Amazon isn’t giving up on the Kindle yet. In an effort to fill every possible e-reader niche imaginable, the online shopping giant has unveiled its latest digital book-carrying slab, the Kindle Oasis.
If you haven’t kept tabs on the many Kindle models that Amazon has dropped over the years, don’t worry. You don’t need to know them all; you just need to know that the Oasis is slotting into its role as the most superlative of the bunch.
It’s the thinnest and lightest member of the Kindle family, measuring just 0.13 inches thick and weighing 4.6 ounces, though those numbers are different for the models with mobile Internet connectivity.
The Oasis also takes the title of the highest-resolution Kindle display, with 300 pixels per inch spread across the 6-inch screen. Plus, Amazon has extended the amount of time you’ll be able to use that bright new display thanks to a dual-battery charging system and a new hibernation mode that minimizes power consumption. Amazon promises that customers will get “months” of use on a single charge.
The Oasis’s new cover is part of the reason why Amazon can claim this extended usage time. The leather case—available in black, merlot, and walnut—makes the Kindle fit any of Ron Burgundy’s bookcases, but more importantly, it houses an extra battery to extend the life of the device.
The Oasis gets to claim one other superlative: It’s the most expensive member of the Kindle family, costing $289.99 for the base model and $359.99 for the 3G model. Both versions will arrive on April 27.
