Kindle Oasis (10th Gen) – Now with adjustable warm light, 7″ Display, 32 GB, WiFi + Free 4G (Graphite)

Buying an e-reader is a complicated decision with lot of factors to consider. I have been an e-reader user of a Kindle Voyage for last five years so I will cover first the reasons why I upgraded from Kindle Voyage:
1. Yellow Light: The Yellow light is a welcome addition to the screen. I do lot of my reading in the dark when the family is asleep, it may be only 30 minutes daily but when those add up on a daily basis it means lot of books in a year. The Yellow light is more comfortable to read in the dark which made me think about upgrading to Oasis. The reading in dark is far more comfortable as it was with Voyage.

2. Bigger Display size: The screen is bigger which means lesser page turns and it also means I can zoom in and still read more content on the screen

3. Screen Quality: Some reviewers have mentioned that there is a certain sharpness in Kindle Voyage’s display as compared to Oasis. I do not think so, I think both are at par. There is a certain yellowness in the Oasis display (even when you put the warmth to 0) while Voyage is more whitish or bright, I read more in the dark so Oasis is the preferred device

4. Physical Buttons: Although Voyage had the Touch Press buttons on its side, it did not respond that well, so I would end up tapping on the screen to turn pages. Somewhere it breaks the spell of the fictional world when you tap on the screen, the buttons gives me a feeling of un-interruption which is so very crucial for readers to enjoy their book.

5. Last reason / Experience: I have been an avid user of Kindle Voyage for around five years before the screen started to have a couple of lines in it which meant the display was giving up. Although I could have still used it, those lines proved a distraction too big to ignore, anyway, Kindle Voyage was a superb device and had served me well for a long time, it still works but not to its earlier level. These devices are about the experience and those lines were hampering it.

Let me break down why I think anybody should buy an e-reader in few sub-headings
1. Return on Investment: Some people consider the ROI (Return on Investment) as an important metric while doing an electronics purchase that involves a significant amount. Some people argue this applies for an e-reader as it is a niche product only to be used for reading. However, according to me e-reader does not fall into that category. Why? As an e-reader is charging you for the entire experience of reading which cannot be captured in numbers. If you take into consideration this calculation, a Kindle Oasis at a price of around 20-25K would imply reading of at least 100 books on it to justify its cost. If you are a voracious reader, a number of 100 can be crossed in few years, if not I think a number of 25-50 is also good enough given the experience this device gives to a reader.

2. Convenience: This device like any other e-reader will give you an unimaginable convenience. You are having a storage of your entire personal library in your Bag without adding any weight to it.

3. Environment Friendly: If you happen to read 50 books on this device you are saving so many trees. If every person does that then the number of trees that can be saved by doing it across the world is huge

Summary: I received a product which had some issue with the screen, however, thanks to Amazon I got a new device and the new one was perfect, so no complaints with Amazon customer service but do check your device within the replacement window to ensure you are not getting a faulty device. To summarize if you are looking for a top notch premium experience of an e-reader, then Oasis is the only choice. If the budget is a constraint then go for Paperwhite, if the Paperwhite is expensive for you, then go for the standard Kindle, but do definitely try an e-reader. Although it takes a bit of time in getting used to it, you will love it, one of my best gadgets purchase ever and Oasis has taken it up a notch.