The new Amazon's e-reader - Oasis

Amazon.com Inc. ’s new Kindle Oasis is the most radical redesign of the top-selling e-reader since its keyboard vanished five years ago.

It’s also the most expensive in years, with a base price of $290 and a top price of $380, which gets you a 3G cellular connection and no lock-screen ads. For that kind of money, you could almost buy five standard Kindles or two premium Kindle Voyage models. So what do customers willing to buy a luxury e-reader actually get?

The Oasis is very thin, as the Journal reported last week. Most of its screen is just 3.4mm thick, less than half the thickness of an iPhone 6s, though the body gets wider where you’re expected to grip it. There are just two page-turn buttons (along with a touch screen), and enough room around the buttons to hold the Oasis comfortably.

To switch hands, you have to flip the asymmetrical e-reader upside down—but the contents of its screen flip over too. Because the circuitry and battery are clustered in the handle, it nestles well, though the bold design takes a little getting used to. It’s also unusual (though not the first time) that an electronics maker tells you how to hold its device.

A thinner Kindle means less built-in battery life than its predecessors—weeks rather than months. But Amazon compensates by including a far larger bonus battery, housed in a leather case. Amazon says the dual-battery setup will keep you running for months, and that the big case battery will top off the small internal battery when it’s connected. When the Oasis is magnetically docked in its case, the complete package resembles Kindles of old, only classier.

The e-reader’s screen is perhaps the least changed element. It measures 6 inches diagonally, like all seven previous generations of Kindle. It has the same front-lighted 300 dot-per-inch display as its less-expensive siblings, the Voyage and Paperwhite. What’s new, according to Amazon, is an improved light-distribution system, for more even lighting across its face.

One attribute missing from this deluxe model is waterproofing. A longtime Kindle selling-point has been how easy it is to tote around and read outdoors. Amazon said it explored waterproofing for the Oasis, but decided against it.

The Oasis—which is available for pre-sale Wednesday and shipping to customers April 27—is a great choice for someone who doesn’t mind spending considerable money to have the latest e-reader.