oasisreadingonbalconyHave you ordered an Amazon Kindle Oasis despite the $289 price? If so, why? The smaller size than the Paperwhite’s? The page buttons? Although Amazon sadly has not improved the screen contrast, one of my particular fixations, I myself have an Oasis coming later this month so I can keep up with the tech. Perhaps if enough of us speak out, Amazon will add all-text bolding or a font-weight adjuster as an option to boost the perceived contrast.

Meanwhile here’s a burning question. The Oasis comes with a charger-cover that extends battery life, but it will add to the Oasis’s weight. Will you read with the cover on or off? MobileRead is running a survey on the issue. The number of respondents so far isn’t high, just 43, but here’s the breakdown:

  • Cover on: 4 percent
  • Cover off: 14
  • Sometimes on and some times off: 15
  • Not sure: 2
  • Don’t care to comment 8

“The whole reason for me to get the Oasis are the buttons,” Atunah writes on MobileReader, “and to be able to hold it in my hand with the shape it has. I read my Voyage without the cover now as I need it as light as possible. But even then because of how its shaped and where the haptic buttons are, my hands cramp up after a while. They just aren’t in a place that is natural for my joints, thumb and wrist. I fell out of my hands a few times on the sofa because of how the weight distribution is.

“I think the Oasis solves that for me as all the weight is in the palm, so no dripping out of my hands while trying to press the page press. And the buttons are actual buttons so I know where they are at all times. And the larger bezel prevents me from constantly changing pages, highlighting stuff as I am doing right now with the Voyage.”

I myself will probably read with the cover off, normally, and use it as a charging dock.

Even if you don’t have an Oasis on order, I’d be curious about your thoughts on covers for E Ink e-readers. For the added protection if nothing else, are they worth the trouble and the added weight? Meanwhile a separate poll shows that four-fifths of E Ink reader owners use the covers (even if they’re not necessarily always on).

4 COMMENTS

  1. I did order an Oasis but alas, currently it has a delivery date of September 2. All because of wanting a Merlot cover. Surely it cannot take 5 months to spew out the requisite number of Merlot covers so am hoping for an adjustment in the delivery date. I plan to read without the cover, except when the device needs charging and then will leave the cover on long enough to charge it. Also will use the cover when taking it out of the house. However, having other Kindles, perhaps there is no need to do that.

  2. I am getting the Oasis and will probably only use the cover for charging. I have not used covers at all since the Kindle Keyboard. One thing I have been pleased with is Kindle durability-my Voyage goes in pocket along with keys…daily…no scratch or nick.

  3. No Kindle for me, but my eReaders go with covers everywhere. It’s easier to get a firm grip on them when commuting and they are a bit more protected if they fall. At home, I read every night in bed, on my side, the cover helps as a stand then. So I don’t bother taking out the cover on other occasions, even with the cover they are lighter than a paperback.

  4. I have a Kindle Voyage with an Oberon leather cover. I take it out once a month or so to clean the Kindle or cover. I read with the cover on – I always have. I like the sturdiness and extra weight. I have no problem reading one handed.

    I have not ordered the Oasis. I don’t need to own every iteration of Kindle. Nothing about this one spoke to me as a must have feature. I’ll wait out this version. If my Voyage needed to be replaced, however, I’d buy one, and probably read with the cover on.

    I really like the Oberon leather covers – I’ve bought for all previous Kindles except the original, but the charging feature would get me to switch.

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