Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The new Oasis finally brings waterproofing that I wished my Voyage had, and personally I appreciate the Audible integration. I do hope that a software update will bring the option for immersion reading eventually, and perhaps more control over font appearance. I will not do a full review as others have already done a great job covering the Oasis's strengths, with which I fully agree. Instead I want to call attention to the serious quality control issues plaguing this latest generation of Oasis, issues that Amazon should have worked out by now after launching so many Kindles. I pre-ordered the new Oasis, and since Oct. 31st have had to get two replacements just to have a unit with an acceptable display. The first one I received had a warped case and uneven screen with washed out blurry text. The second unit was also washed out and had a stuck bright pixel. Fortunately, the third Oasis I received finally had acceptable contrast and sharpness, though it's a noticeable step down from the screen on my Voyage. The Voyage has true deep blacks and sharp text that looks like it's printed on a page. The page surface is also whiter (even with the backlight off). All of that works to produce high contrast and an enjoyable reading experience. The Oasis has more of a gray page surface and the text never gets as sharp or as black. It's much more like reading on an lcd than e-ink. I suspect the issue stems at least in part from the increase in screen size without an increase in dpi. Perhaps it could be improved with a software update (I hope!) But I think the slightly different surface of the e-ink screen will always limit the contrast on the Oasis. An additional factor is that the screen on the Oasis seems slightly more recessed from the actual glass, while the Voyage's screen is virtually right up against the glass. I think that the anti-glare coating combined with that slight recess contributes to blurrier text on the Oasis. The bezel also casts more noticeable shadows along the screen edges as a result. It's unfortunate that the R&D team missed these details. While I like the new features the Oasis brings, I don't want to lose quality on the most important element. The screen quality should have come first above anything else! In the attached image you can see how big a difference it makes if you're lucky enough to get a "good one." The last unit I received, with the good screen, is on the left, and the previous unit is on the right. They are both on the same book, same page, same font and brightness settings (auto brightness off), but there is a major difference in brightness, evenness, and contrast. This isn't unusual for a new product, but it is extremely disappointing and frustrating if you end up with a poor quality device, especially when the replacement is crappy too! If you don't want to risk having to spend hours coordinating replacements, I would suggest waiting until Amazon improves the manufacturing and quality control for the new Oasis.