The new KINDLE OASIS arrives and it's a luxury/premium model. What are the added features? Physical page-turn buttons, lightness, a cover that charges the Kindle - giving 'months' per charge, enhanced page consistency. (UK, Canada, Int'l also) UPDATED Apr 16-17 with added info.

So, the new Kindle Oasis is almost here.

This luxury edition item with charging case
will be released on April 27, 2016. (UK: here,  Canada: here, Int'l: here)

What's new? (Also see Updated info.)
For one thing, physical, dedicated page turn buttons are back !

The nicely-sized 'handgrip' side is wider and thicker, while the other side of the Oasis is slimmer.

  HOWEVER, when you want to hold it with the other hand, you can just turn it around and the Oasis will auto-rotate the page orientation to match.

Amazon claims that "the tapered, ergonomic handgrip shifts the center of gravity to your palm, to rest in your hand like the spine of a book. Perfectly balanced for one-handed reading,"

It's now, overall, both thinner and lighter than previous Kindles.

Almost an inch shorter, it's a bit wider to get a more secure handgrip, and when you measure the thinness against earlier models, the NON-page-turn buttons side is at least twice as thin, which is hard to believe.

Oasis (UK: here, Canada: here, Int'l: here) comes with a removable leather charging cover included, which "boosts battery to last months."  Color options are black, merlot, or walnut.  I've read that without the battery cover, the battery life is shorter than on the earlier, larger Kindle e-Ink readers, but most use their Kindles with a protective cover and this will give battery life lasting "months" instead of "weeks" as with the earlier Kindles.

The product page explains that you can "charge the Oasis and cover simultaneously while snapped together and plugged in.  When on the go, the cover will automatically recharge the device ...Plus, a new hibernation mode minimizes power consumption when your Kindle is inactive, extending battery life to its fullest capacity.

 I haven't seen an Amazon-product option that isn't in leather (some don't want to buy animal skin) but I imagine 3rd party covers will be available, although I haven't seen if they'll be able to use Amazon's battery-charging technology.

 Amazon describes the cover as one that "fits closely around the bezel, waking Kindle Oasis when opened and putting it to sleep when closed.  Twelve magnets form a secure attachment between device and cover, while still easy to detach when the lightest possible weight is desired."

Without the cover, the Oasis weighs 4.6 oz. vs 6.3 oz. for Voyage and 7.2 oz. for the Paperwhite 3.
Display resolution is the same for all three of these, at 300 dpi.

The new Kindle doesn't have automatic light adjustments but it does have 10 LEDS vs 6 in the Voyage and 4 in the Paperwhite 3.  Amazon explains that the 60% increase in lighting brings " enhanced page consistency" -- a feature that some Kindle users will appreciate when even the slightest variance has bothered some in earlier versions.

Storage capacity is the same at 4 GB.

They promise "Sharp, dark text" (which I hope they apply to the HOME page as well, since their latest update to the older Kindles lightened the font colors for the Home page and therefore reduced the contrast -- I'm still hoping they'll fix that).  
"All fonts have been hand-tuned at the pixel level for maximum readability."

The CURRENT price showing as of today (prices can change from time to time) is $289.99, and if you want 3G cellular network capability in addition to the default WiFi, that's an additional $70 (or $359.00).

As with all the other Kindles, the default configuration includes "Special Offers," which can be good offers or sometimes just ads on the lock screen.  To get the Oasis or any Kindle with NO Special Offers on the lock screen, it's an additional $20.

Comparison of Kindle E-Readers
Here's a link to Amazon's COMPARISON CHART of Kindle e-Readers (UK: here, Canada: here, Int'l: here) as of April 14, 2016.

Who might find this premium model worth a look?
While responding to a comment just now, it occurred to me that commuters who need to stand and hang onto a strap for long rides might find it easier to hold onto this Kindle with only one hand (no stretching the hand for screen taps to turn pages). It'd be less likely to cramp the hand.

And Tom Semple mentioned earlier that people going away (camping etc) to places with no electricity will find it useful. Then there are the few who see uneven lighting even on the Voyage and post that they're very bothered by it (while others don't notice, so it's a matter of how your eyes see).

That's it for now.  Are the premium features attractive to you?  I'll be back to update this as I find out more.

UPDATES - 4/16 and 4/17, 2016

Mashable's Lance Ulanoff offers interesting points, not mentioned on the product page, from his conversations with Amazon.

• While the screen is only 3.4mm thick, the grip side with page-turn buttons houses the e-reader’s CPU, storage and battery.

• The body is made of an electroplated polymer for added strength.

• The Oasis appears sharper and brighter due, Amazon explained, to a wider white gamut and with "brand new" lighting and screen refraction.

