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Kindle Oasis review (2017): Cheaper, waterproof and a bigger screen
Amazon's last Kindle Oasis felt like an e-reader meant for the very rich. It was astoundingly thin and light, but its $290 price made it a tough sell. The new Oasis is still the company's most expensive e-reader, but at $250, it's slightly cheaper than before. It also features a few firsts for Amazon's Kindle lineup: It's waterproof -- something that readers have been begging for for years -- and it has a larger 7-inch screen. While it's still hard to stomach paying so much for a mere e-reader, the new Kindle Oasis makes a stronger case for doing so than before.
Amazon's new Kindle Oasis is waterproof and has a bigger screen
We called Amazon's last Kindle Oasis "the perfect e-reader for the one percent." That still describes the new Oasis, which Amazon is officially unveiling today. To be fair, it's slightly less expensive than its predecessor, starting at $250/£230 instead of $290. It also includes some genuinely useful features: a larger 7-inch screen, an all-metal body, and yes, it's waterproof. A decade after introducing its first e-reader, Amazon has finally delivered the first beach-ready Kindle.
The new entry-level Kindle is thinner, lighter and still $80
The luxurious Kindle Oasis is no longer the new kid on the block. Amazon just unveiled its new entry-level Kindle device, which is more portable and packs in twice as much RAM (512MB) as the last model. And yes, it's still $80/£60 (with Amazon's "Special Offers" ads). Unfortunately, it doesn't look like the resolution for its 6-inch E Ink screen has been improved at all -- you'll have to bump up to the $120/£110 Paperwhite for sharper text (that model is now available in white, as well).
E-book sales in the UK decline for the first time
There's something to be said about a printed book. It's easy to read outdoors, you can lend it to a friend and, unlike a top-end Kindle, it doesn't spell disaster if you lose it. E-readers have their place, but today The Publishers Association (PA) has confirmed that Brits still love holding paper between their fingers. In the UK, printed book sales rose from £2.75 billion in 2014 to £2.76 billion in 2015 -- the first increase in four years. Digital book sales, meanwhile, dropped from £563 million to £554 million over the same period. It's the first drop in e-book sales the PA has ever recorded.
Kindle Oasis review: The perfect e-reader for the 1 percent
Amazon's Kindle Oasis is like a feast with the world's finest caviar. It's an all-you-can-eat Wagyu steak dinner. It's an $80 cup of coffee. Simply put, the Oasis is a $290 extravagance meant only for the few who can afford it. For the rest of us, it's just something to lust after. We called the $200 Kindle Voyage the "Rolls Royce of e-readers" two years ago, but instead of going cheaper (the standard Kindle is currently $60, and the backlit Paperwhite model is $100), Amazon pushed even further into luxury status. For $290 you get an e-reader so light it almost feels like you're holding nothing at all. Unfortunately, Amazon still hasn't made a strong argument for why anyone actually needs a high-end reading device.
Readmill is closing its doors on July 1, 2014
Yet another beloved eReader app is closing its doors thanks to the sad reality of being financially unsustainable. This time it's Readmill, the open reading platform for iOS and Android that sought to give users an alternative to proprietary stores. With beautiful typography and a useful night reading mode, it was the go-to eReader for many smartphone users. The company announced its decision in a recent blog post: ...Readmill's story ends here. Many challenges in the world of ebooks remain unsolved, and we failed to create a sustainable platform for reading. For this, we're deeply sorry. We considered every option before making the difficult decision to end the product that brought us together. Note that the team will join Dropbox, though details on what their roles will be are not available. Users have until July 1, 2014 to export their data from the app. After that it will no longer be available. You can find out more about exporting your books, followers, readings, reviews, and highlights to safe keeping right here. In the meantime maybe try to read one last book on Readmill. Just for old time's sake.
Apple discounts the books Amazon refuses to stock
If you head over to iTunes and look for book pre-orders at $9.99 or less, you may notice something strange: they're all Hachette titles. That's no coincidence -- Amazon is delaying shipment on Hachette books right now, a negotiating tactic it calls an "essential business practice." Authors and publishers think otherwise, with one referring to it as "extortion" that's "illegal when the Mafia does it." As Re/Code pointed out, however, it's ironic that Apple is offering cut rates on Hachette books, considering it was found guilty of conspiring with the publisher to raise prices. Apple has since settled class-action suits that resulted from that judgement, though it won't have to pay if it wins its appeal against the DoJ. Either way, Apple is set to profit by selling buzzy new titles like J.K. Rowling's well-reviewed Silkworm, since Amazon has essentially kneecapped itself. Let's face it though -- Apple also likely enjoys razzing the book industry's 800 pound gorilla.
