Amazon never reveals any actual Kindle sales figures so you never know how well they are selling or not, but you can use customer reviews to somewhat gauge overall interest.
One interesting thing about Kindle reviews is the fact that the new Kindle Paperwhite has already surpassed the Kindle Oasis with the number of overall reviews at Amazon.com.
The Kindle Paperwhite sells for nearly half the price as the Kindle Oasis so it isn’t at all surprising to see it selling better.
But it sure didn’t take very long for the Paperwhite to beat out the Kindle Oasis in total number of reviews.
It took the new Paperwhite just over 4 months to surpass the Kindle Oasis in reviews. That’s impressive considering the Kindle Oasis has been available for 17 months now. It illustrates just how much more popular the Paperwhite is than its metal-backed 7-inch sibling.
The Kindle Paperwhite has long been Amazon’s best selling Kindle and it looks like that hasn’t changed in the slightest with the 4th generation model. It’ll be interesting to see how well the new Kindle sells compared to the Paperwhite, but even with the addition of a frontlight it’s unlikely to overtake the Paperwhite, even at a lower price.
The new Kindle Paperwhite also has a slightly higher rating with 4.2 stars than the Kindle Oasis with 4.0 stars. However, the previous generation Paperwhite had a 4.4 star rating so it would appear that not everyone is satisfied with the upgrades.
What this tells me is that they really dropped the ball on the Kindle Oasis. That 4.0 rating says a lot. I think it’s more a problem with design and functionality than the price. Even the previous generation Oasis got a 4.0 rating. It seems Amazon didn’t learn their lesson. People arent fans of the design.
All Amazon needed to do was make the Voyage into 7 inches with physical buttons and they would’ve hit a homerun.
I totally agree!
I totally disagree. In my opinion many reviews relate the increase of value versus the increase in cost. I am one of the reviewers of the Oasis and a few other Kindles and have taken time some of the other reviews. For many the Oasis is overkill at 249.99 versus pretty good at 129.99. The Old Paperwhite had 46,702 reviews, The current one about 4987 reviews. The current Oasis actually has 4944 for the 8 gig(my review shows under this group) and 79 reviews for the international model.
For some the Oasis is just more than they need for more than they want to spend. Some don’t like the design. For some like me it is close to ideal. Ideal for me being larger and possibility having the chassis made out of the same material as the Voyage.
We all have opinions and tend to disregard the opinions of others.
I have the Kindle Oasis and love it but I got it refurb for $179. The Oasis’s problem is the price point which is around the same as an iPad Mini and that makes it less appealing to all but hardcore readers. The new Paperwhite feels cheap in the hands compared to the Oasis however it’s an all around better value.
I have both the Voyage and the 2nd Oasis and the Oasis is by far my favorite Kindle. I love the feel of it, the screen size and the page buttons.
I am in your camp!
I have both a Voyager and 2nd Gen Oasis and also agree.
I have larger hands and I like the 7″ screen of the Oasis but I don’t like the irregular shape. I read 40-50 books per year, mostly digital, that I want the “Cadillac” of Kindles. I want the 32 GB of memory, the better screen, metal case, etc.
I have the Voyage and bought the 2nd gen Oasis when it was first released. Didn’t like the Oasis at all, the form factor bothered me. Sold the Oasis on Ebay after a few weeks.
I bought both versions of the Oasis and gave them both back due to hating the form factor. Surprisingly, I bought the Kobo Forma and absolutely love it. I bought the PW4 and gave it to a family member – I just did not like it over the PW3. I really love the Kobo Clara which is my travel device. In my opinion Kobo offers better devices – it is their product promotions that suck.
I remember buying the Oasis 2 about a year ago and being so turned off by the design that I immediately sent it back without even turning it on. Can’t wait for Amazon to release another large Kindle without the deformed shape.
I’m sure there’s an economic argument to be made that the Oasis only exists to be way better than the basic and make people arrive at the conclusion that the Paperwhite is almost as good and just upgraded to it instead of buying the basic. The Paperwhite is the model that Amazon is really trying to sell.
Personally I am not a fan of the Paperwhite 4. It feels cheap, cheaper than the 3. Maybe I would have been fine if it was the 2nd Kindle I tried after the basic, but I’ve already owned the Voyage and the Oasis, both of which feel and act high quality.