have ever owned. It feels perfect in my hand as far as size. The metal back is a meh for me. It feels expensive and sturdy however I would it rather be rubber or something more grippy. The screen is the absolute best. Back lighting is even and crisp, screen is clear and easy to get immersed in. This Kindle truly makes it easy to forget the device and just enjoy reading. I also like the size. It's larger than I was expecting but perfect after getting used to it. The software is quick and responsive. It's very similar to the 8th generation with some different options and settings. I ordered a simple sleeve type case, because I don't want to add any weight or bulk to this Kindle. My biggest complaint on the 8th generation was the cover added too much bulk but without it there was not enough device for me to hold on to. Overall this is by and large the best Kindle yet. The price was well beyond what I could justify if not for the Kindle trade in program. I got 8 gig wifi w/o special offers for 139.00 ish, that's 25% discount for trading in and 75 for my old Kindle. I hope Amazon keeps this going because I so can justify being on the bleeding edge.

The Kindle Oasis 2017 is a fine e-reader. Unfortunately, I dropped it against a metal dumbbell soon after opening the package, and nicked an edge. It's a small blemish. But the Oasis now visibly and incurably scraped in a way that a plastic Kindle probably would not have been. To cover the scraped edge and to make the gizmo a little easier to hold, I added a few patches of soft Velcro. The bulging side that houses the battery would be okay as form and function if it were a bit easier to grip. Moral: be careful. The Oasis 2017 is fast and the text is crisp. I like the 30%-larger screen. A simply formatted PDF is readable on it. Electronic ink on so small a screen doesn't work well for complicated PDFs. But if the resolution is high enough, as on the Oasis, it can handle material consisting of a single wide column of ordinary text typeset with a reasonably large font. You can use the physical buttons to avoid mistakes too easy to make when swiping the page--for example, when scrolling through the boxes (definition box, Wikipedia box, translation box) that pop up after you click on a word. The physical buttons also permit greater precision when scrolling through many pages of book titles in a library; it's too easy to open a book by mistake when swiping to the next page. Many reviewers say that the price is too high. Heck, I think all prices are "too high"--if by this I mean that I'd rather get high-quality things for a penny or two per thing. Many products have tiers of prices that change with relative quality and demand for the product. If you are willing and able to pay the asking price for a good or service--even though a cheaper but less capable version is available--then the price is not "too high" for you, even if you grumble about the price. From a seller's perspective, a price is not "too high" unless the seller cannot sell its stock at that price. A price can be "too high" for you given your requirements, desires and resources, but it is not "too high" in and of itself, without regard to available alternatives, the quality of the product, the supply of the product, and whether you are willing to buy it.

I've been a Kindle fan since I pre-ordered the K3. I have owned that, the PaperWhite (IMO for the money the best Kindle available), the Voyage and now, celebrating ten years of quitting smoking I scrimped and saved enough to buy the new 7", 8gb, Oasis. The extra inch of screen greatly increases the reading pleasure the twelve LEDs create a perfectly even lighting environment even with the light set low to eleven or twelve. Contrary to some claims I've seen the screen is not square, it appears that way because of the different size bezels. I miss my page turn buttons from the K3 and now I have something similar, on a wider bezel my finger doesn't slip off of and hit the screen. The edges are a little rough, I'll agree with that. In ways it feels like the device was rushed into production. That being said this is by far the most comfortable Kindle to read for long periods of time on. The fact that you can flip it over and switch hands with all the settings remaining intact was a great idea. I HIGHLY recommend reversing the page Forward/Back buttons so the lower button is the page forward and closer to where you'd grip the device to read. I bought the 8gb version which leaves just over 6gb for the user, I have over 200 books on my Oasis and Windows still shows over 5.5gb free, I can't see needing any more storage than that, ever. My one real complaint, I'll mention here but deal with in another review is the cover (I chose the Blue cloth cover). If it's dark or late or I'm tired I find the magnetic only cover rather easy to come off with a little torque. I in the past put a finger between back and front cover of my PaperWhite and Voyage for easier one handed holding. That's not a good idea with this new configuration. I did hold the Oasis in it's cover over a pillow and had a friend ready just in case and the device DID stay securely in place during some fairly violent shaking it's just a twisting action that easily pops the magnetic connection loose. I'm hoping a 3rd party or Amazon for that matter does something to resolve the issue and hold the device securely in the cover like the PaperWhite and Voyage covers do. I've only had it just short of two week but I'm very happy with the purchase and am truly enjoying reading on this new device.