• "The lighting now flows in through the side and is spread evenly over the screen by something Amazon called a 'cylindrical refractive pattern.'  What I noticed is that, even at its brightest, I could not see the actual LEDs.

• There's very little distance between the screen and the glass surface and you can feel as if you're touching the 'print.'

• Amazon explained that they chemically strengthened the glass after cutting it down to size rather than before.  This helps prevent weak spots.

• The page turns, for him, were quicker, without noticeable flashing.

• As mentioned above, the battery life without the cover attached is about two weeks.  The cover doesn't add much weight, he feels, describing it as 'relatively light, and brings the battery life to about 9 weeks

Ulanoff also describes how this cover works.  See that and more at the full article.


  ALSO The best Kindle Oasis photos I've seen for a good idea of what the new model AND cover look like are at The Verge article by Nick Statt.

---

Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

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Kindle Fire HDX News: HDX's are shipping in the U.S. now and have been announced for UK/International areas. Yr2013 Basic HD 7" ships in Canada Oct. 24. Table of current (plus some previous) Kindle devices for various countries updated Oct. 18. Review highlights.

Updates on availability of new Kindle Fire line internationally -- shipping of new basic HD model starts Oct 24 for Canada.

  Also, the Table of all current Kindles for the U.S. and International areas has been updated Oct. 18.

  I'm on various other projects and while there hasn't been any big news, reviews have been very good on the new line, as most who are interested will have seen.  The one flaw is that many large tech-sites still seem to enjoy saying that Amazon locks owners in to Amazon's own apps and that one has to do without Google Play apps

  As many who read this blog know, that's not true, even if it simplifies things for large tech-site reviewers.  As said before, Amazon has always ENABLED the Android system Settings checkbox that allows the owner to CHOOSE to install apps from Unknown Sources (can this be more clear?).  After the owner has checked that box, they can go to OTHER app stores like 1mobile.com's site (which has 300,000+ GooglePlay apps) and to various other app stores named in the article-guide you can read at this blog: "How to Install Non-Amazon Apps on a Kindle Fire."

  This allows owners to download direct, to the tablet, the Google Play apps from the other stores that carry them AND which allow Kindle Fire owners to download those apps, although Google Play does not allow Kindle Fires to download them direct from its store.  Google tends to want any associated vendors to negotiate an agreement with them that normally involves becoming main source for its content (Amazon itself sells unique content and because of that, they sell the tablets at cost).  The other android app market stores allow Kindle Fires and it's just a matter of searching for an app by name and then downloading it directly to the Kindle Fire and installing it.  I stress this because after two years, the large tech-sites generally seem to love to say that Amazon keeps its customers from doing that, and it's just the opposite.  NO "rooting" or software "modifications" are needed.

This relatively short blog article is just a quick update, otherwise, as I've had to finish other projects this last week and will be free of most of them by next week -- and except for shipping announcements and a plethora of good reviews which are easily googled, there isn't that much to report.  Amazon did make a list of review blurbs which I can add here for those who would like to see, quickly, what will obviously be the most positive ones, and I'll add those to the end of this article.  Any negative ones I've seen are the statements re any alleged inability to use GooglePlay apps -- a now willfully ignorant view of the Kindle Fire devices.

  Announcements of the release of the new Kindle Fire HDX line in the UK specifically (plus the most inexpensive and basic Kindle Fire now getting an HD screen) can be read in detail at the Daily Mail.

  Product pages for several countries still sell the Yr 2012 models but say the new devices will be available and can be pre-ordered soon.  Customers in Germany can pre-order already.   The countries-table I mentioned has links for each country and I'm now linking to the yr 2013 and yr 2012 lines on those pages where I find the later tablets mentioned, and generally Amazon mentions the new ones are coming.  s;That includes the general international (non-country-specific) models.

  Here is Amazon's listing of reviews that highlight certain features that really are amazing ones, even though I've seen the 'cool set' of reviewers saying that the 24/7 human-person available to show you, ON the tablet, how to do something, find a setting, etc. is for "grandmothers" and those who don't understand tablets.  Well, a careful examination of the new offerings will show the new devices are filled with entertainment and information features you won't find on other tablets, so it can save time, including time that many would otherwise spend on phone help for family and friends, when the giftee's Amazon helper can see the screen layout and show the owner what to do to get an end result.  The review blurbs:

' The reviews are in:

“As it is, the Kindle Fire HDX is a lightweight, sharp-screened, superfast pleasure” – New York Times
“HDX hums with nary a hiccup or UI stutter” – Wired
“It [Mayday] is, in short, an amazing idea well-implemented” – TechCrunch
“It's got a sleek redesign, blazing fast guts, and a few new tricks.  Most of all, though, it's the best small tablet you can buy.” – Gizmodo
“It’s called Mayday, and it’s the most remarkable customer service tool I’ve ever seen.” – The Verge
“Spending the weekend with Amazon’s Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch tablet, it’s easy to see why Amazon has built a commanding lead in the Android tablet space.” – Mashable
“There’s a lot to like about the Kindle Fire HDX.  The screen is superb, the form-factor sober but sturdy, and the processor cutting edge for the market. “ – SlashGear
“Armed with a powerful processor and Amazon's exhaustive content library, the Kindle Fire HDX delivers incredible value for its price, especially for Amazon Prime members.” – CNET
“For the first time, truly, the company has made a product that won't make some users feel like they're compromising an excellent user experience for a cheap price tag.  Because now, Amazon's tablet line has both.” – Fortune '

---

Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

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Kindle and Kindle Fire Software Updates Roundup: Update for NEW Kindle Fire HD (2nd Gen) - v11.3.0.1 and for coming HDX - v13.3.0.1 + the recent one for Kindle Paperwhite 1, v5.3.8

SOFTWARE UPDATES for new KINDLE FIRE HDX and HD lineup
1. Amazon has rather quietly made a software update available for the already-shipped (Oct. 2) new Kindle Fire HD 2nd Gen tablet (which replaces last year's basic Kindle Fire that had no HD, no camera, and no HDMI-out and which sold, retail, for $159).

This now current Kindle Fire HD 7" tablet, the new basic model this year, has an even lower price, but has been given an HD (High Definition) display.  However, as with last year's basic model, it has no camera for Skype and no HDMI-out port. (Don't confuse it with last year's "HD" model, which had all that for $199.  Amazon has now titled this year's basic tablet model the Kindle Fire HD (2nd Gen) in the lineup at its all-encompassing Kindles Help page as well as at its software update pages.

The ever vigilant and often prescient Jesslyn of MyKindleStuff wrote early Friday to let me know she'd seen news of and pages for software updates for the new Kindle Fire HDX and HD line at Softpedia.  They, in fact, were mirroring what is at Amazon's software update pages, and after being alerted by Softpedia, I'd always actually get the latest update at Amazon itself.  So, here are the pages for those updates.  (This new trio of tablets will go International later on, with "Stay tuned" the word.)

For the above-described Kindle Fire HD 7" 2nd Gen tablet, software update v11.3.0.1 can be downloaded from its update page if you'd rather not wait for Amazon to send it "over the air," and one method is to merely do it from the tablet.  Instructions are on that page.

' This software update will be delivered wirelessly and includes feature enhancements and general improvements for your Kindle Fire HD 2nd Generation.  This update automatically downloads and installs on your Kindle Fire HD 2nd Generation; however, you can also manually download the software and update your device via USB cable. '

2. The HDX tablets have not shipped yet and are not scheduled to, until Oct. 18 (for the 7" HDX w/o 4G/LTE) and Nov. 7 (for the 8.9" HDX w/o 4G/LTE).
  However, there is already an update waiting for the HDX's, and once your Kindle HDX arrives, it will probably automatically install the update once you are connected to your WiFi network, which means it will reboot at least twice, at that point, since they tend to come with battery power at a 60% level, which is high enough for a software install process.  It's important to not interrupt the re-boot process.  Wait until it's done, even if eager to try it out.  I actually plug mine into the wall socket, to be sure.

  If the software update does not automatically install for you after awhile, you can make it happen at the Kindle Fire HDX software update page.  The changes in this update:

' This software update will be delivered wirelessly and includes feature enhancements and general improvements for your Kindle Fire HDX. This update automatically downloads and installs on your Kindle Fire HDX; however, you can also manually download the software and update your device via USB cable.

The software update includes the following enhancement:
  Mayday Button
  Tap the Mayday button from Quick Settings to get in touch with an Amazon Tech advisor from your device when you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network. '

KINDLE PAPERWHITE 1 Software Update v5.3.8

Kindle Paperwhite Software Upgrade to v5.3.8

I incorrectly thought that I'd blogged this update and found today I hadn't when I actually received this "over the air" and couldn't remember what the improvements were and looked up Kindle Paperwhite 1.   See Paperwhite (US);   (UK Paperwhite: here; Global Paperwhite: here.) [Bracketed notes are mine.]

Amazon Kindle Forum Notice
"Initial post: Sep 5, 2013 9:56:10 AM PDT
David A. - Forum Moderator says:

' We have a new, free software update available for Kindle Paperwhite which can be found [here] [U.S.]

    [Here's the UK-only software update page]

This update automatically downloads and installs on your Kindle Paperwhite; however, you can also manually download the software and transfer the update to your device via USB cable.

