One week after Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos dropped the hint of a new Kindle coming, it's finally here. The company announced the Kindle Oasis [1], the lightest, thinnest, and most impressive ereader yet.
Here are all the details on the Kindle Oasis:
- It weighs just 4.6 ounces, making it 20 percent lighter than any other Kindle.
- The Kindle's newest design is meant to rest in the center of your palm, instead of gripping it.
- The screen is the brightest ever — with 60 percent more LEDs.
- A leather cover in three colors, Black, Merlot, and Walnut, will now come with the Kindle.
- The leather cover recharges the Kindle as soon as it's connected. If both the Kindle and cover are unplugged, the cover will lose battery before the Kindle does.
- You can charge the cover and device at the same time, as long as each is plugged into its charging console.
- With just one charge, the Kindle Oasis's battery will last for more than two weeks. With the charging cover, it will last for more than nine weeks.
- A new hibernation mode will use the least amount of battery when the Kindle is not in use.
- It is not waterproof.
- It will be available in a WiFi model and WiFi with included 3G.
- The Kindle Oasis [2] will cost $290 for the WiFi model and $360 for the WiFi model and free 3G. Preorders begin today, and shipping starts on April 27.
The Kindle Oasis is a bold move for Amazon, a company that's become pretty synonymous with ereading, thanks to its Kindle products and app. This might be the product that finally converts old-school paperback readers to the Kindle Oasis. Look ahead for photos of the Kindle Oasis. If it doesn't suit your needs, Amazon does have other tablets [3] available that you can use the Kindle app on.