Last year around April Amazon surprised everyone with the release of the Kindle Oasis.
To start with Amazon had never released a new Kindle that early in the year before so no one was expecting it.
But the biggest surprise with the Kindle Oasis was the new design idea that places most of its battery in a detachable cover.
You can remove the cover while reading to lower the overall weight of the device, then put it back on in between reading sessions to recharge the Kindle’s small internal battery.
The Kindle Oasis is the only ereader with a charging cover, but will it be the last?
Lots of people don’t like the added expense of the charging cover for the Kindle Oasis. It basically adds $90 to the price, and that alone is almost as much as the Kindle Paperwhite when it goes on sale.
But other people like the concept of the charging cover. It helps make the Kindle remain thinner and lighter, and the cover’s larger battery can help make the device last for up to 8 weeks per charge, making it the Kindle with the longest battery life.
It makes you wonder if future Kindles will come with charging covers as well or if the Kindle Oasis is going to be unique in that regard.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Amazon patented the concept so other companies can’t offer ereaders with charging covers even if they wanted to.
Personally I’m not a big fan of the charging cover idea. First off it severally restricts your choice of covers down to three colors, and then if you happen to lose or misplace the cover you suddenly have a super expensive Kindle with an internal battery that can only last a few hours per charge.
What about you? Would you like to see more Kindles or other ebook readers get released with charging covers?
No I would not like to see more charging covers. What I am a fan of though is devices with user replaceable batteries, but the trend seems to be toward fewer of those. I don’t know of any e-reader that has one.
What I am a fan of though is devices with user replaceable batteries
Count me in.
I replaced a battery on a Nook Simple Touch. It wasn’t supposed to have a user replaceable battery, though videos on YouTube said otherwise. The truth is somewhere in-between. I replaced the battery, but the top and bottom never aligned properly.
No, I would not like to see more charging covers either – unless their cost would come down below $20.00 and offer a ray of choices. I love changing covers for each new book I start just like you would with a paper book. The high cost of the Oasis cover prevents this so – no – not a big fan for more.
No, the Kindle Oasis cover was a disaster. Lets face it, the only real reason to include a cover (force a cover) is to justify selling a Kindle for a higher cost.
Without it, the Kindle is practically worthless, with it you sell it for a higher cost and have no third party seller competition. It’s just a new esy to rip off the customer and give them the finger.
I prefer a Kindle without a cover. It’s that simple.
Stupidest idea ever. Many ebooks already last an amazing amount of time without the hassle of a proprietary cover.
This is about as convenient as a car that stores 3/4 if it’s fuel in the back seat.
No, I’m glad it didn’t seem to start a trend.
I’m sure there are people who like the charging cover, but to me it’s about as practical as Dirk Gently’s solar powered submarine…
Ha! I actually had to look up “Dirk Gently’s solar powered submarine”!
And I agree with you 🙂
My favorite thing about reading on a Kindle is noting passages like that to quote whenever a chance comes along (no matter how big a stretch)!
I think it is a stupid idea. If your eraser is charged up it last quite a long time. As it drives up cost and really impractical. If they want to do something different then make an ereader in colour. Someone who probably never uses an ereader came up with.the concept and they ran with the idea,. Ereaders are expensive as it is but that was a costly mistake.
Maybe I am completely missing the point. . . but doesn’t it make more sense on almost all levels to buy a normal e-reader and pack a power bank and cord if you need so much charge? I may have already said this, but where would you ever be going that you wouldn’t be able to plug it in for 8 weeks, but you had lots of time to read? I can think of a few scenarios, but they all seem like exceptions rather than major markets.
I hope it’s not the new trend in e-readers. Kobo has shown much better innovation, in my opinion.
Absolutely not! Hate the idea especially when I had so many issues with the Kindle Oasis charging cover. If your going to do that and charge an absurd price, than make sure to implement it to perfection.
I don’t know anyone who wanted a charging cover and don’t find it practical in the least bit since ereaders can go for many weeks without a charge. This was a disaster move by Amazon and the Oasis a total bust!
I have no doubt the Oasis will be eliminated from the top tier lineup to eventually make room for an 8″ Kindle oh let’s say in maybe 10 years when Amazon finally figures out that people want a larger Kindle.
Nope, definitely not. I never used a cover at home, only for protection when I travel. Sounds like a money making idea.
Nice to see a replaceable back cover.integrated cover like the one on the last Sony reader. Makes the reader that much slimmer. Ideal on Kobo One.
It’s pretty easy for even a third-party to develop a power bank case for devices; they’ve been doing if for years with smart phones and e-reader batteries are actually smaller.
That there haven’t been these devices probably speaks volumes about Amazon’s strategy. Fact is, Amazon no doubt knew this was a stupid idea that no one wanted, that’s why they didn’t make their power-bank case optional for the Oasis … and why they haven’t extended this to the PaperWhite.
Amazon is a brilliant company when it comes to most everything EXCEPT e-readers and whomever is in charge of that group at Amazon shouldn’t be because they’ve made bad, bad decisions; repeatedly.
I have a Kindle Oasis and I hate it. I’ve gone back to reading on the Voyage even though the screen is cracked. So, no, not at all interested in charging covers. In fact, I would avoid purchasing another.
Funny thing is the Voyage screen is of much better quality than the Oasis. Honestly, the Oasis doesn’t get anything right except perhaps physical buttons which in reality isn’t all that necessary.
Poor screen with light cones, poor battery cover, inferior screen with washed out text but we’re going to charge you $300 because we know people love to be pimped.
I kind of suspect the time-frame that the Oasis came out, coincided with the prospective date that trhe IMX7 processor was proposed to be available, that they might have had first-dibs, but the supply chain fell through, they felt they needed to show something as they hasdn’t presented for awhile and pushed it through, anyways, toughting up the ergonomics, along with the same price that combination of parts might have initially cost, plus the usual mark-up.
Meanwhile, other innovations, like the larger screens, pushed through, and Kobo probably had dibs on that chain, took the rsk there and benefitted… just wild speculation, but that’s often the way things happen. You have to line up your supply lines, months, sometimes a year plus, in advance.
I think the detacheable screen/battery isn’t such a bad idea,as it makes it easy to replace, but the expense of the Oasis sours the idea. If one were to scale up something like the Oasis to something the size of the Aura One, though, with the proportinal battery enlargement that would allow, plus used that new-fangled porocessor – guess what would happen? We’d probably have battery life without the cover, approaching the customary life we get with the more treaditionbal designs.
Nice dream, anyways…
The Oasis charging cover would have been more of a win if you could charge it separately from the reader. Then you could have a backup cover and just switch them out to extend your reading time when the charge runs down. It is still a lot of money to spend but then you wouldn’t mind the fact of the charging cover because then it would be better utilized.
The first thing that users see before checking a tablet is the design and the color scheme. Users usually satisfy their difference in color choice by buying a different color cover, but now the users are restricts to the choice of three covers. But at least the battery would last longer than 8 hours with the cover.
My Oasis with charging cover is constantly bitching at me that the cover is not attached and the Oasis needs charging, after only 2 evenings of reading. And even when the charging cover IS attached. I guess the way I hold it it joggles loose.
I still prefer to read on the Oasis over my Kindle Keyboard, but the charging cover is mostly a pain in the drain.