Switched On: The leader, the bleeder and the reader
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. Sony recently bid farewell to three device categories. The long-struggling Japanese consumer electronics giant is selling off its PC division, spinning out its TV group into a separate company and getting out of the e-book business by handing it over to Kobo. While each has a unique history, they all demonstrate the difficulties Sony has had in dominating any one category. Sony's introduction of the Trinitron in the 1960s accelerated its ascent to the top of the consumer electronics food chain in the following decades. By the 1980s, virtually any TV buyer knew that nothing compared to Sony and the company's big-screen offerings were bolstered by the arrival of CRT screens that lacked the convex curve of the time. (Back then, curved screens were passé, not leading edge.)
Engadget's 2013 Holiday Gift Guide: E-readers
Welcome to Engadget's holiday gift guide! Head back to our hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the month. Weighing your e-reader options isn't as difficult as, say, deciding on a new smartphone. There are fewer models to sift through, for one, and your allegiance to Amazon or B&N could further narrow things down. Still, you have a range of options in every camp -- from barebones devices meant for reading and nothing else to full-fledged tablets with the higher-end specs to match. Below, we make the case for some of our top picks.
Distro Issue 105: The tale of the amazing multi-colored e-paper display
Once upon a time, the possibility of a color e-reader seemed a reality just around the bend. As the sun set on the 2000s, though, prototypes and the potential for multi-hued e-paper devices seemed to disappear. In this issue of our weekly, Sean Buckley examines the events surrounding the once bright future of the tech and why we're still e-reading in black-and-white. As far as reviews go, we offer up our detailed analysis of the TiVo Roamio Pro, OLPC XO Tablet and Motorola Droid Ultra. Eyes-On peeks at Blue Microphone's latest, Weekly Stat examines the broadband build-up and Recommended Reading profiles Marissa Mayer. The weekend is finally here, and there's plenty to peruse, so go on cozy up with a fresh copy via the usual download spots. Distro Issue 105 PDF Distro in the iTunes App Store Distro in the Google Play Store Distro in the Windows Store Distro APK (for sideloading) Like Distro on Facebook Follow Distro on Twitter
Amazon Publishing launches Jet City Comics with Symposium #1
As of today, Amazon Publishing is entering the wonderful world of sequential art publishing with its new imprint, Jet City Comics. Its inaugural issue, Symposium #1 by Christian Cameron, is sure to please fans of Neal Stephenson's The Foreworld Saga. Also joining Jet City Comics are sci-fi/fantasy luminaries like George R.R. Martin and Hugh Howey. Martin will be teaming up with artist Raya Golden on an adaptation of Meathouse Man, a story so twisted, it makes Game of Thrones look like a Disney fairytale. Writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray (currently tearing it up on Batwing) will translate Howey's series of dystopian novellas, Wool, into a six-issue mini-series this October with a collected print edition to follow in 2014. For more information, check out the full press release after the break.
Slickdeals' best in tech for May 8th: Samsung NX1000 mirrorless camera and Amazon Kindle Fire
Looking to save some coin on your tech purchases? Of course you are! In this roundup, we'll run down a list of the freshest frugal buys, hand-picked with the help of the folks at Slickdeals. You'll want to act fast, though, as many of these offerings won't stick around long. Sure, tablets and cameras discounted on the regular in our twice weekly roundup, but today an A/V system sees the big price drop. A Denon AVR-1613 receiver and Harmon Kardon HKTS 16 speaker bundle is reduced by over 50% with the aid of a simple discount code. All of the particulars, and the rest of the list, await on the other side of the break.
iBook Lessons: Advanced page flipping demo
iBook Lessons is a continuing series about ebook writing and publishing. Much as I love iBooks' beautiful page scrolling, there's always room for improvement. By studying the way people interact with real books -- browsing for information and adjusting pages while reading -- the developers of the "Smart E-Book Interface Prototype" have added a lot of clever into the ebook. A video demonstrating the interface follows. It presents some intriguing directions. The KAIST Institute of Information Technology Convergence, who produced this video, has an English-language summary page about their ongoing research. It's a really impressive video for R&D work. Hopefully this kind of advance will soon make its way into consumer e-readers. And, no matter what wiseacre YouTube commenters say, you probably shouldn't roll up your iPad and use it to swat any flies. Hat tip, Jeremy Tregunna
Kindle Touch updated with new UI, Whipersync for Voice and comic book navigation
Still have an old Kindle Touch sitting around? You have some new features to play with. Despite replacing it with a brighter son, Amazon is still updating its original touch sensitive e-reader -- outfitting it with a new UI, enhanced parental controls and Whispersync for Voice, which shares bookmarks between audio and text versions of the same digital tome. Amazon's improved the Kindle Touch shopping experience too, adding recommended content offers to users and remembering where they left off in a sample after they purchase the full text. Finally, the company injected the Kindle Touch with better comic and graphic novel navigation -- allowing readers to view their funnybooks panel by panel, rather than by the full page alone. The update will be delivered wirelessly, though users that fancy their USB cable can install the new features the old fashioned way. Check out Amazon's "what's new with Kindle Touch" page for a run down of the update's features.