The software update includes general improvements and the following feature enhancements:

* Search terms highlighted in search results
When you search for a word or phrase within a book, the search terms will appear highlighted within the search results. When you tap a result to go to that location in the book, the search terms will appear highlighted on the page.
* Select other dictionaries when looking up a word
When you look up a word in the dictionary, you can choose to look up the word in other dictionaries on your device from within the dictionary definition window.
* View other definitions of a word [within same window]
When you look up a word that has multiple meanings for the same spelling (homonym), you can navigate through each of the available definitions from within the dictionary definition window. '

As ever, note that keeping your Kindle always connected to a Wi-Fi network can drain your battery faster.  So, once you've got the update "over the air," put the Paperwhite back to "Airplane Mode ON" via the 'Settings' option on the Menu -- the option lets you toggle Wireless Off with the "Airplane On" choice.
 They still have not put the "Wireless Off" and "On" back on the front menu as they recently did for the Kindle Touch, removing the 'airplane mode' icon, which many of us wish they would do, as it is very inconvenient to have it on a secondary menu and many do not even know about the wireless-off feature, causing more battery drain and confusion over that.  Amazon: please do this in the next update; the Kindle Touch team has the right problem-avoiding idea.

  I realize they prefer Wireless 'On' due to delivery of Special Offers but the battery-drain problem can occur when circumstances involve subscriptions that are downloaded regularly or due to a weaker connection that results from the distance from the router, in which case the device keeps trying to connect when a download is due (and that can be for the special offers that Amazon regularly needs to send for those who choose to opt for the less-expensive special-offers feature).

Only if you'd rather not wait - DOWNLOADING and transferring the Update via USB
US:  Go to the Kindle Paperwhite Software Update v5.3.8 download section to get the instructions for the download and transfer to your Kindle via USB:
UK:  Go to the same for the UK-only page


Well, that should do it for today's software update alerts.  Expect more soon, since someone posted in the Kindle forums that they had received v5.4.0 on their Paperwhite (which may have been for the Paperwhite2, but this is all I know for now).



  For daily free ebooks, check the following links:

Temporarily-free books - Non-classics USA: by:    Publication Date      Bestselling   High-ratings UK: PubDate   Popular The Kindle Daily Deal What is 3G? and "WiFi"?       Battery Care Highly-rated under $1,  Newest: $1-$2, $2-$3

Most Popular Free K-Books U.S. & Int'l (NOT UK):    Top 100 free UK-Only:    Top 100 free Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources. USEFUL for your Kindle Keyboard (U.S. only, currently):   99c Notepad 1.1,   99c Calculator,   99c Calendar,   99c Converter

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Kindle Fire HD 7" and 8.9" International models are available for pre-orders globally. Appstore for Android is now open for almost 200 countries. Angry Birds Space app is free through June 3. UPDATE

Quick Alert: Amazon finally takes Kindle Fire HD international - Available for Pre-Order through Amazon, in over 170 countries and shipping June 13

Amazon announced this morning that the Kindle Fire HD global tablets -- 7" and 8.9" can now be pre-ordered by customers in 170+ countries around the world and will ship June 13.  Details are on the product pages linked here for the new global models.

UPDATES
1. Canada is included, of course, but has its own product pages for these at the Amazon Canada store (rather than orderable on the Kindle Int'l product pages).
  Canada ONLY: Kindle Fire HD 7",  Kindle Fire HD 8.9"

2. Both the 7" and 8.9" HD Internationa/Global models are available to the almost 170 countries outside the U.S.
  Kindle Fire HD Global - 7" $214,  8.9" $284

Also announced was the opening, finally, of the Amazon Appstore for Android to almost 200 countries.  From the press release:

' Customers around the world can now buy apps and games directly from the Amazon Appstore on Macs, PCs or Android phones and tablets (including Kindle Fire)...

To celebrate the launch, the Amazon Appstore is bringing back one of its most popular Free Apps of the Day, “Fruit Ninja,” along with “Cut the Rope: Experiments.”  These will be available, for free, on May 23 and May 24, respectively. With the Amazon Appstore, customers will have access to popular features like the “Free App of the Day,” which offers a paid app for free every day.

In addition, the Amazon Appstore includes popular Amazon features like personalized recommendations, customer reviews and 1-Click payments.  One of the important benefits of the Amazon Appstore is that Amazon tests apps and games to make sure they function and perform properly before they are made available to customers.

In addition, Amazon backs its apps and games with its own world-class Customer Service. Apps and games purchased from Amazon can be used across any compatible Android device, enabling customers to buy an app or game once and enjoy it everywhere.

 For a limited time, consumers will also find great promotions and discounts on popular games from leading brands such as Ubisoft, Sega and Rovio, including Angry Birds Space for free through June 3.
  Customers can visit www.amazon.com/appstore to start browsing apps. '

This is following recent launches of the app store for the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, China and Japan.   Brazil will be included "in the coming months."

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