Amazon’s New Kindle Is Perfect For Lazy Afternoons

The Amazon Kindle may be one of our favorite travel companions. It's light, compact, and it stores more books than we'd ever hope to carry in our purse. Now, Amazon just released a new edition that's thinner and lighter, so it's even more travel-friendly. The Amazon Oasis, as it's called, is Amazon's eighth-generation Kindle. It's roughly 30% thinner and 20% lighter than its predecessors, weighing in at a mere 4.6 ounces. To accomplish this, the e-reader has a super-light polymer frame that is plated with metal — so it has the quality feel and strength of a metallic finish, without the weight. It's designed so that the bulk of its weight is centered on your palm; when you're reading for long periods of time, your hand shouldn't get tired. An accelerometer inside detects whether the Oasis is being held in your left or right hand, and it switches the direction the pages flip accordingly. Its display is high-resolution (300 pixels per inch) and brighter than previous Kindles (it has 60% more LEDs, but we won't be quite sure how much brightness that means until we get our hands on one). It comes with a leather charging cover in one of three colors: black, merlot, or walnut. When the cover is connected to the Oasis, it automatically starts charging it, and if both are connected and plugged into power, they'll charge simultaneously. Naturally, the device comes with software features previous Kindle owners will be familiar with: Whispersync for tracking what page you're on and any annotations you've made across Amazon's apps and devices; Word Wise for automatically defining words you may not know; and Family Library, so you can share books with your partner. The exact battery life isn't specified, but it should last at least a week or two, like previous Kindles. You can pre-order the Kindle Oasis beginning today for $290 here.