iBookstore lines its shelves with paid content in New Zealand, 17 Latin American countries
iDevice owners in New Zealand and 17 Latin American countries are no longer restricted to a diet composed of free content when it comes to their respective iBookstores. A quick search of the storefronts will reveal virtual shelves stocked with paid-content that haven't yet found their way to the shops' homepages. Reside in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru or Venezuela? Head on over to the appropriate store and books with price tags will be available for purchase. If this is any sign of what Apple has up its sleeve for tomorrow, we suspect that "a little more" will involve a bit of reading.
Amazon debuts Whispercast service, lets organizations manage Kindles and Kindle content
Individual Kindle users already have Whispernet, and Amazon has now announced another free service designed to make Kindles easier to manage for large organizations. Dubbed Whispercast, the service will let schools, businesses and other groups both distribute and manage the Kindles themselves and also distribute content to the devices. That includes the ability to control internet access on the devices (blocking the Twitter and Facebook integration, for instance), and the ability to distribute Kindle books and other documents to specific groups or classes. Amazon also says that it will "soon" include the ability to distribute apps to Kindle Fire tablets, as well an option for folks to bring their own device and add it to the network. Those interested can sign up for the service immediately at the source link below.
Bezos: Amazon breaks even on Kindle devices, not trying to make money on hardware
Amazon makes a pretty good case for its Kindle Fire HD and Paperwhite with prices as low as $199 and $119 respectively, but it turns out there's more at work than just special offers to keep them affordable. In an interview with the BBC, the company's head honcho Jeff Bezos revealed that they can keep the price tags reasonable since they don't turn a profit on the devices. "Basically, we sell the hardware at our cost, so it is break even on the hardware," Bezos said. "We're not trying to make money on the hardware." Instead, Amazon banks on making a buck when owners of the slates and e-readers purchase books, movies, games and other content through their digital storefront. This doesn't exactly come as a surprise, but we're glad that Jeff's confirmed our suspicions.
Kindle Paperwhite gets its own jailbreak, E Ink spews everywhere
If you're an avid tinkerer who managed to secure a Kindle Paperwhite before they sold out, then we have some news that may well brighten up your day. A jailbreak based off of the hack for the Kindle Touch has been developed for Amazon's new e-reader and is now available for fearless Paperwhite owners. If you're up to the task, your bravery will award you some elite features which include: using your device as a weather station display and serial terminal access with Raspberry Pi systems. If all of this sounds like a fun weekend project waiting to happen, head on over to source link for step by step instructions.
B&N makes the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight's $20 price drop official
The Nook's $20 price drop is more than the whim of a few major retailers -- it's Barnes & Noble's new MSRP. Following Walmart and Target's recent discounts, the company's own website is now listing the glowing e-reader at its new $119 price. The reduction is almost assuredly in preparation for Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite, as B&N's announcement makes a point of bragging about the Simple Touch with Glowlight's included AC adapter and aversion to built-in ads. See the punchy press release for yourself after the break.
PSA: Amazon's Kindle Fire HD 7, new Fire and Reader now stocked
If you had your heart set on a Kindle Fire, Fire HD 7 or Reader, you can now plunk down your plastic and receive one as fast as your shipper can wheel it over. The 1,280 x 800 Fire HD 7-inch model, which we recently put through the wringer, is available in a 16GB version for $199, and Amazon says the 32GB version will arrive October 25th. As we noted, it carries a new dual-band WiFi system for greater surfing speed, dual speakers, a front HD camera and a TI-made dual-core ARM Cortex A-9 processor. The updated Kindle Fire can be had as well for $159, with double the RAM of the last version, a new processor and a bigger battery. Finally, the new Kindle Reader is also up for grabs at an ad-supported cost of $69, while the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD should be along in November at $299 ($499 for a 4G version). So, if you're already looking ahead to a certain holiday, check the sources to see how to get one.
